Hidy Ochiai's Complete Book of Self-Defense

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eing inducted twice into the "Black Belt Hall of Fame", as Instructor of the Year and as Man of the Year, I am sure that karate's Hidy Ochiai is quite a legend in American karate and Martial Arts. Still, there are some rather huge alarm-bells going off inside my head seeing cover shots like this. Sure we've all been there in class, on demoes, during action-shots and show-offs. But to present stuff like this on a practical self-defense level...

Now, I don't know anything about Hidy Ochiai as a person educator or karateka. Judging from his merits I am sure that his washin-ryu karate is as good and strong as it gets. What boggles me is that the book presents a mix of karate and ju jitsu/judo techniques without ever mentioning this fact (at least as far as I'm able to see). Many of the things that are presented here is ju jitsu - and quite mediocre ju jitsu as that.

The book is built in sections. It starts with simple, one-on-one self-defense techniques: Defenses against chokes, grabs, holds and punches. Again this is ju jitsu most of it, with some karate blocks, punches, kicks and stomps added to it.

The next section is about defenses on the ground, and at least the author isn't trying to show grappling. Rather you'll see use of the hands and legs in various defensive moves. The next chapter or section is about falling techniques, and this is quite good actually, correct postures and all!

Then the book moves on to more traditional karate in the chapter: "The Practical Karate". This is lots of different karate stances, evasions, blocks, thrusts, punches and kicks demonstrated as form and used against an attack - in karate fashion mostly punches and kicks.

The next chapter or section is called "Advanced Self-Defense Techniques". Here you have techniques against multiple attackers, weapons, more advanced defensive moves aso. And again: Back to some ju jitsu moves with a little karate added to the mix. It is also here that you will find the old and very unlikely: "come-on-guys-grab-my-hands-so-that-I-do-my-deadly-backflip-technique".

Without any obvious transition it's on to "Kata: Theory, Demonstration, and Analysis" in the next section. The book rounds off with some physical conditioning techniques.

It's not the fact that a well-known teacher and martial arts persona uses other arts to promote his own that I find strange. What I find strange is that these two arts, karate and ju jitsu, as presented here don't blend togeher well. It's almost like two different books in one. Further I can't help being put off by some rather mediocre or show-off self-defense/ju jitsu techniques. The karate part is great though!

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