Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK FOR ALL MARTIAL ARTS STYLES
Review: I am an experienced martial artist who knows plenty of grappling,throwing,kicking,striking,blocking,falling, and joint locking techniques. I reccomend this book for beginner and intermediat practitionars of juijitsu and other grappling styles (8th to 5th kyu). If you are a blackbelt or advanced student this book will contain alot of things you already know. But this book should not be used as a learning guide and should only be kept a reference guide. You need an instructor to correct a technique you have trouble with, something a book can,t do. A great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Small-Circle Jujitsu is just OK
Review: I became interested in learning about Jujitsu when I watched Royce Gracie for the first time in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. My interest was sparked even more when I saw Rickson Gracie's video "Choke". DO NOT buy this book if you expect to learn the techniques that the Gracies use, because this is a very different style. The book does not deal with any kind of ground fighting...it is strictly stand up combat with a few throws. A lot of the moves would be very difficult to perfect without a partner to practice on, so be sure that you have someone that you can train with.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great Jujitsu book. Look for it on DVD and VHS.
Review: I Like this book. I think that is great for introduction to Jujitsu as well as a supplementing reference to jujitsu for one who is already practicing the martial art. The techniques covered in the book do work for appropriate situations. While no martial art is so complete as to deal with every conflict situation in which one may find oneself, Small Circle Jujitsu offers a good range of techniques to deal with many common assault scenarios. Small Circle Jujitsu Offers the defender the potential advantage of achieving control over an attacker with minimum effort and an option of not causing injury to attacker once he has been subdued. Karate, Kung Fu, and Boxing do not have these optional advantages.
All the technigues are labled, described and explained in english as opposed to many other books which label techniques in Japanese. I think that this serves well the beginning student of Jujitsu who may know nothing of Japanese language or culture; but may still want to learn an efficient means of self defense. I suspect that the use of Japanese terminology in an English culture might even intimidate many prospective Jujitsu students from ever taking up the martial art simply because they cannot even pronounce the words.
The book itself is divided into 5 chapters. Beginning students should pay attention to the rules of safety included towards the front of the book. This is because some of the techniques can cause serious injury.
Topics covered in the book include falls, exercises, resuscitation, weak points of the body, wrist locks, finger locks, arm bars, arm locks, leg locks, throwing techniques, chokes, as well as defenses against strikes, chokes, body grabs, wrist grabs.
The explanations and pictures of techniques are easy to follow and understand.
I think one of the things that make this book such a good value is because the reader also has the option of buying a series of videos and DVD's by the same title and author which show the student the motion and application of smooth, continous transition of techniques which cannot be captured by still pictures and explanatory text. The DVD's can be played back in slow motion which is a learning advantage in any sport. The VHS videos and DVD's can be bought from Amazon.com or direct from Black Belt Magazine at WWW.Blackbeltmag.com.
Videos and DVD's can be bought separately or as a complete set. Black Belt Magazine sometimes offers the whole set of 5 VHS tapes or DVD's at the price of 4 tapes or DVD's. Look for the offer if interested.
I give this book and the videos 5 each stars because it is evident that Professor Wally Jay really invested much time and effort into making sure that students will be able to understand and make use of the contents of the book and videos of Small Circle Jujitsu as a means of an efficient and effective means of self defence.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book to use as a start. Look for the Videos
Review: I Like this book. I think that is great for introduction to Jujitsu as well as a supplementing reference to jujitsu for one who is already practicing the martial art. The techniques covered in the book do work for appropriate situations. While no martial art is so complete as to deal with every conflict situation in which one may find oneself, Small Circle Jujitsu offers a good range of techniques to deal with many common assault scenarios. Small Circle Jujitsu Offers the defender the potential advantage of achieving control over an attacker with minimum effort and an option of not causing injury to attacker once he has been subdued. Karate, Kung Fu, and Boxing do not have these optional advantages.All the technigues are labled, described and explained in english as opposed to many other books which label techniques in Japanese. I think that this serves well the beginning student of Jujitsu who may know nothing of Japanese language or culture; but may still want to learn an efficient means of self defense. I suspect that the use of Japanese terminology in an English culture might even intimidate many prospective Jujitsu students from ever taking up the martial art simply because they cannot even pronounce the words. The book itself is divided into 5 chapters. Beginning students should pay attention to the rules of safety included towards the front of the book. This is because some of the techniques can cause serious injury. Topics covered in the book include falls, exercises, resuscitation, weak points of the body, wrist locks, finger locks, arm bars, arm locks, leg locks, throwing techniques, chokes, as well as defenses against strikes, chokes, body grabs, wrist grabs. The explanations and pictures of techniques are easy to follow and understand. I think one of the things that make this book such a good value is because the reader also has the option of buying a series of videos and DVD's by the same title and author which show the student the motion and application of smooth, continous transition of techniques which cannot be captured by still pictures and explanatory text. The DVD's can be played back in slow motion which is a learning advantage in any sport. The VHS videos and DVD's can be bought from Amazon.com or direct from Black Belt Magazine at WWW.Blackbeltmag.com.
