Customer Reviews

Konigun Ninjutsu Training Manual

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After spending several years with the organization and being left in the dark on legitimacy and authenticity of the style lineage and history, I left. this book only works if you take the classes. Otherwise it is useless. On another note, it is filled with ideas and ideals that conflict with the teachings of the style's Shidsohi(modern Bujinkan term) and is laced with improper use of japanese terms and language although what they are trying to get across actually is in english for you to read. I have lost my faith in the system and its head but anyone planning to take this should inquire all the appropriate questions, who's your teacher, when did you start studying, where can I contact your teacher/master, may I see your certifications/credentials? If you can be supplied all these items by your teacher and his teacher etc etc... then give it a try. You have to decide for yourself if you think its a good system,... or a joke.

First of all, putting aside the questionable history of this art (any quick search of the internet will uncover horror stories), this book costs a lot, but returns so little. The martial techniques demonstrated are sometimes laughable (come on, spinning a staff above your head will make you float in the air like a helicopter?? What kind of moron would actually believe this?) Even though the author apparently spent a lot of time photographing techniques, it appears that the book was an after thought. The printed copy still contains hypertext links within ("click here to watch video" in a book?!?!?). The Japanese translations are laughable. However the best (or worst part) would be the survival techniques. They are not just pitiful, but incredibly dangerous for anyone to even think of attempting.
The illustrations are abysmal. You would expect that for the price of this book, the author would have gotten a professional illustrator... or even a person who can draw past the stage of stick figures.
On a good note, the author appears to have put in a lot of time. Mostly in photographing the techniques. It is about the best thing that I can say about the book.
The bottom line, there are better books on the martial arts in general, and ninjutsu in particular than this. You would best be served by looking else where.

I'll refrain from bashing the art; as mentioned above a quick Google search will take care of that. I will point out that many of the techniques inside have more potential to injure the user than the uke. The survival stuff is, um, interesting in a "you've got to be kidding me" way. Beyond that, the drawn art is pretty bad, the proof-reading is almost non-existant, the hyperlinks worked much better on the internet (and most of the text in the book can be found there on the original websites and forums), and it sure is pricey for a bad book.

Oh, and a tip to future glowing reviewers of books like this. Take the time to do some additional reviews before you leave one for the book you're trying to plug. When all of the 5-star reviews are from people who've only reviewed that book in their whole Amazon history it looks a little, er, suspect.

Matt

I bought this book in hopes that a authentic style of ninjutsu was contained within its pages, how disappointing to find out the entire thing is a fraud. I should also mention i bought this book without reading the reviews first, thats the last time i make that mistake, any reading of the commentary by other people would reveal the scam.

Not only is the content laughable, the author seems to have no clue that Konigun is not a Japanese word, and neither is Seija (who he claims to be his "master") a real Japanese name. Furthermore, the title "Konigun" is written in Katakana on the cover. Had it been a legitimate Japanese Ninjutsu name, it would have been written in Kanji.

As mentioned earlier, the techniques in the book are ineffective, and seem to be intended for the gulible high schoolers with too much time and money on their hands. Bryce Dallas is a total fraud. A google search with the name Bryce Dallas + Bullshido will reveal everything you need to know. A little bit or reading from Miek Skoss and any decent MA historian will disprove the rest of Dallas' b.s.

Keep far away from this one if you value your time, money and intelligence.

I have been studying with instructors of the Konigun Ryu for the last five years. This textbook, although the most complete yet, remains but a portion of the style as a complete system. Instruction for the 46 traditional weapons taught in the style have been removed to accomodate expanded pictures and explanations of strikes, grapples, counters, etc. Also explanation for methods of combining and improvising techniques are left out, but will be soon available in upcoming volumes. However, as a basis for student reference, which is why the book was written in the first place, it remains a superb example of what a small ninja sect can achieve with great leadership and determination. I recommend it to anyone with any interest in martial arts or Japanese history.

Lots of info here in this book. Well worth the price and in my opinion better info the Togakure stuff. Mainly because it is so down to earth. Covers a lot of areas of training. Many charts and photos as well. But a warning to those who buy this book, it was written as a guide for Sensei Dallas students so if you have "not" trained in this system or have prior martial training , the info may be hard to decipher. But it is well recommended to anyone interested in a very unique style of ninjutsu.

Shidoshi Bryce Dallas undoubtedly has a lot of experience, which he transmits in this book. The text by itself, no doubt, is excellent, but the illustrations/pictures are simply lacking. There is no breakdown of techniques except in the first few pages. You must have previous experience of Ninjutsu to use this book, which is intented solely for the purpose of reference (which the author states in the first few pages). Do not buy this book unless you are very familiar with martial arts terminology, for even if there is a glossary in the end of the book, it refers mainly to things that aren't even in the book. Overall, I think that this book could have been made excellent if it had more illustrations, and if it an effort had been made to translate more japanese words.

I have read every edition of the Konigun Training manuals and with each one they add more pictures and define the techniques so that they are easier to understand. Compared to all of the other ninjutsu books on the market, this one is the most precise with the explaanations of where and why things work. It is always important to evaluate the practicality of a technique when preparing yourself for real world situations. Recommend this book for anyone.

This is the most thorough training manuel I have found so far for ninjutsu. Its step by step layout of each technique listed allows the reader to every transition within the technique. Not only does it thoroughly explain the moves in great detail, it also has more pictures detailing how the move is performed. A great buy for anyone interested in studying ninjutsu or just martial arts in general.