Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the missing link between dojo sparring and Bruce Lee's insurmountable Tao of Jeet Kune Do. To all black-belt level Karate/Tae Kwon Do/Tang Soo Do students, this book is a "must have". Master Ninomiya goes beyond the classical description of punches, blocks and kicks found in common books, and offers a conceptual framework for the application of such techniques in combat. While Bruce Lee may have tempted many to quit their traditional styles regarding them as a classical mess, Ninomiya tells you your karate need not be a mess if you train hard and understand your goal and your means. His technical theory is simple and conceptually unquestionable: position yourself in the "blind spot" of your opponent, and terminate him. However, it demands lots of training to be carried out flawlessly under the stress of actual combat. Ninomiya comes from the famed Kyokushin tradition, which combines a traditional mindset, the strongest of training ethics, and a creative approach to fighting. Kyokushin and its derivatives (as Ninomiya's Enshin Karate) adopted a set of rules forbidding punches to the face, but allowing full contact to the body with the fists, feet and knees, as well as full contact kicks to the legs and face. This lead to an agile and versatile kicking style, plenty of spinning motions, axe kicks and other techniques (usually identified with Korean styles), within a very powerful and realistic fighting scenario. The technical examples found in the book are based on the assumption of power and intention behind the attacks and responses (so although some concepts may be useful, they may not be entirely carried to "tag" point sparring). That being said, the teachings of this book will work both for sport and for self defense. In other words, this book may help to make training in the dojang/dojo more in tune with the requirements of street survival using the same punches, strikes and kicks that are basic to Karate/Tae Kwon Do/Tang Soo Do. After hearing during the last decade that the only way to deal with a street situation is to know pressure points or jujitsu, at last we see a true master putting things back into place and saying "hey, why don't you knock him down with punch/kick/takedown?" Ninomiya and co-author Zorensky describe basics, motion patterns, counter-attacks, control/grab motions, and discuss all major topics within training, with plenty of photographs and very clear drawings to ensure adecuate footwork. So not only the content is valuable from a martial art perspective, but the layout and edition are very good. In order to grasp a deeper understanding of the book, I also recommend to read Ninomiya's autobiography, very inspirational indeed.
Manuel Adrogué . TaeKwon-Do 5th Dan.


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