Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship [Paperback]

Nicklaus Suino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

To become an expert swordsman, one must pay close attention to detail, be highly self-critical, and practice diligently every day under the guidance of a good teacher. Unfortunately, contact time with a worthy mentor is limited for most. Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship fills this obvious gap in the training of the modern swordsman by providing bokuto (wooden sword) drills to supplement the formal class activity of forms practice. Both single and two-person drills are presented, some common to iaido and kenjutsu, others extracted from iaido forms by the author and used to teach his own students the proper ways of drawing, parrying, and cutting. Each drill is illustrated with step-by-step drawings to help students hone their techniques; together they provide a comprehensive system of general skills development for anyone interested in using the Japanese sword.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicklaus Suino is a sixth-degree black belt in Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu iaido. He is codirector of the iaido division and director of the judo division of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association, and is a regional director of the North American branch of the International Martial Arts Federation. He lives in Traverse City, Michigan, and teaches iaido and other martial arts at seminars throughout North America. Information on his seminars can be found at www.artofjapaneseswordsmanship.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Weatherhill; 2nd edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0834803399
• ISBN-13: 978-0834803398
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.4 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Fencing

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent supplement, September 27, 2000

By 

Jose Sierra "Emperor Monkey" (Boca Raton, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship (Paperback)

This book performs its function perfectly, as a supplement to iaido or kendo training, not as a comprehensive guide to these other arts. The drills are excellent, the illustrations clear and concise, especially to a proponent of the art. The book is NOT a stand-alone manual to any specific art, and shouldn't be read as such. For something like that, try "Kendo:The Definitive Guide" or Suino's "The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship;" both of these are as close as I've found to "definitive" works.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, Helpful, December 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship (Paperback)

I found this book valuable for the Author's insistence and emphasis on the basic techniques of swordplay.My only experience with swordsmanship is in the European tradition, but I found the authors drills to be helpful, in terms of illustrating the importance of timing and distance. The drills are not flashy, but were never represented as such.My experience in fencing suggests that the best and most succesful swordsmen do simple moves, very fast, very accurately, and at just the right time. I believe the drills in this book will help any swordsman develop such skills.This is not a book for someone with no experience or no teacher, but If you want to learn some valuable insights into real swordsmanship, this book will be helpful, especially at this price.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent companion book for the Iaido student, July 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship (Paperback)

This book, when used as it was intended, is an excellent source for practice drills. When use as a companion book with Suino Sensei's other book (the art of the japanese sword - Eishin Ryu Iaido) it is invaluable. This book is not meant, however, to be a stand alone book for teaching swordplay.