Mugai Ryu: The Classical Samurai Art of Drawing the Sword

Rating:
Summary: More than twenty traditional sword-drawing techniques
Review: Darrell Max Craig is a student of Karate under Sensei Z. Shimbuku, and holder of a 6th Dan in Karate & Jujitsu, a 5th Dan in Kobudo & Kendo, and a 4th Dan in Iaido, Judo & Aikido. In Mugai Ryu: The Classical Samurai Art Of Drawing The Sword Craig has compiled and written a single volume, 314-page presentation (with illustrations) history of the Samurai code of Bushido. In doing so, Craig draws upon his personal encounters with the descendants of famous samurai of the past to accurately depict the many rituals of the Samurai sword, including how these swords were made, cared for, and tested. Very highly recommended reading for martial arts students and aspiring swordsmen, Mugai Ryu provides the reader with complete instructions for more than twenty traditional sword-drawing techniques and sparring routines, including the "one cut" techniques of the ancient Samurai of feudal era Japan.

Rating:
Summary: not the mugai ryu I know
Review: I bought this book because it is quite rare to find any book in English on the subject of Mugai Ryu. I have a specific interest in this school of Iaido which I have trained and studied together with Muso Ryu Jodo in Japan. Apart from the historical errors described in one of the other reviews, there are also quite a number of inconsistencies with the kata I know and have learned from my teacher who was taught by Shiokawa Soke, generally accepted in Japan as the authority on Mugai Ryu.
So, if the historical accounts are not correct and the technical descriptions of the movements differ from the actual Mugai Ryu kata, I wonder what the purpose of this book is, and indeed why anyone would consider buying the book.

Rating:
Summary: I Need A Second Copy!
Review: I found this book helpful and informative regarding one form of mugai ryu. I recommend adding the book to your collection if you're interested in iaido (or like to collect Mr. Craig's great martial art stories).

I also found the majority of reviews below helpful. As noted by some, this book isn't a history book, and it clearly doesn't apply to all forms of mugai ryu. I, too, found a few typos, but I find them everywhere and won't condemn a book for that.

I happened to have traveled to Japan with this book and was happy to show it to a well-respected kendo instructor - who admired the book profusely. Of course, the sensei landed up with the book! Now you know why I need another copy!

Rating:
Summary: 1st review not true, great book indeed!
Review: I lived in Houston, Texas at one time. I was never a student of Mr. Craig's, but having in an interest in the martial arts, this is how I came to know about Darrell Craig's dojo and his books. He is well know and respected in not only the Houston martial arts and law enforcement communities, but he is well known (and quite credible) in the writing and television communities too. He is well know for his festival appearances and relationships in the Japanese community. I have enjoyed all of his previous books and this one is certainly the best.

What Mr. Craig writes in his books is apparently basically what he practices. No one disputes Mr. Craig's over thirty years of experience. He makes it very clear in this book about Mugai ryu that (while the reviewer from the Netherlands disingenuously does not), there are as many as five different claims and several different "soke's" to the one all true form of this type of Japanese swordmanship called Mugai ryu. So, apparently any claim to "authority on Mugai ryu" is an immediate contradiction.

Also, as far as I can tell, Mr. Craig does not claim that this is a history book, and I don't know anything about Japanese history to care enough about a several year mistake. Of course the movements are different in the book than the movements practiced by others worldwide, Mr. Craig did not learn and does not teach the movements of this particular reviewer from the Netherlands. I think the reviewer's one-star review was less of a review and more of a commercial.

I can't practice the beautiful and fascinating art of Iai, but at least I can read about it from Mr. Craig's book. He consistently provides fantastic glimpses into an art form that most westerners find absolutely mysterious. Six stars.

Rating:
Summary: 1st review not true, great book indeed!
Review: I lived in Houston, Texas at one time. I was never a student of Mr. Craig's, but having in an interest in the martial arts, this is how I came to know about Darrell Craig's dojo and his books. He is well know and respected in not only the Houston martial arts and law enforcement communities, but he is well known (and quite credible) in the writing and television communities too. He is well know for his festival appearances and relationships in the Japanese community. I have enjoyed all of his previous books and this one is certainly the best.

