Taijutsu: Ninja Art of Unarmed Combat

Glancing through it seems tough to learn taijutsu from this book as the illistrations don't at all capture the movements too well but you can learn some basic stances and pick up a little technique maybe overall goes over a comprehensive flow.

Good

I am a Kenpo man of blended lineage. I have been researching as of late Taijutsu and have found this as a wonderful 'introduction' to the system and what it has to offer. This text is basic, but it's exactly what you need to open the door to Bujinkan Taijutsu.

I recommend this book if you're curious about Bujinkan Taijutsu, I've bought a number of books for my library on topic of Ninjutsu and especially on Bujinkan and I'm certainly happy to have this in my library.

For anyone interested in Martial Arts , this is great for Knowledge.

* Author Charles Daniel, who as the forward states was testing for his 5th dan with Bujinkan Ninjutsu Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi at the time this book was published (this was a long time ago in the ancient era of 1986), has put forth an excellent work on the practice of Taijutsu. Taijutsu is the essence of all martial arts, it means simply Body (Tai) Skills/Methods (Jutsu). This includes moving, striking, kicking, etc. Thjis book is put together in two parts.PART 1 is composed of 7 important lectures covering What Taijutsu is, Essence of basics, Training Theory, Tactics and Intuition, Martial Arts Attention, Knowing a Martial Arts Style, and Ninja Self-Training (pages 1-26).PART 2 is Bujinkan Ninpo techniques shown in sequence. This covers Stances, Basic Motion, Knee Motion, Receiving Flow, Movement, Wrestling Skills, Throwing Skills, Covering Ground, Dropping, Rolling, Kicks, Muto: Unarmed Against a Weapon, & Multiple Attacks.I'll say that I think the section on rolling in Part 2 is the most extensive here and one of Ninpo's most important if not the most important basic skill. If you are of any other system, the ability to drop and roll and keep your bearing and perspective is a priceless ability which absolutely must be practiced. It is the one serious skill that's stuck with me after learning Ninpo, that I teach to Everyone! Daniel says:"Once these techniques are learned in the more or less ideal conditions of the dojo, these same techniques are trained under a variety of conditionssuch as on uneven ground, in water, in the dark and even blindfolded. Added to this type of training is the study of body weak points (and how these same points can be used to promote health and relieve pain), diet, special forms of conditioning and practical psychology. The reason Taijutsu covers so many different areas of study is a product of its long history". (page 2)Daniel also covers the important difference between the concepts of Shin Ken Gata or "real fighting", and Kata Geiko or "form training", such as prearranged sparring or drills. He explains the importance of the formal pre-arranged training: "Without kata geiko training, one cannot possibly develop the skills needed for the study of shin ken gata" (page 10). A sensible and helpful book on real training for the real world.

This book is utterly, awesome, for lack of a better word.The first section you will find is some text about philosophy, martial artist's style, Taijutsu, and how to approach training. This is helpful, and quite lengthy. Although you will be able to relate to this section with your ideas of martial arts. Make sure you read this.Next you will find very descriptive pictures on how to do basic stances, as well as some pictures where he purposefully "mis-stances" to show you how not to position yourself. If you want to become proficient with these, just stand in your room, or a space convenient in front of a body mirror and imitate them.Right off the bat after that is a weird jungle mix of strikes, blocks, kicks, grappling and controlling, rolling, falling and more techniques. Frankly this is a minor inconvenience and is not a big deal. Break out the sticky-notes and just label some pages.That's really it, one review I looked at commented on how there was a conflict in the title and picture of the book. Just don't judge a book by it's cover, and the saying defiantly applies here.This book is a must have.

This book was very educational as well as enjoyable . A clear , well written guide to some of the taijutsu techniques of the bujinkan .It even gives the reader physical advice . It has many photos and will be useful for anyone interested in ninjutsu .