I am an anorak, I collect obscure books on the martial arts on two conditions: they must be instructional, and have knowledge that can be learned from them, with these two factors in mind I will give my honest opinion of the above manuals. In addition to collecting martial art books I have been an active participant in many grappling and striking arts over thirty years.

 

                 "Wrestling Sambo" by Gintas Bukauskas is a book that I did not like! He claims that this manual "The Secret Combat Art of the former Soviet Union for Special Forces and Real Self-Protection". I can abide by the rest of the book but these techniques have been available to the West since the early eighties they are Sambo, or Sombo if you want to be more politically correct. Neither is it a book on soi disant, so called, real self protection. The book has pictures of Sambo Wrestling, it covers throws, hold downs, armlocks and leglocks. Demonstrating the techniques he may show how they are done but he does not explain how to get into the position to do them. The strangulation techniques seem to be added to justify calling the book a manual of real self-protection; they seem to be taken from judo, jujitsu and aikido. The photographs of him applying the techniques in a self-defence situation are contrived. If he had written that this book covered Sambo (Russian Jacket Wrestling).  I would be content for this book to be used as a pictorial representation of Sambo, to be used as a memory aid for someone learning Sambo under a qualified coach; but he is trying to sell it to the gullible as a self-defence manual, which it is not. I can only give it two on a scale of one to five.

 

                   The "Ross" training manual by Alexander Retuinskih is a book I enjoyed, but I am not sure that you can learn from the manual alone; I believe that you would have to be instructed by a qualified in this style as well to make progress in this system. The book gave insights into the historical background of martial arts in Russia both pre and post revolution. To a student of martial arts, especially the more unusual it is a good introduction. Techniques remind me of soft style martial arts, a cross between Bagua, Chinese internal style martial art - with it's circular motion and Aikido, Japanese martial art with its blending and harmonisation with an opponents energy. The way breakfalls are done reminds me of Cossack dancing. You can learn individual techniques from this manual and I was able to glean a way of doing a wrist lock in a more effective manner. Well, worth the money, I give this book three out of five. I will be buying it for my personal library of martial art books.

 

                   The best until last, Championship Sambo "Submission Holds and Groundfighting "by Steve Scott covers exactly what it says on the cover. Groundwork moves from Sambo (Russian Jacket Wrestling) are covered in depth. I liked this book as I believe that with a training partner, following the pictures, you can with practice learn and perfect the moves shown within the manual; he writes the essential points on how to apply the technique and also the pitfalls. If you wanted a book to learn hold downs, armlocks, leglocks and how to get into a position to apply them, don't have access to a qualified teacher of Sambo, this is the manual for you. Even if you are learning Sambo from a qualified coach this manual will teach you the groundwork of Sambo. I give this book four points on a scale of one to five. I will be getting this book for my collection.

 

 

                           

Dear Martin,

                   Perhaps it's me, but I never seem to find a training partner who has the     dedication to train with me on a regular basis. I do not take liberties, I insure his welfare removing risk as much as you can in a combat sport. I teach him the technique breaking it down to basis moves which when they are understood combined together make the technique work. Functioning as his uke, receiver of the technique, he can throw, lock my joints or give me some pain; all this I will put up with knowing soon it will be my turn to be tori, giver of the technique. However that's the problem when it's my turn he suddenly has an urgent appointment else where. So the next time, I tell him he is to be uke first the next training session and make a firm commitment to train next week; know what happens he phones me at the last minute to say he cannot come due to urgent family business. You make another appointment, when he arrives he informs me that he has pulled a muscle and cannot be uke; giving him the benefit of the doubt I function as uke again. The problem is after four or five training sessions the same thing happens. I tell him that these sessions are for our mutual benefit and if I am not practising the techniques only receiving them then it is only he who is getting better not me, I am not a masochist, I will put up with a certain amount of pain to perfect my art and increase my fighting ability but I want this session to be beneficial to us both. He storms off calling me everything saying that I am selfish. We part on bad terms. The thing is I have never injured a training partner I have control, I don't jerk on locks, throw my partner without supporting him and use a wrestling mat to cushion his fall, I have taught him break falls; I think I cannot do anymore to protect him.

                          I meet another martial artist, he is a dan grade in another style and he suggests a jam session, where we will pool our knowledge and share it for our mutual benefit; I show my knowledge but for some reason when it is his turn to show his knowledge he has an urgent family appointment. We arrange another session, the same thing happens he is benefiting from what I have been shown him but he shows me nothing. I tell him we will have to stop these sessions as he is the only one who is benefiting. According to him I am selfish, we part on bad terms.

                          I used to take private lessons from one of my instructors, for two years I took two private lessons a week, every week. These lessons were not cheap, he earns his living as a full-time instructor. In the beginning I learned something but towards the end of the two years I was not learning anything, he is asking me questions about stuff I know that he does not. I end up teaching him techniques I have learnt from other instructors I have cross trained with. Remember I am teaching him locks and holds I have learnt elsewhere and paying him for the privilege of doing so. I tell him a white lie that due to financial restraints I could not continue I did not want to be called selfish again.

                       Maybe I am as they say selfish, but I don't see the point in training for only your training partners benefit, unless it is a financial arrangement and he is paying you to be his sparing partner, there must be benefit for both!

 

 

                                  Yours in budo

 

                                                   Ian "Lurch" Durie. 

Dear Martin,

                   There is an old proverb "never a lender or borrower be" this is particularly true of martial artists. The trouble with being an anorak, a collector of martial art books, videos and D.V.D is that everyone wants to borrow them from you. Now I am one of these people who believe if you can in life help people out and I have on occasion, against my better judgment, lent books, video's and D.V.D to people. The problem is that I have lent it to Dan grades thinking they will be more responsible than Kyu grades, I will get it back from them. Statistics from libraries state that martial art books are the most taken and non returned items in libraries; the same is true for my books video's and D.V.D's. The thing is you lend the item to Fred the martial artist who asked to borrow it and he in turn lends it to Joe, without your permission, who in turn lends it to Alan, then Alan lends it to Mark and you lose the item because there is a time when it is lent to someone who losses track of who has it eventually, and you have lost it. You may ask three or four months later for your book back from Fred to discover he has lost track of who has it, he gives you the name of Joe and expects you to follow the trail to find the book. It does not occur to him that he is responsible for your property no it was all right when he gave it Joe. The thing is the hardest thing is to ask for your own property back you cause ill feeling and unless you want to sue him in a small claims court for the monetary value of the item or physically chastise him, which is illegal and will get you arrested-you will not get your item back but you may feel better-but end up with a criminal record so not a good idea! The thing you do is you chalk it up to experience and never lend to him again. 

                      Mind you the excuses for not returning your book are epic, in the tales you are told when asking for it back. The best excuse I have ever heard why I did not get my book back was that his uncle had been murdered that weekend, it was true but still did not explain why he had not returned the book he had borrowed two years previously before his uncle was killed.

                       I now only lend items that I would not be too upset with not receiving them back, I don't lend out my best books, video's and D.V.D's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                     Yours in Budo

 

                                                                                         Ian "Lurch" Durie.