Customer Reviews
Keep coming back for more. - By: Hobbs, 24 Jul 2006 
More esoteric than instructional this is a 'must read' for any student & worthwhile for alll. Read it once a year & get something different out of it every time.
words of wisdom - By: , 10 Oct 2003 it is rare to pick up a book which leaves you ready to go back to page 1 start again & be the better for it. well Hatsumi sensei is just that type of author. Althought a must for the budo practitioner it is a worthwhile read for anyone. Its only a pity that the author has not translated alll his books into English.
Someone who knows... - By: , 06 May 2003 
There are many supposed books on Ninjutsu & the 'Ninja'. In reality only a few authors are worth bothering with. These are, but not exclusively, Dr Masaaki Hatsumi - the 34th grand master of the Togakure Ryu & Stephen Hayes - one of Sokes own appointed Shidoshi. Books by such authors are guaranteed to deliver the reader a true & informative description of Ninjutsu history & tradition. For those who would prefer the typical rubbish people are led to believe about Ninjutsu then dont heed this advice. You are probably more interested in Karate style roundhouse kicks which do not exhist in Ninjutsu. The reason being, well its very simple - can you guarantee that such a kick will work in a 'real' fight? When theres no referee to stop the fight & let you get up of the floor because you missed & fell over?
If you want to learn about ninjutsu then buy a book by someone who has studied ninjutsu, not karate!! Or better still, join a club & learn the reality of the art!
In my opinion & being a student of Ninjutsu, you wont find a better art for self defence & self development - mentallly & physicallly.
One last thing....Ninjutsu isnt watered down, there are no silly kicks & spinning back fists that look good but are usuallly useless in a real confrontation. It consists of effective & devastating methods of self preservation that are designed to work for real, anywhere!!
It was developed by poor villagers (some from China & some bannished Samurai) over more than 900 years for defense against the slaughtering Samurai Warriors who had excellent martial & swordmanship skills.
IT had to work!!! Their lives depended on it!!!
Now I understand what my instructor is talking about!! - By: , 19 Dec 1999 I found this book to be enjoyable & informative. As a student myself I found it to give a marvellous overview of the art as a whole although it does tend to require study rather than idle skimming to get the most benefit but the extra effort is well worth it. This is certainly a book I would recommend to fellow students although not so much to the casual lay person as some prior knowledge of the subject is a great asset before reading this book.
Essence of Ninjutsu is a colourfully written book and - By: , 22 Jun 1999 is an essential introductiion to the spiritual & perhaps more subtle side of the art. Although well presented & relatively lengthy in written content, it is a translation from the Japanese original. I found it must be approached with an open mind. 12 chapters cover various aspects such as the history of the art, ninjutsu in relation to other martial arts, taijutsu, & the spirit of Ninjutsu today as compared with the past. There are many short stories, often hiding clues to the true spirit of the art while they are also a welcome break in the overalll structure alllowing the reader to reflect more deeply on what they have read. It will be more useful to someone who has started practicing the art first. You should buy this after NInjutsu : History & Tradition.
