Customer Reviews

Ninja Mind Control

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Ok, I will get straight to the point and say that you should NOT buy this book. Ashida Kim is not Asian, and his name comes from 2 different countires (Ashida=Japan, Kim=Korea). Now, Stephan Hayes is also not Asian, but has practiced NinjUtsu. Ashida Kim does not even say in his books how he got to be a ninja. He writes this farfetched stories that couldn't even get published in a fictional book.

Save your money. You want NinjUtsu, not NinjItsu, go to Hatsumi or Hayes. Not Kim.

This book is concerned with the control of one's own mind...something not intuitively obvious from the title. If anyone believes this book will allow you to control peoples minds like Obi-Wan or something, you will be very mistaken! The main content of this book deals with breathing techniques and the kuji-in methods of focusing chi, derived from the buddhist art of Mikkyo. On a purely design note, the pictures tend to be rather blurry, and Kim insists on using chinese throughout the book to supplement the japanese words for the 9 kuji-in.

As with all of Kims books (and indeed any book on the subject of Ninjutsu), read them and then decide for yourself what to believe and what to ignore.

This book was terrible. I bought it hoping to get some helpful direction for meditation, but before I even made it through in introduction, I felt like I was reading Celtic Magic rolled in Freud. The concepts are hardly consistant, discussing by name, the occult, and stating some metaphysical concepts as fact, while condemning others as obviously false. The use of quotes was abused to the point of absurdity, with little or no reference to the source, and often taking the words out of their context. The same goes for the frequent telling of stories, which had no reference, and generally seemed to be little more than fables. In describing what ninja are, Kim discusses Hindu religion, Chinese medicine and martial art, and western stage tricks and boxing, with the occasional mention of an actual Japanese concept or art.

Very importantly, the actual fighting diagrams and descriptions are awful. The attacks rely upon the enemy standing still, and often recommend doing away with your guard in the name of deception and balance. The best way to stay balanced is good footing, and a low stance, and it's generally just a bad idea to attempt deceit by intentionally removing your guard. Also, the book preaches that a ninja does not need to kill, though all but one or two of the diagramed techniques are attacks, and the blocks shown are very dependent on the situation, and rather ineffectual, and the remainder of the techniques emphasize causing great harm to your 'enemy', using key phrases such as "finish off" or "Massive blood loss causes death." One must wonder if Kim even thinks about what he writes. I think the largest problem I had with this section is that Kim tries to fit several months' worth of training into 49 poorly angled photographs, captioned with bad descriptions.

The pronunciation (when given) and spelling of foreign words seemed to be a bit off, and it was apparent to me that their use was primarily to give Kim the appearance of being more intelligent than he is. It says something, I think, that the back cover has the word 'ninjutsu' while Kim continuously spells it as 'ninjitsu' within the text.

Unless you want to pay for a piece of trash, don't get this book.

"Ninja Mind Control" has no, or very little useful substance in it. The subject titles in the contents seem promising yet are rarely develeped past the point of informing the reader how cool it would be if someone would tell them something about it. Unfortunatly our friend Mr. Kim has given birth to another flop. This book is a simple effort to capatilize on the "ninja" name.

wow. that's all i have to say- wow. i bought this book a long time ago when i was a freshman in high school or something and i just have to say from conviction now: i cannot believe i ever bought such a ridiculous book. i have studied martial arts since 1997 and i am just amazed that people would actually buy into such an obvious fake. this guy who has made up his own asian name cannot tell his teachers name (because he never trained in ninjutsu), he can not use the proper japanese terms- he uses chinese terms for whatever reason is not understood by me, and he tries to impress readers by using a "secret ninja technique" to tear a phone book into two pieces. come on! if tearing a phone book in two is your highest ninja skill- maybe you had better go back and watch more of your anime cartoons and continue to dream about being a real martial arts practitioner. if one word could sum up my thoughts on ashida kim and his fake ninja warrior teaching it would be this: L-O-S-E-R. if the reader is truely interested in ninjutsu read hayes. he really has trained in ninjutsu in japan and he will actually tell you who he learned from. his references are all credible by the way- not like kim's. oh my gosh, i can not believe i just wasted so much time writing a review on such a terrible book. if you bought this book, rip it in two to show ashida that you are now a ninja warrior as well and then send that piece of crap back to him.

Ashida Kim has as always carefully written a helpful text to help others find the Way. Whether truth or fiction, the book is carefully laid out for those individuals who are capable to find the Way. The techniques in this book, as in all others, require a great deal of practice, discipline and self understanding to make effective, but once one has trained oneself to this level, the techniques do nothing but shine. One will find that other schools only delude themselves into thinking that the skill levels that those in their schools have attained are capable in combat. Some say Ninjitsu would never be good in a competitive arena, some say Koga Hei Long Pao Ying techniques are fairy tale. Only those who have trained themselves to a high enough level will be able to see past their own emotions and mental states to see these techniques for what they are.

I have this book. I bought it three months ago and read it cover to cover. I also have Iron Body NINJA by Mr. Hunter (ASHIDA KIM). He's just making donkysmells with a pen and paper. I practice the art of meditation, and the Kuji-Kiri Mr. Hunter, I implor you, stop writing ninja fairy tails. The Kata he shows in the book is crap in the exterem. He doesn't properly describ perfoming the Kuji-in or any typ of meditation. He's obviously a faild novilist who bought a black karate gi and put on a ski mask. if you want to learn yo meditate, there are lots of books to help you. meditation helps control your own mind. Mr.Hunter (Kim) just wants your money, don't buy his book. In fact dont buy any of his books. there all crap. Mr. Hunter (Kim) had best "RETIRE" from his art befor a REAL ninja catches him on the street. It would be in his best inrest. Thank you for your time.

This emphasises on relaxation techniques based on chinese medicine, Ashida Kim's focus is controlling one's mind if one can understand the following statement "The greatest warrior is the one who can conquer himself" you understand what I means...thourughly recommend it !

Ashida Kim obviously knows his stuff, and this was apparent from the first time I ever flipped through one of his books. I have been helped in a variety of situations by the knowledge he has given me. Let's make this clear: THE TECHNIQUES WORK. Even if he isn't Japanese by blood, who cares? Neither is Stephen K. Hayes, but no one seems to worry about that. Mr. Kim fought in the streets with the hippies in Chicago in 1968 (where he met Count Juan Dante), and from there he became a ninja. He is a man of peace, a man of knowledge, and a good example for everyone. People who are against him are simply trying to cover for the fact that they've spent a lot of money on Bujinkan lessons, and they feel the need to justify this expense, because they haven't gotten anything out of it. You don't hear Ashida Kim badmouthing other schools, do you? Not ONE person has ever said, "I've tried Ashida Kim's techniques, and they didn't work." People who say this haven't actually tried anything. If you don't want to read his books- don't! No one's forcing you. You'll just be an easier target when the sh*t hits the fan.

I bought a copy of this book about two and a half years ago, when I first started studying budo and wanted to read everything I could get my hands on. When I read it I had never encountered anything of the sort, so I really didn't know what to think about it all. I have since encountered real budo through Hatsumi sensei, and I have since Mr. Hunter's book in the garbage, where it rightly belongs.