Martial Arts Movie Review
Budo: The Art of Killing

Director: Masayoshi Nemoto

budo: (J, lit. martial way) The way of achieving insight or enlightenment through martial arts.

Budo: The Art of Killing begins with a scene featuring two samurai kneeling in seiza; one, about to commit ritual suicide; the other, his second who will presumably behead the man he is attending in order to give him a clean and dignified death…

By now you’re probably getting the picture with regards to the tone and subject of this film. Budo is just about everything a serious Japanophile could want in a martial arts film, including demonstrations of the various budo by highly skilled native martial artists; a serious and fairly accurate treatment of the Japanese martial, cultural, and religious influences that have culminated in what we now know as the modern budo; and lots of anime (okay, that last one I threw in just to see if you’re paying attention).

A Quick Sidebar For A Little Budo History…

While the term “budo” is most often used in reference to the Japanese martial arts in general, I specifically chose the definition above because it most accurately describes the true origins of the term. In case you aren’t aware, the budo (referring to the modern Japanese martial arts, as such) came about as the result of there being a lot of professional warriors around with no one to kill after the total unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate.

Lest all these deadly warriors sit around crying in their matcha until they committed mass seppuku, they began turning to religion to give their lives meaning and direction once more. Thus came about the marriage of the ideologies of Zen Buddhism and early bushido, the so-called warrior code… as well as the blending of Zen Bhuddism and the bujutsu, or “warrior arts” – the original pure fighting systems of Japanese warriors of the classical periods.

The result? Budo, as a moral philosophy, a pseudo-religion, and various expressions of martial art. In fact, this is likely where we actually derive the term “martial art,” since the goal of practicing these fighting arts at this point turned from pure and efficient killing into a physical ritual meant to bring inner peace and calm to the practitioner.

Now, Enough With the Martial Art History Lesson…

Enough history… let’s get on with explaining what makes this such a kick-ass DVD:

First off, this is vintage Fighting Black Kings-era Japanese martial arts. Personally, I have a tremendous amount of nostalgia for these 70’s-era martial arts film documentaries like The Warrior Within, Black Fighting Kings (a.k.a, The Strongest Karate – nearly impossible to find on DVD now), and Budo. These old films treat the martial arts with an air of mystery and respect that more recent television documentaries seem to lack. Indeed, there is a certain elegance about them that has been sorely lacking in the treatment of martial arts documentaries in recent decades…

Second, this is some of the most beautiful footage of Japanese martial arts I have ever seen. The cinematography is fantastic, the backdrops stunning… and honestly, when you watch this movie you are going to see some of the most elegant displays of martial skill you’ve ever witnessed. Also, these folks live it, and I mean LIVE IT. When you see the close up of the tonfa that have been chopped up by swords during practice with live blades, you sort of get this tightening feeling in your lower gut, and you can’t help but think, “Damn, these folks do not mess around!” Then you realize… this is what they mean when they say “budo.”

Finally, the transfer of the footage to this martial arts DVD version has been beautifully executed. To show as much of the original screen action as possible, the distributors chose to display the film in a window box format, which incidentally looks great on a large screen television. Sure, there is some artifact that is visible in the film now and again, which is something to be expected in a film of this age. However, in no way does it detract from the beauty and visual impact of the on-screen action. If anything, I believe it adds to the overall flavor of the film.

All-in-all, whether martial arts aficionado, practitioner, Japanophile, or all three… Budo: The Art of Killing is a must-have addition to your martial arts DVD library.

Click here to get your copy of Budo: The Art of Killing at Amazon…

Martial Arts Book Review:
Fit to Fight

Author: Jason Ferruggia

I came across Jason Ferruggia’s Fit to Fight while browsing through the martial arts section at the local Borders one day. “Lo and behold,” I thought, “another martial arts conditioning book.”

