Mugai Ryu: The Classical Japanese Art of Drawing the Sword

this is a good book, i love it--been looking for it for awhile thank you, and i got it at a decent price

As far as I can tell, if you want to know about Mugai Ryu Iaido, this is the only game in town unless you are good at reading Japanese. Author offers info on the history, philosophy and katas of Mugai Ryu and shows some wazas from some of the old kenjutsu ryus. ALso shows some advanced Mugai Ryu techniques in addition to the katas. It would have been nice if there had been more on the bunkai behind the katas.

I began reading another book by this author "Japan's Ultimate Martial Art... Jujitsu Before 1882 The Classical Japanese Art of Self- Defense"; I enjoyed the book so much that I looked for another book written by this author(Darrell Max Craig). I found the book "Mugai Ryu...The Classical Japanese Art of Drawing the Sword" to be complete; in the sense that he really pulls you back into the time period of fuedal Japan when the sword was the weapon of the Japanese warrior. It brings a sense of reading a history novel, a fantasy (as in I was swept away within this book), but mostly real application of the sword. Everything was explained in his very down to earth way, which I so appreciated. This book was another great find and worth every cent. I would recommend this book to any one who is interested in the Japanese sword.

I found this book enjoyable, however it would have been better if the author had focused on Mugai Ryu like the title would indicate. At many points in the book the author elaborates what his sensei from Hokoshin Itto Ryu had to say. Going into the history of that style. I bought this book to learn about Mugai Ryu history and tradition. It did NOT cover very much of that at all. In fact, the founder (Tsuji Gettan Tsukimochi) is only briefly discussed in one chapter. Overall there is very little discussion of Mugai Ryu. The title of the book is misleading. Much that was included in this book did not belong. It was disapointing that so little of the book focused on the proposed subject matter.

excellent book on mugairyu iaido,but i think photo,s would have helped with understanding the kata more easily,i do understand the reasoning for figure drawings!

This book was fantastic! I started reading this authors books with "The Art Of Kendo" which was equally as rewarding! I liked this book so much I hunted down the Mugai Ryu video which I could not find on Amazon. I found it through the publisher([...])but I am sure you can probably get it through the author. Darrell Craig's HOUSTON BUDOKAN Dojo can be found on the web. My wife is reading "Japan's Ultimate Martial Art: Jujitsu Before 1882 the Classical Japanese Art of Self-Defense" and it has helped her greatly in her Jujitsu study! This book is not a history lesson, he gives a little history in the first chapter so you will understand what it is you are studying. This book has opened a whole new world to me that I didn't even know was there!

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.

If you're looking for a book to help learn mugai ryu then this might not be for you. Too much time spent on the author, history and even other schools before he gets into the kata and then it doesn't go into detail. Ideal if you want to find out about mugai ryu, not if you want to learn/practice it IMO

この本に書かれている内容は無外流だけの内容ではありません。居合全体のことについて書かれているので、無外流というタイトルでは、純粋に無外流を知りたい人に対しては誤解を招くタイトルです。外国人向けにかかれているようですので、外国の方が居合のことを何も知らないという場合には、全般的に把握するとしたらよいのかもしれません。