Darrell Craig's Iai - The art of drawing the sword

[Keil Randor]

I just bought it. Has alot of nice drawings, and it seems to have alot of nice information on the swords (historical, and fact-wise). My question is, how good of a learning tool is it? Has anyone read it, and is it "legit"? I've seen too many books that seem little more than an ego booster for the guy who wrote it, while giving little real info.

Thanks.

[Samurai]

I have this book as well.
I like the format (drawings), and I like the way the information is presented (no some GRANDMASTER POOH-BAH know-it-all).

Please remember the Craig writes from a Kendo or sports viewpoint in his Iaido. He trained Kendo for several years and is down-right good at it. He trained Iaido as a sub-art of Kendo and is still very good, but not his primary love.
Thanks
jeremy bays

[Rubber Ducky]

The information is solid, from what I can tell. He does go a little overboard on the "spirituality" etc, but that's easily forgiven because he does seem to know his ****.

I have another book of his "Japan's Ultimate Martial Art: Ju Jutsu before 1880" or something like that. It's not bad either.

That being said I don't find books all that useful to actually learn from. I like them because of the exposure to new ideas I get, but I personally need the face time to learn material like this.

Pierre

[islandtime]

I have this book and find it very informative. As stated, the drawings are very good.
I guess the best thing to remember is Craig Sensei was a student of Soke Kuniba.
Everyone changes the styles a little as Soke Kuniba changed Mugai Ryu ,Craig Sensei has changed it also.
Everyone gives a little more or less spice to the gumbo.

Try Craig Sensei's web site for the companion video to the book.If you already are familiar with the style it will be a refresher. If you are not, find a good Sensei in your area

Islandtime

[arnisador]

I've looked at this book several times, including this past weekend, but never bought it. Perhaps I should.

I couldn't turn up Mr. Craig's web page on a web search--where is it?

[islandtime]

Originally posted by arnisador

I've looked at this book several times, including this past weekend, but never bought it. Perhaps I should.

I couldn't turn up Mr. Craig's web page on a web search--where is it?

Here you go

http://www.houstonbudokan.com/


As far as Craig Sensei being "legit". I know that he has lots of loyal students. I have not heard from any of them on any forums though.(if you students are out there speak up) He has his own spin on Mugai Ryu. It is different from other Mugai Ryu..It is different from KunibaRyu Iai..
There are politics involved in Iai just all the other MA.
There were originally 3 branches of Mugai Ryu with 3 different Soke. Now... who knows how many?

Gene Gabel

[Yari]

I have the book. And I enjoyed it alot. You cann't learn from it, but it can help if your Iaido pratice if you need something to lean against. But remember that the iaaido federation changes the different katas over time, so some things could be different than in the book.


/Yari

[old_sempai]

:asian:

I have a number of books by Mr Craig, and have no doubts whatsoever regarding his legitimacy, or quality of his books. No where in any of Mr Craig's writings have I ever detected any self-aggrandizing egotism. Mr Craig's books are straight forward, and similar to the works of the late Domm Draeger. And for what it's worth I would not hesitate to recommend any of Mr Craig's books, or Mr Draeger's books for that matter to anyone serious about learning the arts presented by either author.

:asian:

[arnisador]

Originally posted by old_sempai

I have a number of books by Mr Craig, and have no doubts whatsoever regarding his legitimacy, or quality of his books. No where in any of Mr Craig's writings

Has he been accused of not being legitimate in some sense?

[old_sempai]

:asian:

I apologize if my comments inferred that Mr Craig's legitimacy had been challenged in the past. And apologize if my statements left some " :confused: " That was not my intent.

Instead, my comments were meant as a compliment with regard to the quality of his books. However, these comments are also a reaction based on years of accumulated observations wherein so many other MA practitioners have claimed to be a "Grand Master Pooh Bah" in one form or another, practically to a point of ad nauseam.

In fact I know one individual that claims that his martial arts expertise has resulted in their working in the movie and television. However, the truth of the matter is that this particular individual works in a vocational trade, far removed from televison, unless they happen to walk through someone's living room while making a house call, or at the local cinema.

I relish finding an author such as Mr Craig who declines to self-promote their expertise, or make either long winded statements, or subtle innuendoes that the style they practise is the world's most superior art. His writings are straight forward and certainly is not self-serving in any respect.

:asian:

[arnisador]

Thanks--I'm glad I didn't leave with the impression that there was smoke or fire here.

[islandtime]

Originally posted by old_sempai

Instead, my comments were meant as a compliment with regard to the quality of his books.

I relish finding an author such as Mr Craig who declines to self-promote their expertise, or make either long winded statements, or subtle innuendoes that the style they practise is the world's most superior art. His writings are straight forward and certainly is not self-serving in any respect.