Granted, martial artists need to be in shape – something Bruce Lee was way ahead of his time in pointing out. But it seems like lately everyone and their brother has been releasing martial arts conditioning books, training videos, online courses, membership websites, and on and on…

And to be frank, a lot of it simply covers the same stuff everyone else is doing. That wouldn’t be so bad if the material I’d seen had been written from a solid exercise science perspective (and readable by the average joe – nothing worse than trying to glean useful training information from a book that was written for grad school exercise physiology squints).

Enter Ferruggia’s book. As I sat down to glance through it while nursing a dark roast in a comfortable corner of the cafe, I quickly flipped to the table of contents. “What’s this? ‘Injury prevention’… now there’s something you don’t see in most MMA conditioning guides. ‘Nutrition’ – there’s another rare find in a martial arts workout guide. ‘Supplements: Substance and the Scams’ – okay, now I’ve got to read this thing.”

Fifteen minutes later, I was headed to the checkout with a new addition to my martial arts training library. Just the chapters on supplements and recovery would have made the book worth it (and I paid $20 for mine, but you can get it on Amazon now for $8). But of course, the book is supposed to be about martial arts workouts, right? So let’s talk about Ferruggia’s treatment of that topic… here’s what you’re going to get in this book:

• Info on bodyweight exercises
• Interval and sprint training
• Sandbag training
• Keg training
• Sledgehammer training
• Sled training
• Using rope training for conditioning and fitness
• Tire flips
• Traditional weight training exercises for fight conditioning
• Chins, pull-ups, and straps
• Plyo training…

Should I go on? The book is pretty freakin’ complete as far as what’s covered. And, Jason gives you tables with complete martial art workout routines to follow that put it all together. For $8, you can’t go wrong with this book.

Click here to get Fit to Fight for $8 at Amazon…

- M. Massie

Oh, and another thing… Jason also has a course called Muscle Gaining Secrets that’s all about putting on muscle so you look jacked. He has some pretty dang impressive testimonials on his site, but I can’t personally say whether or not the course is worth the price. But, considering the amount of info he put in his $20 (’er, $8) book, I’d guess that the $77 course he sells on his site is probably worth the cash if you’re a hard gainer.

Martial Arts Book Review:
A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Author: Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting’s works have been on my radar since I picked up his excellent Grappling Drills DVD a few years back. Impressed with the breadth and quality of material on the video, I kept an eye out for future releases…

As someone who enjoys grappling but has limited opportunity to train it, I am always on the look out for any training resources that might help me learn at a more rapid pace. Leave it to Stephan to come out with a free product that can help any beginner learn Brazilian jiu jitsu faster and with less frustration.

A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a free downloadable ebook and course. The book maps out a very complex and often confusing art in a way that provides beginners with a clear and simple path to developing the basic skills of the art.

Rather than teach basic moves such as the upa, armbar from the guard, and so on (material that has been covered ad nauseum by other authors) Kesting has instead provided the reader with explanations of the principles underlying jiu jitsu practice and training… a “why” rather than a “how to” book, if you will.

As anyone who has started from scratch in Brazilian jiu jitsu knows, this is information that the new student typically either stumbles upon by accident, or if they’re extremely fortunate they learn it piecemeal from benevolent senior students.

Rarely do you find instructors who are willing to go into this material in basic classes; mainly this has to do with time constraints, as well as a desire to keep classes fast-paced and exciting so students keep coming back for more (your instructor has to pay the bills, folks – keep that in mind before you decide they’re holding back on you).

In light of this, a work like Kesting’s Beginning BJJ (the alternate title for the book and course) is a welcome resource for anyone who is new to the gentle art, Brazilian-style. After I read it, I was quite surprised that Stephan had decided to give such an excellent resource away…

Be advised; he does require that you subscribe to his email newsletter, which of course provides him the opportunity to sell other products down the road (school owners, take notes – you should be doing the same). I consider it a small price to pay for this quality of material, and to be frank the quality of the tips he sends out are worth getting an offer every now and again.

