Judo in Action Grappling Techniques [Paperback]

Kazuzo Kudo (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Japan Pubns (June 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870400738
• ISBN-13: 978-0870400735
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,444,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on groundwork, August 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Judo in Action Grappling Techniques (Paperback)

Whether your an experienced fighter, or a beginner looking for a guide, this book is an excellent reference. It covers critical pins, holds, and submissions, and is very clearly and authoritatively written.

For afficionados of groundwork this book is a must!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensei Kudo's book teaches each time it is read., October 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Judo in Action Grappling Techniques (Paperback)

Sensei Kudo's book has remained a complete and useful reference for ne-waza in spite of the many, many volumes written and published even since 1977 when this book went out of print. Skillful use of photographs and his consice explanation teach something new each time the book is opened. In fact it is possible to 'see' something totally new even after having read and studied a particular technique several times by reading again his book. Comparing his approach to others requires that you accept these as posed photographs staged to demonstrate each technique, and a realization that competition may alter the application of each technique certainly to adapt it to a particular situation, but each technique as it is explained contains worlds of knowledge - it simply is up to the READER to extract that.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well beyond cost-effective, October 30, 2008

By 

Joseph C. McDaniel (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Judo in Action Grappling Techniques (Paperback)

This book is an exemplar of the golden age of martial arts texts. The black and white photography is crystal clear, and there are stop action photos from every angle.

The author was a direct student of Jigoro Kano, and that shows before page one, in the quotation about perfecting yourself and contributing something of value to the world.

That's one of the reasons that judo and karate have flourished in the United States; the cornerstones of martial arts here in the United States started with perfection of character and moved from that point to technique.

In this little volume, the photographs are as clear as though the book were tabletop sized.

The book has a mass of information, including tips to get better results and common mistakes.

This is a book about the grappling techniques used in sport judo, and that is the focus of the book. If you're looking for a book about crushing throats or breaking necks and sentry stalking, look at book about World War II combatives, not here. Mind you, if you get a little frisky in competitions, you can hurt your opponent with these techniques, but that's not the goal of this book, which is designed to assist you in sport competition (where hurting your opponent tends to leave you without willing opponents, and you can't progress without training partners).

This is a breathtakingly beautiful and encyclopedic pictoral essay about grappling techniques used in sport judo (it's a rough sport, but it's a sport).

The currently-famous BJJ versions of this discipline spring from exactly the same roots as the techniques shown in this book. If you're studying BJJ, you may want to review this because the emphasis is a little different, and you may pick up one or two techniques that aren't frequently encountered in your competitions (and having an extra waza in your bag 'o tricks never hurts).

For those interested in sport judo, this is an excellent resource. For those interesting in seeing if they can find a new trick for street defense, this is a fully stocked larder; you'll need to sift, but this is pure gold. Note that using grappling in street defense is sometimes criticized as exposing you to the attacks of the friends of your opponent. On the other hand, if things went wonky and you're on the ground, having practiced these techniques could get you out of a tight spot.

The price-per-technique ratio here is great, and the quality of exposition is also world class.

Frankly, the only way you can go wrong with this book is if you want to learn dog grooming and get this book by mistake.