:asian: [/B]

.................................................. .......................
I will agree on those points. Personally I would like to see a book from Craig Sensei dealing more with Mugai Ryu techniques.He seems to express himself very well and I am sure this is one of the reasons he has loyal students. I thought the drawings and accompaning descriptions with them were very well done.

There is no book (in English) that I know of that deals in depth with Mugai Ryu.
If the video type companion to the book is as good as the book it would be well worth checking out. I do find the price a little steep though ($53.00 with shipping).

I am sure there are some of his past or present students lurking on the boards that would like to share some experiences with their Sensei.. Speak up people, It seems there is some interest in learning some more about Craig Sensei. This discussion has peaked my interest anyway..

GEne Gabel:asian:

[arnisador]

More iaidoka are likely to be found at E-Budo (www.e-budo.com).

[Bob Hubbard]

I found the book pretty informative. I wish he had a video as its hard to see the motion other than a start and stop position. I've worked thru a few of the beginner techniques, but without a real school near by, its hard to know if I'm even near doing it right.

[islandtime]

Originally posted by arnisador

More iaidoka are likely to be found at E-Budo (www.e-budo.com).
.................................................. .........................
We could also add swordforum.com under JSA


Gene Gabel

[islandtime]

Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz

I found the book pretty informative. I wish he had a video as its hard to see the motion other than a start and stop position. I've worked thru a few of the beginner techniques, but without a real school near by, its hard to know if I'm even near doing it right.

.................................................. .....
Kaith, check Craig Sensei's website for the video ..



GEne Gabel

[arnisador]

I bought Mr. Craig's book yesterday based on this discussion but haven't read it yet.

[Yari]

Originally posted by arnisador

I bought Mr. Craig's book yesterday based on this discussion but haven't read it yet.

When your finished viewing it, I would love to hear what you think about it!

/Yari

[islandtime]

Originally posted by Yari



When your finished viewing it, I would love to hear what you think about it!

/Yari
.................................................. .......................................
I just gave my copy to my Sensei for further reading last week. I am interested in what he has to say about it .

While we are on reading. Has anyone read "Autumn Lightning" by Dave Lowery...(The Education of an American Samurai). He has a few books out and this is the first one of his that I have read. I would highly recommend it. I had it on my wish list at Amazon.com and recd it for Christmas. It is a very well written book and a good addition for any MA library

GEne GAbel

[Shinzu]

i have enjoyed this book very much. i have owned a katana for a long time, but was unable to find a good book. this one really does it for me.

a friend and i used it together. it made alot more sense. plus i learned alot of info i was unaware of.

[tonbo]

I have all of the books discussed here, and have read 'em all cover to cover.

I would recommend Craig Sensei's book for a pretty good overview. He has some good stuff in there.

I would also HIGHLY recommend *any* of Dave Lowry's books. He is very well versed in Iai, and is an excellent writer to boot. Check out both "Autumn Lightening" and its sequel, "Persimmon Wind". Both deal less with technique, but are excellent on mentality and training. He also has out "Moving toward Stillness", which is on martial arts stories/philosophy and "Sword and Brush", which deals with calligraphy and the arts. All VERY good works.

For sword works in general, I would recommend "Flashing Steel" for Eishin-Ryu techniques/Seitei techniques (probably the most popular forms currently). I am not sure of the spelling, but this book is by Shimabukuru? He also has videos out by Panther, I think, and has studios throughout the US.

The best book overall that I could suggest would be "Japanese Swordsmanship" by Donn Draeger. This book is EXCELLENT, and should be a "must have" for anyone interested in the Japanese sword. It goes over history, etiquette, forms, and just about everything else you could hope for. And coming from Donn Draeger, could you expect less?

For those who don't know: Donn Draeger was a martial artist's martial artist. He studied a number of the combative arts, and actually brought a new academic study into being: hoplology, or the study of fighting arts. He was a no-nonsense person who gave like he got, and earned a hell of a lot of respect. Read his stuff, and you will see why..;)

Okay, off my soapbox. But, check the books out, and I don't think you will be disappointed.

If you are looking into Iai, though, be aware.....you will *need* to find a good instructor. In all the books, there are 10 Seitei forms discussed, and 2 more were added over the last year. Also, every year, the forms change ever so slightly. A good instructor will be necessary if you are going to formally study and try to get rank in Iai.

Good luck!!

Peace--

[ThuNder_FoOt]

Just thought I'd comment....

I have the book, and I found it very helpful. I believe its a good reference tool, although I don't believe a person could learn form it. His writings are very informative as many have already stated. I would recommend this book, though I have yet to check out some of his other titles.:asian:

[moromoro]

i have seen some bad reviews about this book...
the reviewer said that mr craig has blatantly copied that work of nakamura soke in regards to the happo giri, or eight directional cutting


terry

[moromoro]

there are better books out there on the subject of iai jutsu

any book by nakamura soke, also the diety and the sword by head master Otake.. and there are plenty of books on kenjutsu written in japanese by the schools actual sokes or shihanke's

look at

www.buyubooks.com


thanks

terry

[Charles Mahan]

Take Darrel Craig with a grain of salt. Checkout the following links.

