Customer Reviews

Judo Training Methods (Tuttle Martial Arts)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Judging by the one and five star reviews below me this is a "love it or hate it" kind of book. I love it, while admitting its drawbacks.

Originally written in 1962 by trainers from the Kodokan in Tokyo, its purpose was to catalog the traditional calisthenic exercises of judo and promote the then-radical use of modern western free weights. Part one is theory, part two is practice.

The books only flaw is its age. Looking at the pictures, one feels like Jerry Seinfeld when Lloyd Bridges decided to whip him into shape: "It's like a fitness museum!" Some exercises are pictured employing such unfashionable devices as rubber expanders and one-piece barbells of the sort that circus strongmen always use. Scrupulously up-to-date people will no doubt find some of it pretty funny, and the looks one would get at the gym when doing, say, reverse running on all fours would be funnier still.

Never the less, the book is packed solid with explanations and photos of hundreds of damn good exercises and lots of fairly good training information, all of it presented from a perspective of what is useful for judo. If supplemented by some common sense and maybe a book on gym safety it is quite valuable.

I have found no other Judo or martial arts work that approaches the academic level of this one in scholarship and completeness. Draeger and Ishikawa have been VERY thorough in their assessment of HOW to train for Judo, offering for the first time a catagorized breakdown of training techniques into four areas: Preparatory, supplementary, compound, and auxiliary. Training is approached for the first time in English, as a scientific undertaking which like many other sports, is based upon and helped by the study of kinesiology (study of movement, body & muscle, etc.). The authors don't simply tell us, they give us the "why" of things. Helpful diagrams and quality sequence photographs help convey the ideas, though I wouldn't recommend this volume for someone who doesn't have the patience to read. Training methods utilizing partners, weights, belt, equipment, and gravity are detailed. Originally printed in 1962, This recent re-release paperback edition is affordable and a welcome return. Don't let the age of publication dissuade you from learning from this volume, it was revolutionary upon its oroginal release, and little approaching its depth has been published in the popular press since. There is another terrific judo book by Draeger & Inokuma which I hope Tuttle will consider rereleasing again soon, called "Weight Training for Championship Judo", which goes even deeper into advanced sports theory. Judo was Draeger's first martial art, and I was surprised years ago to discover how deep and ground breaking his research with Kodokan colleagues had been. Altogether a superb volume.

An insightful look at the way Judo champions trained years ago. I enjoyed the book and I appreciate the information offered.

The book was first published during the early 1960's. Anyone with two cents of common sense will understand that is is unfair for us, nowadays, to criticize some of the methods used during that era. The weight training segment in the book, compared to todays standards, perhaps not cutting edge. Yet back then, it was obviously good enough for the likes of Judo Champions like Inokuma. Therefore, reading Draeger/Ishikawa's book provides another piece to puzzle and it will help us to analyze and understand the evolution of Judo training.
In particular, the 'Instructor Advice' and 'Student Advice' sections are worthwhile reading.

I recommend this book for a martial artist's library.

Antonio Bustillo

I'm a big fan of classic training methods and of using a partner as resistance and this book is full of similarly great techniques. Many of these exercises can be adapted to practicioners of other arts. This is well worth the read for both it's strengthening techniques and it's text.

This book forms a good framework for advanced learning. Some of the training methods were new to me, some were not. Overall, it was very helpful.

This product is excellent in discussing all of the various forms of Judo Training methods and the bio-physical applications of many of the exercises as demonstrated. As I am a Japanese Jujutsu-ka and an Okinawan Karateka, much of the information on Shiai is not particularly relevant to me, however, if I am ever afforded the opportunity, I know this book will help me along the way of practicing and studying the art of Judo and all of the relevant traditional and modern training techniques and activities to produce much stronger technique in training, Randori, and self-defense.

This is for the medium to advanced student of Judo. Beginners will have some difficulty understanding some of the descriptions here. This is not saying that some study won't make things clear to any student but beginners will have trouble here at first. For the rest of us, we can only benefit from studying this book. Well written and focusing on the technical points of Judo that create outstanding Judokas, this is well worth the price and time.

I HAVE A LOT OF TIME PRACTICING JUDO AN I FIND THIS BOOK THE BEST IN IT'S CATEGORY OF PREPARATORY EXERCISES TO IMPROVE STRONG,HABILITY, AND TECHNIQUE TO ALL JUDO INSTRUCTORS AND STUDENTS, I FIND IT VERY EXPLICIT IN TEXT AND IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND COVERS ALL KIND OF EXERSISES NEEDED TO A JUDOKA,WARMING,PREPARATORY AND HEAVY LIFTING TO IMPROVE FORCE.

I found this book, the way it was described on the Amazon website to be misleading and out of date. Although the publish date says 1999...in fact the book is a redo of a much older work that must have been published before. The book offers nothing at all new to any serious Judo instructor.

This book is severely dated. Several advances have been made in the area of sports specific training. Some of these excercises are down right dangerous. Serious injuries could result. There are some good stretching suggestions, but a beginner's weight-lifting book has safe excercises, for those looking to incorporate weight training with their judo practice.