10 Books                  Judo Books: "N-P" Judo HomeA-BC-DE-F-GH-IJK-MN-PQ-TU-Z  
         

 

Nagewaza. The Kodokan. Videotape. Containing some historical footage of Kyuzo Mifune and Jigoro Kano, this tape is an instructional tape for the 65 nage waza of Kodokan Judo, but, with outstanding editing, historical footage, and nice blending of actual competition footage, this is a remarkably useful and interesting tape. Thus is the first in a series of technical tapes by the Kodokan. Kodokan Internet Shop.

Official Judo. Charles Yerkow (New York: A.A. Wynn, Inc, 1953). 98 pp., large format paperback. Charles Yerkow wrote a plethora of Judo publications after WWII, not because he was highly qualified to do so, but because, he admits, nothing useful was really being produced for the Judo community at the time. This was one of the first introductions to Judo approved by an organizing body in the United States, the AAU.  It has some good historical photographs, including one of the ninth and tenth dans living as of 1953. There are Kodokan practice pictures, a photo of General Tom Powers, who was instrumental in spreading Judo in the American armed forces, and a picture of "Sgt. Carney acting as attacker against Karate expert Prof. Obata" at the Kodokan. This book pretty much covers everything that a beginner might want to know, without getting into overwhelming detail. It also lists clubs and committee people involved in American Judo, both AAU and American Judo Association, in 1953, so this book is a nice "snapshot" of Judo of that era. We see that Major D. Draeger was living in Milwaukee, Wisc., Robert Smith in Seattle, G. Yoshida on 71st Street, New York City, and many others are listed including AAU Judo chairman Henry Stone at UC Berkeley. There are two pages of photographs of many of the individuals listed. [11/14/99]
  Official Judo Handbook. AAU, 1968. This is a joint "handbook" of Judo, a cooperative effort of the AAU and the USJF. It details the administrative hierarchy of AAU Judo, Constitution and Bylaws, contains rank requirements, includes advertising, selected articles of interest and tournament results, and a glossary of terms. We were pleased to see the University of Montana Judo Club listed as an active club 'way back' then, and Dr. Ken Min is listed as the AAU Judo Committee member for Montana. This was all before AAU lost its control of American Judo under the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act, and before the USJA challenged USJF's control of rank. In 1968, though, there was an advertisement warning that only AAU could sanction events and certify amateur status, and only USJF could certify rank and award promotions. "Don't be Misled! There are no other Nationally Recognized Judo Organizations." Ten years later, all this would be changing, but at the time, this was a useful book, and is still a good idea for national martial art organizations.
    

Olympic Judo. Nicolas Soames and Roy Inman. 1990. Ippon Books. 253 pp. Hardcover. It is too bad this book recently went out of print. It is the detailed history of Judo in the Olympic Games, including a history of Kano's involvement in the Olympics, an attempt by Kano to have Judo included in the 1928 Olympic Games, and renewed efforts in the mid-1950s, mainly by European Judo federations, to include Judo on the summer games program. After that, a detailed chronicle of the Judo competition at every Olympic Games through Seoul in 1988 makes this an invaluable history of sport Judo, with discussions of each important match. David Finch supplies his matchless competition photographs to augment the detailed text. The book is well-written, and the action so exciting, its hard to put down.

Olympic Judo: Preparation Training. Neil Adams and Cyril Carter. Pelham Books, 1988. A useful book for any serious athlete, it describes, in detail, a useful approach to virtually every detail of training, including useful weight and conditioning exercises, as well as things to avoid. Ryukyu Books.

  
  Olympic Judo: Groundwork Techniques. Neil Adams and Cyril Carter. Pelham Books, 1986. The nice part of this series is that the reader is not overwhelmed by a plethora of possibilities and technical descriptions. These are techniques which have been most successful. Some unique approaches are described and attributed to the particular competitor first innovating the approach.
      
  Olympic Judo: Throwing Techniques. Neil Adams and Cyril Carter. Pelham Books, 1986. A nice examination of important techniques commonly effective in competition. There is a chapter on the promotion requirements of the British Judo Association.
      
  One Hundred and One Judo Ippons. Fighting Films, 1996. A video, but a good introduction for novices, on jime-waza, kansetsu waza, osaekomi waza and tachi waza ippons at international competitions 1989-1995. For advanced, there is some nice stuff here, and shows not only the incredible power and effectiveness of Judo, but also the incredible ease of skill on some of these ippon techniques. This tape shows to great effect why Judo, and its modern ju jitsu progeny, is the most dynamic of all the modern combat art forms. It is narrated by Neil Adams and Ray Stevens, and so you hear wonderfully British commentary like, "she's unconscious, oh my goodness, mate!" Ippon Books.      
 
Osaekomi. Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki. Ippon Books, 1997. Pointing out that most Ju Jitsu schools appeared in the middle of the Edo period (17th-18th centuries), Kashiwazaki reminds us that Judo is now as old or older than most of the Ju Jutsu styles were at the time Judo was founded. Newaza is Kashiwazaki's speciality, and so it is appropriate that he write a volume on the holdown techniques of Judo. The specialized study of newaza is Kosen Judo, after the emphasis placed on it in the Japan Special High School Championships beginning in 1914. The effectiveness of Kosen Judo was recognized in 1925 when the Kodokan implemented rules to encourage tachiwaza, or stand up Judo. Old ju jitsu, according to Kashiwazaki, always attempted to hold the opponent face down, whereas Judo tends to trap the opponent face up. The so-called ju jitsu schools of the modern era clearly show their derivation from Judo, rather than from any authentic ju jitsu, in this approach to newaza. As usual, an outstanding book from this author and this publisher. 112 pp. softcover. Ippon Books.  
 
Pickups. Robert Van De Walle. Ippon Books, 1993, 1997. "Pick-ups" are a class of techniques rarely formally taught except in kata forms, and even more rarely used in competition. Van de Walle's Judo career, including a 1980 Olympic gold, is testimony to the effectiveness of any class of Judo techniques, studied, and applied. Van de Walle's specialties are morote gari, sukui nage, uranage, and kata guruma. Applying various picking up techniques as counters to various attacks, as well as attacks in their own rights, Van De Walle has made a genuine contribution to Judo, and to Judo literature with his unusual specialty. 112 pp. soft cover. Ippon Books.