What Mr. Craig writes in his books is apparently basically what he practices. No one disputes Mr. Craig's over thirty years of experience. He makes it very clear in this book about Mugai ryu that (while the reviewer from the Netherlands disingenuously does not), there are as many as five different claims and several different "soke's" to the one all true form of this type of Japanese swordmanship called Mugai ryu. So, apparently any claim to "authority on Mugai ryu" is an immediate contradiction.

Also, as far as I can tell, Mr. Craig does not claim that this is a history book, and I don't know anything about Japanese history to care enough about a several year mistake. Of course the movements are different in the book than the movements practiced by others worldwide, Mr. Craig did not learn and does not teach the movements of this particular reviewer from the Netherlands. I think the reviewer's one-star review was less of a review and more of a commercial.

I can't practice the beautiful and fascinating art of Iai, but at least I can read about it from Mr. Craig's book. He consistently provides fantastic glimpses into an art form that most westerners find absolutely mysterious. Six stars.

Rating:
Summary: doesn't seem knowledgeable
Review: Like his other successful books available here on amazon.com ( I have seen the numbers), this IS an autobiographical book, they all are. Five Stars for consistency and authenticity. Frankly, I LIKE THIS BOOK and HEARTILY Recommend it!

The readers of Mr. Craig's book(s) are likely not the type to care one wit about the mind numbing historical specificity described by Mr. Pelzer's review (although I am impressed at his historical knowledge). Besides, I would suspect a similar challenge with a book written by a Japanese person on say, gun-fighting and the old west. And, being that this is apparently only one of a few books in English on to subject, that alone makes this book a valuable reference.

I am the literary and publishing business (I have no business relationship with Mr. Craig), and I can tell you that fact-checking a book of this print quality is the ultimate responsibility of the publisher, not the author. And as far as I can read, the several mistakes and critical observations are not ones that materially affect or alter the message of the book. Indeed, each of the reviewers observations will likely be corrected by the next edition. This is why successful publishers and authors actually enjoy the benefit of parts of reviews such as the one above by Mr. Pelzer.

As another review also pointed out, Mr. Craig does not claim that this is a history book. However, that he brings history into the book, especially blended with his own personal antecdotes, is indeed what makes it a terrific book - the author covers nearly 400 years of history, but that is not what the book is about. The few critical reviewers seem to have forgotten about that in their haste to demonstrate their proficiencies and expertise.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read, Want More!
Review: Like his other successful books available here on amazon.com ( I have seen the numbers), this IS an autobiographical book, they all are. Five Stars for consistency and authenticity. Frankly, I LIKE THIS BOOK and HEARTILY Recommend it!

The readers of Mr. Craig's book(s) are likely not the type to care one wit about the mind numbing historical specificity described by Mr. Pelzer's review (although I am impressed at his historical knowledge). Besides, I would suspect a similar challenge with a book written by a Japanese person on say, gun-fighting and the old west. And, being that this is apparently only one of a few books in English on to subject, that alone makes this book a valuable reference.

I am the literary and publishing business (I have no business relationship with Mr. Craig), and I can tell you that fact-checking a book of this print quality is the ultimate responsibility of the publisher, not the author. And as far as I can read, the several mistakes and critical observations are not ones that materially affect or alter the message of the book. Indeed, each of the reviewers observations will likely be corrected by the next edition. This is why successful publishers and authors actually enjoy the benefit of parts of reviews such as the one above by Mr. Pelzer.