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12967&highlight=Darrel+Craig+Mugai+Ryu

This includes a review of Darrel Craig's Mugai Ryu book by Renfield Kuroda who is actually in Japan training under the soke of Mugai Ryu. Others in the thread go on to alledge blatant plagiarism providing some pretty reasonably strong evidence.

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6307&highlight=Darrel+Craig+Mugai+Ryu

There is quite a discussion in here about Mr. Craig and his first book.

For those of you unfamiliar with the people on e-budo, most of those posting are long term students of budo, and by long term I mean decades in some cases.

[JAMJTX]

I like the book and use it as a reference. Like a lot of books, it has it's flaws.
But especially for it's time, it is good.
Keep in mind there as not much information available at the time. Plus Craig Sensei never set out to be an author.
This is actually one of the best selling martial arts books of all time, and still sells today. This book should be in your collection. Also checkout, his Mugai Ryu, The Heart of Kendo and The Way of Kendo and Kenjutsu.

Craig Sensei is not merely a "sport kendo" teacher. And Iaido is not a sub art.
He is the USA Representative for Hokushin Itto Ryu and a direct student of Chiba Harutane Sensei. He is also very closely connected to the Tokyo Police Department and the Police Dept. Kendo schools.

Kuniba was 1 of his Mugai Ryu teachers, but there were others. I just can't name them off the top of my head.

The new web site is www.houstonbudo.com (http://www.houstonbudo.com)

[Saitama Steve]

I use the book to line my budgie cage. 'Nuff said.

[still learning]

Hello, Thank-you sharing the book. Looks like alot of people are more aware of this book. ......Aloha

[Charles Mahan]

I just noticed that this thread had been dead and buried for nearly 2 years before our good budy Jim dug it up.

How far down in the list did you have to go to dig this up?

[splice42]

I just noticed that this thread had been dead and buried for nearly 2 years before our good budy Jim dug it up.

How far down in the list did you have to go to dig this up?

If you do searches on Jim's username on some sword arts boards, you will see that he often pops up when Darrell Craig and Mugai Ryu are mentionned. He's always there to prop up his teacher. It doesn't surprise me he would dig up a 2 year old thread to counter negative things said about his sensei or his sensei's books. I would consider him biased and listen to other people's opinions on this one. I have absolutely no opinion on the book (haven't read it) or the author's claims as far as Mugai Ryu. I'm just saying some people aren't always objective about these things :)

[Charles Mahan]

Oh I know he is, and about his history of support for Mr. Craig despite the general consensus.

[JAMJTX]

Actually, it is no big secret that Craig Sensei is one of my Jujitsu teachers.
But i did not learn Iaido from him. My Mugai Ryu comes from other students of Kuniba.
You also have to look at the political objectives of the most vocal detractors of the book.

One post here mentions the e-budo thread and review by Ren Kuroda. Ren seems like a decent guy and I have received some very helpful information from him. The one post here, however, says to take his word because he trains with "the Soke of Mugai Ryu". But there is no 'Soke of Mugai Ryu', although there are at least 9 who make this claim. It's just the politics of one person pushing his teacher over another.

The same goes for other well known detractors persuing political agendas.

One other post here says to believe the crap on e-budo because the budo politicians that wrote it have decades of experience. Well, Craig Sensei has several decades more experience than the people that wrote that non-sense. So if you want to put stock in experience, then again Craig Sensei is the one to look to.

If someone has legitimate dislikes about a book, that is fine. A book can be reviewed and discussed based on the merits of the content. No one has a problem with that. But when someone trashes an otherwise decent book simply because they don't like the author, that is wrong.

Why is that someone who likes his books, and maybe even sought him out to train with him because of his books, just "propping up his teacher". But some one else who never met him but trashes his book over petty politics (like on e-budo) is being objective?

Also, I promote Craig Sensei's books because I find great value in them and know him to be a world-class instructor. He has earned the loyalty and respect he gets from me.

[JAMJTX]

P.S.

I also did not just dig up a 2 year old post to counter some negative information.

I found it searching for something else and saw some outdated and incorrect information - like url of the web site that changed. And the post that said Craig Sensei learned Iaido as a "sub art of sport kendo" - this statement falls way, way short of describing his training and experience.

As to the talk of the Nakamura/Happo Giri stuff - Just how many ways are there to illustrate happo giri? Not many. You show the 8 directions and that's it.

