Customer Reviews

Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book does not teach Brazilian jujitsu. Understand that from the start. What it does teach is a variety of stand-up oriented holds, locks, and throws. While it does cover a little groundwork, the bulk of the book deals with self-defense situations which might typically occur on the street. It has been said that 95% of all streetfights end up on the ground. I think that it's safe to say that 100% of all streetfights start out standing up. The techniques in this book represent possible responses to that initial encounter. The text is clear, the photos are good, and the techniques are sound. While this is not the end-all of self-defense texts, it is a good place to start.

If you're looking for ufc style grappling, you may want to look elsewhere. This book features traditional (read "stand-up") jujitsu techniques.

I'd recommend Basic Techniques to students of jujitsu (obviously), hapkido, judo, aikido, or sambo. It is a good step by step dictionary of (mostly) standing techniques, clearly photographed and well explained. I don't know how useful this book would be to beginning individuals who don't have a partner with whom to practice, or someone who can guide them through the many nuances of the techniques, which, while subtle, are essential to proper and safe execution.

On the other hand, if you do have experience with judo or a grappling art, you should be able to acquire new techniques and/or variations of what you are already practicing, and use this book as a source of new ideas.

A last caveat: although blocking, striking and kicking are aspects of jujitsu, these are not covered in Basic Techniques. A hip throw can be a good finish, but blocking/parrying the attack and counterstriking to unbalance the opponent and set up that sweet hip throw may be the difference between failure and success. Don't despair though, just about any hard art can be successfully grafted to these core jujitsu techniques to create countless variations and allow flexibility of response.

For price (bang for buck), practicality of techniques, and clarity of both photography and explanations, the book merits five stars.

While I am not an authority on Jujitsu, or martial art books, I found this to exactly what the title promised. Kirby does a good job explaining the basics of each technique and the pictures are of good quality. The variety of throws shown are simple enough for the beginner to follow and execute if the have a good sense of balance. The techniques for the most part are also very practical for use in a variety of situations.Some of the locks are difficult to see but the book would have to be much larger for those type of pictures to really prove useful. I feel for the person who is interested in learning basic throws and submission locks, this is an excellent starting point.

This was overall a well done book. There are hardly any good holds or grappling techniques in this book. But there are a lot of great throws, and all the moves are mapped out in very well described and easy to fallow instuctions.There is also so much good information for beginners and those that are just interested in the art.

I recently purchased this book, along with the intermediate and advanced books from this series, and I was disappointed. The book professed to be a book on basics but it is missing all of the basics. The only truly basic technique it has is break falls. It moves from break falls directly into hip throws without explaining the idea of unbalancing, center line, or even what a throw actually consists of. It would work as a reminder for someone taking a class, but it does not work for a true beginner. The book seems to skip past the first two to three months of training. Other than that the pictures were good and I was impressed by the grading criteria in the back.

This book is exactly what it says- a book of basic techniques in Ju-jit-su. These are the techniques I've been taught and after practicing them for a couple years they do become second-nature and they are useful for practical self-defense. This is the way it is with all martial arts. People who read this book should understand that these techniques do require serious study and practice- as such, this book is really only useful as an accompaniment to a ju-jit-su class. Don't read the book and expect to be able to defend yourself, you will be sorely disappointed.

I like George's execution of locks and throws. While this book is good for beginners, I'd highly recommend the sequel to this book. That is a great reference for effective locks and throws.

Kirby explains the basic small joint manipulations you would expect in a JuJitsu book along with some throws. I like the techniques because they offer an alternative to utilizing potentially more damaging strikes.

I've practiced some of ideas shown in this book in my JuJitsu classes, and they work very well. I recommend that you get a friend to train with so that you can practice these moves; otherwise, you are not as likely to remember them in the event of an altercation.

As JuJitsu Books go, this is a top reference primer for all wishing to study or who are currently studying Ju-Jitsu. I am a Martial Arts Instructor and hold Shodan Ranks in Aikijujitsu, Judo, Budoshin Ju-Jitsu and Tae Kwon Do. This book along with Prof. Kirby's Intermediate Techniques Book is required reading for all my students. These books are excellent in their technique illustration and explanation. Will it work on the street? If practiced correctly, Heck yea!

As a lifetime student of the martial arts, including Japanese Jujitsu, Judo and Karate, I found this book very informative as a beginner's guide to the gentle art. George Kirby goes into great detail explaining the basic concepts of jujitsu. This book covers the basic falling and throwing techniques of judo and jujitsu and you have to keep in mind that this text should only be considered an introductory book on jujitsu.

If you use this text along with hands-on training in a judo or jujitsu dojo, this book will be of practical value. If you desire to continue your Jujitsu training you may want to purchase the author's other jujitsu books.

Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Monadnock Defensive Tactics System).