Videos and DVD's can be bought separately or as a complete set. Black Belt Magazine sometimes offers the whole set of 5 VHS tapes or DVD's at the price of 4 tapes or DVD's. Look for the offer if interested. I give this book and the videos 5 each stars because it is evident that Professor Wally Jay really invested much time and effort into making sure that students will be able to understand and make use of the contents of the book and videos of Small Circle Jujitsu as a means of an efficient and effective means of self defence.
Rating:
Summary: very useful
Review: I teach a course in self defense for women. Jay's book has photographs that make each move easy to understand and imitate. I go back to it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on self defense where you'll really need it
Review: I think this is an excellent book on self defense where you'll really need it...close up. I've been studying martial arts for almost 3 years and I don't believe that you need physical self defense when the other person is more than an leg's length away (unless they have a gun, but that's a different concept). When a cousin gave me an Amazon gift certificate, I decided to buy a book on the martial arts. I ended up buying two books (The other book is a different approach to this topic and is the best of it's kind that I've ever seen, but it's not available at Amazon... . Wally Jay's book, "Small-Circle JuJitsu", is filled with excellent, stop-action photos which help you learn the moves needed to do what's being taught. There aren't many words in this book but the ones that are there are well choosen! It's a very effective style, both the teaching and the martial art. This is one of the few(!) books (along with "Uechi-Ryu 2000") I can reccomend with a clear conscience.
Rating: 
Summary: What a strange martial art
Review: I would like to say that I admire any one who puts in the time and effort to learn a martial art and master it. That takes a lot of dedication and hard work. So I really have a great deal of respect for Wally Jay. Having said that though, I think small circle Jujitsu is really an ineffective grappling system. And I also think that it is no good in the street. Reading this book confirmed all of my worst suspicions about this art. Buy it only if you are looking for a good laugh and have money to burn. If not, and you actually want a good book about fighting try anything in Kid Peligro's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu series. Or go buy some Mario Sperry Vale Tudo tapes. Just don't get this book!
Rating:
Summary: What a strange martial art
Review: I would like to say that I admire any one who puts in the time and effort to learn a martial art and master it. That takes a lot of dedication and hard work. So I really have a great deal of respect for Wally Jay. Having said that though, I think small circle Jujitsu is really an ineffective grappling system. And I also think that it is no good in the street. Reading this book confirmed all of my worst suspicions about this art. Buy it only if you are looking for a good laugh and have money to burn. If not, and you actually want a good book about fighting try anything in Kid Peligro's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu series. Or go buy some Mario Sperry Vale Tudo tapes. Just don't get this book!
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Jay Sensei is a martial arts living treasure and his book provides a great deal of useful instruction. The yubi waza section alone is worth the cost of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Instructor! Marginal Book
Review: No book could ever hope to be capable enough to deliver the knowledge and expertise that Professor Wally Jay holds. This book is marginal at best at attempting to impart the knowledge of such an expert as Wally Jay. The book is published in a style popular in the 1970's by karate publications, in that it is presented via numerous black & white photos demonstrating techniques. The book is an acceptable text to those individuals who are already acquainted with Jujitsu and its concepts, for the novice it is somewhat more difficult to comprehend the techniques. I have attended seminars presented by Prof. Jay and know him to be one of the best martial artist living today and a great instructor with a hell of a personality. Maybe, thats why I am some what disappointed with the quality of the book, there are much better books available to those interested in martial arts, jujitsu, or self defense than this one. If you are a student of small circle jujitsu then you should own this book. I hope someday soon another more informative book is published by this truely talented and gifted instructor
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