Jiu Jitsu Tricks, by K. Saito

 Do a search on Abebooks!

nfortunately there's not much to be found about K. Saito, inside this book: "Jiu-Jitsu Tricks", or on the Net. It says (in the book) that Saito is from Nagasaki, and that the book is dating from 1912, but that's all. A single reference I could find on the Net stated that the book was originally from 1905. The picture on your left shows the first page, since the cover is missing.

The various techniques are shown with anything from one to three pictures each. The performers are younger, Japanese males - dressed in gi-tops (martial arts uniform jackets) and some sort of tights. The belts are more like ordinary belts than the ones we use for our uniforms today. The performers also wear what seems to be some sort of light shoes.

Reading the book, it is not easy by any means to be able to see what the techniques are like. As stated there are few pictures, and the written text don't add too much information either. From what I can see this is traditional, turn of the century ju jitsu.

What makes this book stand out "from the crowd" is the introduction. Here the author describes (in his opinion) how ju jitsu in Japan is to be seen like boxing in America and England - compared in knowledge and exposure. He goes on to point to the fact that many knows the basics of these arts, but that a limited few can be said to be champions. How true - there's still a lot of "experts" out there! To the media, it may seem like you're a martial arts expert as soon as you can tie your belt and think at the same time. You can throw a kick - you must be an expert! You're a black belt - wow, you must be a leathal weapon! :-)

In the introductory part to the book the author also is bringing forward some tactical sides to the art. For instance: "When I meet a man I want him to be as aggressive as possible, because I know then that my opportunities for success will be increased". This is a far, far better statement than the bombastic one you can read on the front page: "The secret science of the Japanese against which weight and strength does not count". Jee haw!

Without a doubt this book is written for the American market. It's referriing to President Roosvelt (who did indeed train judo/ju jitsu), as well as the American army. There's also a portrait of "The Young Sandow" (a strongman who's real name was Adolph E. Nordquest) in the chapter about atemi (vulnerable points). Since Nordquest also went by the name Viking, it's not hard to guess that he had Nordic (Swedish?) ancestors, or was himself from these parts.

This is a very interesting little book. The right place to start searching for it is of course Abebooks. That is the best place (apart from E-Bay) that I've found you can get hold of older books like this without paying an arm and a leg.

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