Samurai Swordsmanship from Black Belt Magazine features Black Belt Hall of Fame member Masayuki Shimabukuro (Weapons Instructor of the Year, 2006) and his senior student, Carl E. Long, demonstrating and explaining the history, construction, rituals and techniques associated with the samurai sword. Volume 1 covers basic concepts and features interviews with both instructors. Topics include mat cutting, forms, uniform care, sword etiquette, cleaning your weapon, thrusts, drawing and sheathing the sword and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Must have!!!:
This series of videos is a must have for any sword enthusiast who does not have access to in-class training. The first video shows the new "practitioner" how to bow and show respect, as well as gives direction to quite a few simple techniques and katas. The second and third video alow the viewer to experience progressively more complex forms and techniques. I have personally read many articles and own several books written by Masayuki Shimabukuro and have found that every product that he and his American... more info
Only one reason I bought this!:
I bought this video because it was the style I wanted to learn. The closes school is in Kansas and Missouri, except for a siminar I will not be making that trip. However, I am not totally new to the katana so this is a great learning tool for me. I know you can't really learn everything from a dvd but this guy is smooth and I do have his 2nd edition Flashing Steel book. I'm sorry, Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi is smooth. You can tell he has been training a long time. Very confident and sure of his actions.... more info
A review by an average joe.:
Okay, so I'd had a couple of swords hanging on my wall for a while now. Both very good and combat ready, but I didn't know the first thing about how to use 'em. Yeah, we've all seen the Samurai movies, and those guys make it look so easy, right? However, I'm not gonna start swinging around a sharp blade without first learning something about it. So I thought this was a solid investment. After watching the first little bit (Blah, blah, sword terminology, yadda, yadda, tradition, etc.)I started learning.... more info
Excellent in every way:
This video deals with the MJER (muso jikiden eishen-ryu) style of iaido, which is probably the most popular and has a very large number of kata (around 60, and even more if one includes the jodo techniques and waza), providing great diversity and range in the techniques and waza. I am primarily an instructor of other arts (Kali & JKD), but earned my black belt under Hanshi Shimabukuru a few years back. I wanted to get some knowledge and skill in this famous art even though my main interests lay... more info
