Evolved amid the incessant warfare of medieval Japan, bujutsu, or "martial arts," provided the warrior with the technical and psychological training that prepared him to use his weapons in actual combat. Classical Bujutsu emphasizes the intensely practical nature of these martial arts. The author describes sixteen major forms of bujutsu, employing a variety of weapons and techniques.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
An excellent basic guide to the martial arts of Japan by the late Donn F. Draeger:
This is actually a three book set series by the late Donn F. Draeger. Anyone who is truly a student of the martial arts should have at least read a few of Draeger's numerous books. The great book focuses on Japan's martial tradition and the development of various weapons and combat systems. This text covers the development of bujutsu, bladed weapons and systems such as kenjutsu, iai-jutsu, and naginata-jutsu. Other weapon schools are also covered such as bo-jutsu, jo-jutsu, tetsubo-jutsu, and other... more info
You can't get the japanese martial spirit without reading it:
The book in the beginning suggests that we will meet long and profound explanations about how the values and characteristics of the classical warriors in ancient Japan developed... Well, they are not that long, not that profound... I wanted more... BUT... What we have in the book is just great!
Maybe I'm so greedy about this matter that I'm thinking the book could go longer, but it is an excellent work! You can't understand the original martial spirit from Japan if you don't read a book like this...... more info
BEST OVERALL BOOK ON JAPANESE ARTS:
The only book that explains the history of japanese warfare so you can see why the martial arts evolved as they did.
