Customer Reviews

Secret Weapons of Jujutsu

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

 

 

I'm afraid this book disappointed me. Far from being a comprehensive work on Japanese weapons, the weapons covered are extremely limited. Cunningham seems to have only covered weapons contained in 'the author's personal collection'. There's a few lines about this and that, but no detail at all about anything.

I found this book very much an 'outsider's' look at Japan, giving small pieces of information on Japanese history and culture. As a long-time resident of Japan and martial arts practitioner, however, I found the book rather shallow and lacking insider's insight. I had trouble understanding why some of the sections, such as the recounting of the well-known story of the 47 Ronin had anything to do with 'secret weapons of jujutsu'. Some of the illustrations also puzzled me, not seeming relevant to the text.

My conclusion; If you know nothing about Japan and its martial history, maybe it's an interesting read. If you know a little already, there's nothing new here.

The author of this book visited our Jujitsu club many years ago and showed us his Jutte collection. We also practiced a few techniques with this weapon. As a life time student of the martial arts of Judo, Jujitsu, Karate and Kobudo, I found this book very informative and interesting. Granted, the author did not go into great detail on some of these weapons; nevertheless, this is a book for anyone who has an interest in the many weapons that are part of some jujitsu combat systems. The nine chapters cover a lot of educational material on numerous Jujitsu weapons. It is clear the author has done a lot of hard research on this text. It is well-written and easy to understand.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tanto Jutsu official manual of Bushi Satori Ryu).

I was looking for a book that has information on the Tessen, Iron Fan. I found the information on the fan as well as all the other weapons well covered. Each with a historical background, description on how the weapons were used and good black and white pictures. I enjoyed the book. And found it a good reference.

In his first book, Don Cunningham places considerable emphasis on the history and use of the jutte. It has lots of great pix of various jutte & other related weapons. This is an essential book for your library if you're into weapons.

Mr Cunningham is a spectacular author and gives great detail into his writings. I have read many writings of Don, both in magazines and on message boards and he is very well detailed and factual. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to read the history of Japanese weaponary.

Expected something special and ended up with a picture collection. Mostly Jutte. Nothing on any of the other myriad of secret weapons out there. [...]

Cunningham Sensei provides a great deal of information and technique on a seldom explored aspect of traditional Jujitsu. The text and illustrations are excellent and demonstrate Cunningham's obvious knowledge and experience.