Customer Reviews

Shinkendo Japanese Swordsmanship

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One can not learn Shinkendo or any other martial art from a book or video, but this book is a great introduction to Shinkendo and Japanese swordsmanship in general. It is well worth getting. Obata Toshishiro is a respected swordsman who has studied several different styles of martial arts and has taken elements from each and created a very well rounded school of Japanese swordsmanship.

You can also get a Shenkendo video from their web page that makes a great companion to the book. Then look for your nearest Shinkendo dojo.

This is a much needed book on general swordsmanship skills. About 1/3 of it is a technical manual, and the rest is various history, philosophy, etc.

There are not many reliable books on swordsmanship, so I'd highly recommend this one to new or experienced students of Japanese sword!

As the beginning of the book says, books, movies, etc. are no way to learn shinkendo, but this book is amazingly helpful. It does things in the right order. The first 2/3s of the book describe the philosophy, review, etiquette, etc. of Shinkendo, which is a great way to prepare for instruction.

This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone studying Shinkendo!!!! If you are new to the art (like me) it gives you good info on etiquette and other essentials that may be hard to pick up during classroom settings. It also breaks down the basic kata just in case you cant remember them after class.

Even if you are not studying Toyama-Ryu Shinkendo (the style advertised in this book) this book is still VERY beneficial. As always in kenjutsu one should study under a qualified instructor, but this book is a perfect companion to class work.

This book covers many important aspects of swordsmanship and defines the foundation and History of this art form and the guiding Philosophy that governs the practitioner.
The techniques and practices of swordsmanship are described in detail and well documented with dozens of photographs.
The issues of safety and proper attitude are treated with great care by the author and many useful concepts that influence everyday life are given attention. The Psychological points of view in this work are aimed at empowering the student with confidence, seriousness and an awareness of his/her surroundings in specific detail.
The author defines many Japanese technical terms and concepts relating to Shinkendo in a concise lucid manner. A glossary of terms is included at the end of the book.
This book can be used quite effectively as a guide to self improvement
in many aspects of daily living beyond the sword.

While the information in this book is worth far more than the ridiculous prices this book are being priced at ($300 and $999?) . I feel it is dishonest to try to mark up a book this much. There are still copies that can be purchased at the proper price directly from the Honbu Dojo in Los Angeles.

As my title suggests, if you plan on or are currently practicing Shinkendo, you need this book. Every single sensei of Shinkendo I've spoken to, as well as current students (quite a few, I assure you), all recommend picking up this book as soon as you can. The first half or so is about the history of the katana as well as a brief history of Japan itself. The rest of the book it seems are frame by frame kata movements. Obata Sensei doesn't recommend trying to learn Shinkendo from a book, and he clearly states that early in this book, so anything you draw from this in terms of movements, shouldn't be set in stone in your mind. Use them more as a guideline to prepare yourself for the true movements you'll learn from a Sensei.

p.s. Just as a sidenote, this book is a bit larger than I expected in terms of it's height and width. Think of a large magazine size and you'll have a good picture. Just thought I'd mention that since it suprised me.

I started Shinkendo lessons 3 months ago. This book is a must for everyone, especially a beginner.... My Sensei here in Athens show this book to me when I first went to his school and I decided to make an order with Amazon. So, here I am reviewing. It has special techniques full of step by step photos of Kaiso Obata (the founder of this special martial art) and of course it has original Japanese sword terminology that is of great help! I enjoyed it!!! It is of great help!

For anyone interested in the Japanese sword - this is the book.

Shinkendo is a relatively new sword discipline that combines the essentials of learning the sword.

As with most martial arts this is a reference manual and only by getting good instruction can you learn properly.

The books instructions are clear and the diagrams are in an easy to follow flow across the bottom of the pages.

The preface, biography and history are also well worth a read.

Last year I began formal study of Japanese Swordsmanship through an official arm of the International Shinkendo Federation (ISF). The new student package consisted of a bokken, a gi and this text by Sensei Obata. The majority of dojo time is spent in execution of forms, evaluation by your instructors and/or peers, correction and reexecution. With every level of understanding comes new insights and hopefully progress toward that illusive goal--perfection.

What then is the value of this text? In addition to providing a brief history of the japanese sword and an introduction to the philosophical basis for this martial art, it is a great training aid. The bulk of the text consists of some of the best documented martial arts instructions I've yet encountered. Sensei Obata is photographed in stages executing the basic body-, sword- and footwork (suburi), drawing methods (bottoho), solo forms (tarrengata) and sparing (tachiuchi). Each photo is numbered and captioned and sequences are annotated with a count to provide a cadence to assist in leading others through these exercises--even the neophyte will get this opportunity. For example, the first drawing and cutting form (goho bottoho kihon ichi: ipponme) has sixteen annotated photos, stepping you through the 5 counts--the draw, high-left to low-right diagonal cut, mid-level ready position, high-level blood flick, resheath.

The text is not perfect. Some of the photos are dark. Continuity could be better and emphasizes the fact that this is not a standalone document but a succinct reference.