Jujitsu

Jujitsu Nerve Techniques: The Invisible Weapon of Self-Defense
$16.00
I have a lot of respect for the author and I have read and reviewed most of his previous books. I have to admit to being a little disappointed in this book, mainly because of the size of the photographs. It is difficult to understand and see the techniques when the photographs are too small. I also do not think applying pressure on some of the areas mentioned in this text are very effective in a real street combat situation. Nevertheless, I do feel this is a valuable basic guide to the many nerve points and vulnerable areas of the body. There is no doubt striking some of these areas (atemi-waza)can be effective in a self-defense situation. In conclusion, I recommend this book to all martial artists seeking a good basic guide to vulnerable areas of the body. Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Monadnock Defensive Tactics (MDTS) System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Martial Art Myths, Season of the Warrior).

Small-Circle Jujitsu
$17.00
I am proud to say that I was personally acquainted with Wally Jay thanks to the introduction by former Canadian National Karate Champion, Patrick McCarthy. Later, I was fortunate enough to have hosted several of Jay's seminars and produced an article or two about him for national martial arts magazines. Besides being a talented martial artist Wally Jay was a decent and kind man. In fact, he had once told me that if we injured our opponents in a fight then we have an obligation to take care of them. As a combat veteran and tournament fighter I had trouble with that concept then. Over the years I have come to see that perhaps that's another side of his wisdom and compassion that as an instructor he tried to pass along to those of us knuckle draggers who hadn't caught on that fighting was more than just about belts and trophies.
When he was working on this book he asked if I would help out and I agreed. I had nothing really to contribute or add but was honored that he had asked. Having been in the mixed martial arts for over 40 years and written hundreds of articles for martial arts and military publications I can honestly say that Professor Wally Jay was truly one of best people I met along the way. His passing was a tremendous loss to the martial arts world but his soul and spirit live on in this book.
As for those critics who think any one book will teach you to be a real fighter...well, maybe if you study what's in it and then perhaps if you will also give it 20 or so years of work on the mat fighting against good opponents from any and every fighting style or martial art.

Jujitsu: Intermediate Techniques of the Gentle Art (Japanese Arts, 441)
$18.00
Great book, very descriptive. Complimentary to the first book, it's good to see that some people still acknowledge Japanese Jujitsu b/c it's so fundamental.

Mastering Jujitsu (Mastering Martial Arts Series)
$21.95
What are the three phases in most any fight?

1. The Free-Standing phase in which all fights begin, unless the fight is ended quickly by some idiot sucker punching you like a wuss. But this phase covers the ability and freedom the fighters have to punch, kick and back away at will.

2. The Clinch. Before a fight gets on the ground, there is a time where the fight gets in a clinch in effort to bring someone to the ground. Unless of course both or one fighter trips. Judoka's [Judo players] are quite good at getting their opponents on the ground since they spend so much time training to do that very thing. One of the primary goals in Judo is to break an opponents Kuzushi. The problem though, is this is usually a small part of any fight and even if you get in a superior position after breaking your opponents balance, you still need to understand the last and probably most important phase, and that is:

3. The Ground. Here is where the BJJ shines. This is truly indeed "their" specialty. This is what they practice, this is what they do. This is why they are so successful.

But don't think that all BJJ players want to bring their opponent to the ground, that is not true. In cases where they happen to know their opponents BJJ is equal but has less striking skills, the practitioner may want to keep the fight standing. Or if you are in a real fight and perhaps an opponent pulls a knife of if there is glass all over a cement ground, probably the last place you want to be is rolling around in that.

Overall, a very good book, especially in the history of Jujitsu itself. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this book covers that really well and I found that extremely interesting.