Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Not for serious martial artists but an interesting and generally effective exercise routine nevertheless. Ilaria Montagnani's Forza has done for kendo what Billy Blanks' Tai Bo did for karate. It is a fun, relatively easy to learn, aerobic workout routine with a big stick (or bokken if you own one). She begins with a little background and context then jumps right into footwork, warm-up exercises, and basic techniques. You will learn how to hold the weapon and perform high, low, horizontal, and diagonal cuts as well as thrusts. There are a few "advanced" techniques as well, though they are really only variations of the basic stuff.
If you are an experience budoka who has studied kendo, iaido, or a related martial art this book is not for you. If you are a mundane individual who's got enough space to swing around a big stick and wants an interesting workout routine you ought to give this book a try. The book is a bit light on explanation but the step-by-step photos are clear and easy to follow. It might be better as a DVD but you can get sufficient information out of this format to perform the routines successfully. I recommend reading through it a couple times before getting started though.
I strongly recommend doing the warm-up drills before getting started. Even a few minutes with a lightweight stick can lead to pulled muscles or other injuries if you haven't done this kind of thing before.
If you really dig this stuff and want a serious workout, you should consider picking up a heavy ironwood bokken. It'll make you sweat fast. If you want something even heavier, you should probably consider an ironwood suburito (suburi bokken) which is thicker and heaver than a traditional bokken but has the same general shape. The balance, however, is not typically as good. Consequently they are only used for solo training and not for tandem exercises in a traditional dojo (which is exactly what you want here anyway). If you do the footwork/stances properly along with the arm movements you really can work your whole body, not just your arms/shoulders.
The editorial write-up touts that the book tells you how to get a hold of a workout sword yet the text simply suggests building your own and also refers to contacting a local martial arts store or internet site. I'm underwhelmed by that! There is also no warning against doing this with live steel in the book so I'll give one here: Don't even think of doing this stuff with a real sword without expert supervision. That's a serious accident waiting to happen.
In summary, this book is an interesting idea that is clearly communicated and very well illustrated. It's an aerobic workout not a martial art, but a lot more interesting than most fitness routines. If you've got a big enough practice area and a passing interest in swords you ought to give it a try.
Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction
Click Here to see more reviews about: Forza The Samurai Sword Workout: Kick Butt and Get Buff with High-Intensity Sword Fighting Moves
First the author teaches basic sword movements: thrusts, slices etc. Although she keeps it fun, she draws on her years of martial arts training to teach the true movements that combine balance, focus and precised muscle control. Then the author explains the benefits of each movement and her sword fighting program as a whole. In part three of the book she brings it all together showing how to string movements together into a heart-pounding, full-throttle workout.
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