As another review also pointed out, Mr. Craig does not claim that this is a history book. However, that he brings history into the book, especially blended with his own personal antecdotes, is indeed what makes it a terrific book - the author covers nearly 400 years of history, but that is not what the book is about. The few critical reviewers seem to have forgotten about that in their haste to demonstrate their proficiencies and expertise.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Work
Review: There is very little English language work on Mugai Ryu. I personally am aware of only 2 books. Both by Mr. Craig. There may be more, I don't know.
I was a Jujitsu student of Craig Sensei, so I may be a bit biased. But I will try to be objective. I am also a student of Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido and have some familiarity with Mugai Ryu.
After reading the book, I know more about Mugai Ryu than before I read it. So I have to say the book met it's objective.
This is not a "how to book", no book really is for any martial art. But if you are a student of Iaido you should be able to get a lot out of the kata descriptions and drawings.
The book has been criticized by some for having non-Mugai Ryu content. But these stories of Mr. Craig's training in other styles do not detract from the book. They go that much further to establish his expertise in Japanese styles of swordsmanship and bring more entertainment value to reading the book.
Craig Sensei has now dedicated nearly 50 years to to travelling the world stydying, training, competing and teaching Japanese Martial Arts. Much of his training and rankings come from organizations that do not even admit Japanese civilians, let alone foreigners. This is very much to his credit and adds to the uniqueness of his credentials and teaching.
All Iaido students should own this book, as well as his ground-breaking Iai: The Art of Drawing the Sword which has been selling copies for more than 20 years now.

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Craig went over his head.
Review: This book has been a waste of my money and I will return it as soon as possible. I have an MA in Japanese Studies and have lived several years in Japan, while studying Japanese history as well as practicing martial arts. The main reason for this unfortunate judgement lies in the fact that Mr. Craig should not have attempted to bring Japanese history into his story about the Mugai Ryu. He has consistently misinterpreted, as well as misunderstood, Japanese history in it's factual reality. Furthermore, he has not been very consistent in making his mistakes by, for example, stating that the battle of Sekigahara took place in 1601 (page 3) while the correct date is 1600 (which date is used later on in the text). Another one of the inconsistencies is the date of passing of his kendo teacher, Nakamura Takeshi. On page 111 Mr. Craig writes underneath a picture of Nakamura sensei the year 1997, while on page 113 the same Nakamura sensei is said to have passed away in 1996! This is surely not the way to honor the memory of his teacher. Elsewhere in the text Mr. Craig makes the historically completely incorrect statement that Toyotomi Hideyoshi "became a teacher of martial strategy to all the retainers of the Tokugawa shogun" (page 70). This would have been an extremely strong feat, since Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598 and the Tokugawa family only became historically third in line to be bestowed the title of shogun in 1603! Therefore, the afore-mentioned Hideyoshi could never have become a teacher of anything to the retainers of the Tokugawa, not to mention that Hideyoshi actually was the one person who united Japan under his rule in 1590 after his own overlord Oda Nobunaga, who began the unification process during the late 60's of the 16th century, had been murdered by one of his vassals in 1582. This makes it absolutely impossible to defend that someone in Hideyoshi's position of power would have been teaching anyone at all. Next, Mr. Craig is going completely over his head when he attempts an interpretation of the so-called "heino bunri", which he himself persistently calls "nohei bunri" (pages 4-6). Here he states that "nohei bunri" was an experiment by the Tokugawa to create a peasant army, while in fact the system, called correctly "heino bunri", was the attempt to separate the warriors from the peasants and this process was started, actually, by Hideyoshi in the 80's of the 16th century. In doing so, initially only in the domains under his direct control, Hideyoshi created a standing professional army of warriors! Not peasants! The whole matter has nothing at all to do with creating a peasant army and wasn't even a Tokugawa experiment! The Tokugawa, after coming into power, only capitalised on this earlier institutional novelty introduced, as mentioned, by Hideyoshi. These are just a few of the historical and factual mistakes contained in this book, by which it is rendered wholly untrustworthy for any reference purposes whatsoever. However, should Mr. Craig someday decide to write an autobiographical work on his experiences in the world of Japanese martial arts, I would seriously consider buying it since this part of his book was the only one worth reading to me.

Rating:
Summary: doesn't seem knowledgeable
Review: This man claims to know about the way of the Samurai. He is arrogant and egotistic. Book is poorly written and organized. I have practiced kendo and ninjutsu all my life and I view this book as an American who thinks he is just as good as a real Japanese Samurai expert. I would advise to stick with a Japanese author. Thank you...