So, if you train in BJJ or you are new to grappling… or if you’re an experienced grappler who is always looking for new perspectives on your art – get this book as it’s easily worth the cost of a decent paperback manual on the same topic.

Just a final word of advice… it’s best if you print the book out and place it in your training notebook for quick referencing. Although the ebook is very well laid out and fairly easy to read on the screen, it’s a lot easier to have it in a hard copy than it is to try to read it on your iPod during training (sweat tends to destroy electronics – trust me on that one).

Download the Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by clicking here…

- M. Massie

Book Review: “The Art of Expressing The Human Body”

Author: Bruce Lee (compiled and edited by John Little)

The Art of Expressing the Human Body by Bruce Lee compiled and edited by John Little

Among martial artists, perhaps none is more talked about, argued over, worshiped, and idolized than the late Bruce Lee. Thankfully, he left copious notes and documentation upon his early and untimely death; so much so that his widow appointed author and all-around Bruce Lee aficionado John Little to compile and edit his works into a new book series on the life and work of the Little Dragon.

The Art of Expressing The Human Body is one of those books – and, it has garnered quite a bit of attention and interest among martial artists. This is quite certainly due to the fact that the book contains an incredible amount of Lee’s notes and journal entries of his actual physical conditioning and workout regimens, dating from his early years (circa 1963) all the way up to his later years, including the training regimen he was purportedly doing just prior to his death.

It bears discussion that any book post-posthumously published will garner both praise and scorn from fans and critics alike. While I am the last person willing to enter the street fight that is jeet kune do politics, Little’s detractors should be reminded that the first such book was Lee’s
Tao of Jeet Kune Do, followed a few years later by the Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method series… the former being considered the JKD bible, and the latter the definitive primer on Lee’s art.

Bruce Lee heads will find this book to be both fascinating and illuminating for all the insight it provides into Lee’s personal daily workouts. Martial arts fitness buffs will certainly enjoy reading the many anecdotes and stories regarding Bruce Lee’s legendary physique and abilities, as well as seeing the actual workouts he did to develop those attributes. And, jeet kune do practitioners of every lineage will find this book to be a valuable addition to their JKD libraries.

Personally, I was skeptical that this work would mostly be derivative of Bruce Lee’s notes, and not substantially of his notes; I was wrong. The book is full of his actual notes and journal entries, interspersed with brief but insightful commentaries by Mr. Little that offer additional insights into the mind and training process of Lee Jun Fan.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book. As a martial artist who was weaned on both The Tao of Jeet Kune Do and Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method, I have a special nostalgia for the works and writings of Lee Jun Fan. Reading his works takes me back to the days when I would spend hours reading, studying, and recreating his workouts in the basement and backyard of my dad’s house in central Missouri.

Now, thanks to Mr. Little’s work in bringing more of Bruce Lee’s notes to the public, I have a whole new collection of Lee’s workouts to experiment with and emulate… and my wife will have ample opportunity to gripe about all the “new” workout equipment I’ll be buying on Craigslist and eBay as well.

- M. Massie

Hey folks, welcome to MartialArtsBooksReviews.com. Funny name, serious website.

Well, sort of…

I like belts, lots of pretty colored belts.

I’m Mike Massie, and you might have heard of me from my other sites, or you might have read one of my reports and manuals on the topics of martial arts business or teaching martial arts.

I started this site because I wanted a place online that I could have fun tooling around on and talking about the stuff I enjoy. And, I know there are a lot of martial art book and DVD junkies out there like me, so I set up this site to let you all share your two cents on the books, DVDs, movies, training films, and gear I write about.

So, when you read a review on this site I welcome you to chime in with a review of your own. Oh, and be sure to use the star rating system when you post your own reviews, so other site visitors can see what you thought about a product at a glance.

That’s all for now… I’ll be back in a day or two with some martial arts book reviews. See you then!

- Mike Massie