The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu (German Edition) [Paperback]

Kanenori Sakon Matsuo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2005

This book presents the history, philosophy and techniques of one of Okinawa's most misunderstood martial arts, Ryukyu Oke Hiden Bujutsu: The Secret Royal Martial Arts. Originally passed down from generation to generation within the Royal family of Okinawa, this is a complete martial art, including weaponry and empty handed techniques. The weapons techniques include not only the classical Okinawan kobudo weapons, but also various swords, spears and halberds, whereas the empty hand techniques include not only strikes to vital areas, but also a plethora of grappling to subdue an opponent with minimal damage. The author was a student of Uehara Seikichi, the legendary heir to the art, and this book is his tribute to the late master.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Books On Demand (March 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3833419938
• ISBN-13: 978-3833419935
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,987,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic but exceptionally enlightening, August 29, 2011

By 

Barry Meggs (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu (German Edition) (Paperback)

'The secret royal martial arts of Ryukyu' is a trip in time back to the origin of karate. It appears to confirm the research and theories of Bruce D Clayton in his book 'Shotokan's secret' (which I highly recommend) where he proposes that, aside from Okinawan 'te' and Chinese 'kung fu', many forms of karate had the further origin in Japanese 'ju-jutsu' and many weapon arts. This book is not for the beginner, it is more an informative guide regarding the original form of Okinawan martial art which has been kept alive in secret. The pictures would not be of particular use to a beginner as they cannot be followed in practice without a degree of experience in similar movements. The photo's are black and white and often of poor quality and while the translation has been excellently done the book leaves you wishing that it was much more comprehensive and useable as a working textbook. However, I rated this book at five stars as there is no equivalent work (upon this school of martial art) extant currently to my knowledge, although as I mention Bruce D Clayton has done an extremely good job of coming close. This book will be a benefit to anyone practicing a style of karate derived from Shuri origins, particularly if you have sufficient experience to recognise the applications demonstrated in the photo's.