Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Serge Mol (Author) "The history of grappling (handling-to-hand combat) is known to be very old, and the earliest written Japanese source that indicates the existence and application of..." (more)
Key Phrases: kogusoku koshi, kumiuchi kenden, heifuku kumiuchi, Nakashima Atsumi, Asayama Ichiden, Sekiguchi Shinshin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... well research, very comprehensive, and of exceptional quality."--Prof. Peter McAnalen, Director of the World Demonstration Championships -- Peter McAnalen

"... well written, designed, and illustrated. ...will probably remain in print for a very long time." -- IHS

"Provides access for the non-Japanese reading audience to a great deal of the information that was previously unavailable." -- Brett Denison, Mizukan Dojo

"This book will completely change the way that Westerners perceive and understand the nature of Jujutsu." -- Ross Iannocarro, 6th Dan , President, Tai Jujutsu Association

"[The author] has added a well-written, solidly researched book to a genre flooded with misinformation." -- Kevin French, Academia: An Online Magazine and Resource for Academic Librarians

Review

"... well research, very comprehensive, and of exceptional quality."-Prof. Peter McAnalen, Director of the World Demonstration Championships
"[The author] has added a well-written, solidly researched book to a genre flooded with misinformation." - Kevin French, Academia: An Online Magazine and Resource for Academic Librarians
"... well written, designed, and illustrated. ...will probably remain in print for a very long time." -IHS
"Provides access for the non-Japanese reading audience to a great deal of the information that was previously unavailable." -Brett Denison, Mizukan Dojo
"This book will completely change the way that Westerners perceive and understand the nature of Jujutsu." - Ross Iannocarro, 6th Dan, President, Tai Jujutsu Association


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International; 1st edition (July 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770026196
• ISBN-13: 978-4770026194
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,784 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history on Japan's Fighting arts., March 13, 2004

By	Gerardo S. Esguerra "bifrost99" (Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines) - See all my reviews

In general, the West was introduced to oriental martial arts through Kano's judo, followed by karate. Many literature on karate trace its origins to Okinawa, and from there, to China. So many believe China, with its fabled Shaolin temple(s), to be the origin of most of the oriental martial arts.

This detailed and very well researched book gives a different perspective. It shows that Japan had its own schools of martial arts, virtually independent of foreign influence.

The book lumps these arts under the general term, "jujutsu" -- although it also gives various origins, synonyms and explanations of this word.

The methods in jujutsu were developments of the battlefield of those times. Armor-clad warriors faced each other, first from a distance using bows and arrows, then coming closer to use swords and later, grappling techniques.

As such, the arts included everything that was feasible for those times and battle conditions: use of various weapons, techniques against armor clad opponents, even techniques of tying up captured enemies. All that in addition to what most of the world knows of oriental fighting arts: striking and grappling technics.

Some "revelations" from the book which may surprise many modern day martial artists (like myself):

1. "Kenpo" is not a translation of the Chinese "kung fu" or "chuan fa" as many are made to believe. The term was long used in ancient jujutsu schools in times probably ante-dating known Shaolin temples.

2. "Judo" is not a word originally coined by Jigoro Kano. This term, too, was used long before Kano was even born and was even used in names of certain schools (ryuha).

While each of the above just had a sentence or two in the book, it shows the depth of the research of this book. There are a lot of such "revelations."

The book is, first and foremost, a history book. It shows the development of Japanese fighting arts in the time before the relatively peaceful Meiji period -- the time when techniques really meant life or death to the warrior in the battlefield. The various schools are presented, their origins, developments, notable characteristics, and lineage traced to as near the present as possible.

Martial artists looking for techniques would only be treated to a sampling. The illustrations of techniques were more for clearer understanding of particular schools, or even words, rather than being a "how-to" presentation.

In this regard, the title may be considered deceptive. The "complete"-ness of the book is only as far as history goes, not on technique presentation.

Another "fault" of the title is that it gives the impression that "Koryu Jujutsu" is a particular style or school of jujutsu, when actually, "koryu" simply means classical, or traditional. This is a problem to one who does not know Japanese. But this is an English book and the problem should have been addressed right on the cover, and not several pages later in the Introduction.

Something else about the title: It could give one the impression that it deals with all arts, and this is even reinforced by the subtitle. But the book only deals with the schools it considers jujutsu, and only those that originated before the Meiji period. While this is explained as one reads the book, the title could be misleading.

This enumeration of the problems I had with the title does not decrease the value of the book in any way. It is an excellent book. But the buyer must know what to expect out of it.

More than half of the book (the latter half) is devoted to the origins and lineage of the schools. As such, it would be boring for those not interested in such topics. However, there are some interesting bits of information scattered here and there among the discussion, such as stories about certain masters and students, both mythical and factual. The author even tries to resolve some controversies in certain stories.

The first half of the book is devoted to very revealing historical backgrounds, terminology and definitions, weapons, and presentation of mythical as well as actual origins of schools.

I would have preferred that the author stuck to English terms. In the book, a Japanese term is given with English translation(s) in parenthesis. And then, for the rest of the book, only the Japanese term is used. So you should remember the English meanings of all those terms as you go through the rest of the book.

I would have preferred the opposite: use the English, with the Japanese term(s) in parenthesis. Or better yet, have a glossary for all those terms! (it doesn't)

Overall, the book is an excellent work on the history of jujutsu.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious historical treatment of Koryu Jujutsu, January 3, 2006

By	Toronto_Matt (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

Many are the books available on jujutsu, however few truly shed any light on the real roots of the art and lineages from which they came. Serge Mol does an outstanding job in this.

The book is also put together beautifully by Kodansha and with excellent quality photographs, many of the current headmasters of the traditional jujutsu ryu performing techniques, to give the reader a sampling of what the arts look like.

When Koryu books first started publishing their books there was an endorsement which read something to the effect that the Skosses were continuing the work of Don Draeger. This may be so but Serge Mol's text is much more representative of Draeger's approach; both historical research and new information, gleaned first hand, from personal research in Japan. The Skoss books are really collections of essays by long time Western Koryu practitioners. Mol seeks rather to provide us with a very comprehensive historical text and succeeds brilliantly in this.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding for study but not so much application, November 9, 2004

By	Lyle "L3" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of those books that belongs in every serious martial artists libraries. It is not a "how-to" beginners guide,even though it demonstrates the proper techniques; if you are searching for a guide to martial arts without the dojo this is not for you. However, if you are already practicing martial arts and wish to find every in-depth and quality source of reference to expand your knowledge of the martial arts, their origins, and the spirit that is within them, then this book is top of the line and a must have. This book will intrigue anyone eager to just learn a little more...or maybe alot more, depending on the person. It is VERY high quality with many photos (mostly b&w). It is well written, and very clear in most areas. I would think it to be fairly confusing to the novice, who has little or no in-depth knowledge of Japanese martial arts however, because it traces the lineages of the main Japanese styles to their roots. But that is what this book is about: studying the techniques as they began, and following their evolution. Basically, I find this book to be an outstanding addition to my library, in a class of its own; but once again it is not the "master book of martial arts", but the ideal addition to the ones you may already have of similar subjects. Serge Mol is an outstanding writer and a very qualified authority on the subject.