If I write a karate book and draw pictures of someone standing in the various basic stances, are you going to say that all I did was copy Funakoshi (or some some elses work? What about all the Judo books that illustrate happo no kuzushi? Are they all knock offs?

[Cruentus]

If someone has legitimate dislikes about a book, that is fine. A book can be reviewed and discussed based on the merits of the content.

I am not big into "martial arts politics," nor am I very familar with this work, nor am I taking sides. But I will say that the above quote has merit. If someone dislikes the book, I'd rather here reasons based off content rather then anything else...

Paul

[Charles Mahan]

Then again I suggest reading those threads. There is a great deal of discussion regarding the content of the books and the credentials of it's author. I agree that the rhetoric of some of the posters in the thread is more than a bit incindiary and unnecessarily so, but there are a lot of genuine issues with the material that are discussed.

For the record I'm not really concerned one way or the other. Just thought it was information of interest. In the interest of full disclosure, a kohai of mine teaches MJER Iaido in Clear Lake on the far south end of the Houston area, but considering the geographic distance I wouldn't consider the two schools to be in competition.

Jim exagerates a bit where Craig-sensei's experience is concerned. While Craig-sensei has multiple decades of experience he does not have "several decades more experience..." than his detractors. This would imply 3 or more decades of experience more than his detractors, some of whom I know have trained for more than 2 decades. The idea that Craig-sensei has 50 odd years of sword art experience is a little far fetched. That said he has trained in martial arts apparently for nearly 50 years. Just not all in sword arts. I suppose Jim might have meant experience in general rather than sword arts.

Jim I understand the desire to defend your instructor. I truly do, but I'd suggest keeping your rhetoric as genuine as possible. Obvious exagerration does not help your cause.

[arnisador]

Wow, a thread from 2001 is still going!

I have a bunch of Mr. Craig's books. I'm glad for his insight and willingness to share it. I've never met the man in person, though I've heard good things about him.

[bignick]

I train in Kaisho Goshin Budo Jujutsu under a former student of Craig Sensei's. My instructor has over 40 years of experience in the martial arts himself and has never had nothing but the highest praise for him. I've looked through the book a couple times, but I don't train in sword arts so I don't think I'm qualified to commentate on it. However, most of the other books I do own of his I think are very good. I've heard a couple didn't quite turn out like he'd wanted them, but they're interesting for the stories of some of his experiences in the martial arts, if nothing else.

[Charles Mahan]

I met him briefly once at a Japanese Spring Festival in Houston a couple of years ago. He's a nice enough guy in person. Quite likable, but I only met him very briefly.

As to his books, I don't know much about the subjects he writes about. I do know a little about the controversy surrounding his authority on the subject of Mugai Ryu. His instructor in Mugai Ryu was Kuniba-sensei, who earned the rank of Sandan in Japan before moving to the states. There is a gentleman by the name of Renfield Kuroda who lives in Japan and trains with the soke of Mugai Ryu.

Here is what Kuroda-sensei had to say about Mr. Craigs instructor recently in another forum. The link to the thread is http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=547004#post547004




Allow me to state, as I have done in the past:
regardless of supposed skill or lack thereof (I have never seen the man therefore cannot comment), allow me clarify a fact:
there is no record of Kuniba-sensei ever achieving a rank/certification/license that allowed him to teach Mugairyu.
He achieved 3dan from Ishii-sensei, of the Nakagawa lineage of Mugairyu Iaihyodo. Ishii-sensei was later Hamon'd (stripped of rank and kicked out of Mugairyu.)
I know this to be true because I am part of this lineage, and I have researched this issue at the request of Niina-gosoke (Soke of Meishi-ha, student of Shiokawa, predecessor of Nakagawa and Ishii.)
Therefore, we refer to what Kuniba-sensei teaches as Kuniba-ryu because that's what it is: his own style, which he derived from what he learned. He has every right to do that, just like Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi did in 1693 when he created Mugairyu based on studies of Yamaguchi-ryu. But Kuniba-sensei never had the right/permission/credentials to teach Mugairyu Iaihyodo.

I will not get into a "my sensei can kick your sensei's butt" argument. But I will speak of facts, and the facts are that there are, even to this day, NO legitimate, licensed instructors for any of the branches of Mugairyu in Japan. None. ZERO.

Before you decide to react/respond/flame, think about the facts of the issue. I am not attacking the man; I don't know Kuniba-sensei from the dude at the post office. But I do know about legitimate, documented lineage, and every licensed instructor in Mugairyu, regardless of branch or lineage, has a scroll or certificate from a recognized, documented, legitimate instructor.
Kuniba-sensei was a high-ranked, well-respected karate instructor. About this I know nothing, but it also has nothing to do with Mugairyu.

Regards,

r e n


This doesn't mean the book is without value, but it is of questionable authority and is unauthorized at best.