This is valuable book for anyone training in martial arts or someone that would like to know practical self defense techniques with common items such as a cane, umbrella or golf club. There are 23 well defined techniques with step by step illustrations and written instructions.
The layout of pictures and text provides space for making notes. Having studied hanbo under Sensei John Goss, this book is a valuable resource for reference and details. The hanbo is used not as a tool or club but rather than a conduit for aiki. Aiki has many forms; leading, surprise, breath and atemi (strike or a focused cut motion). I have been training for 9 years and this is a book that I use weekly! When you look at the cost per technique, the book is a real bargain.
Actually, I had read the reviews of the 1st edition in which one of the customer reviewers justly complained that "...a page wasted (left blank) for "seminar/practice notes" after each technique is presented ...." before I ordered my copy of this "completely revised and expanded 2nd edition". I thought this new edition might be better, but I was wrong: the author only exchanged one silly idea for another: now each technique is first presented in a step by step fashion, with instructions under the picture (o.k so far). Immediately after this the very same technique is shown again in a "putting it together" sequence (using identical photographs in most cases) without the text "...so that you can more easily see the flow of the techniques...and incorporate the Aiki movement ..." (p.13).
This is simply a rip-off! Does Mr. Goss mistrust the capability of his readers to look over the first series of photos for a second time to create "... a filmstrip-like effect..." (p. 13), this time skipping over text instructions? By leaving out redundant picture series he could easily have doubled the number of techniques shown on those 208 pages!
Also - sadly - many of the photos don't show the footwork involved (which is vital in aiki arts if the techniques are meant to work!) or obscure it as both opponents wear hakama (which may be traditional, but is a didactic mistake - unfortunately seen in many aikido and other martial arts books). A far better visual solution is to have both partners wearing differently coloured uniforms as in George Kirby's jujutsu books.
I also disagree with Goss sensei's strikes against knife attacks: to strike at the MUSCULAR part of the forearm (as in technique 14, picture 2, p. 116) or of the bend of the elbow (as in technique 19, picture 3, p. 149) is not nearly as effective as striking the BONY parts of the forerarm, which hurts enough to make the attacker almost certainly drop the knife.
If you seriously want to learn about hanbojutsu (Aiki or not), my advice is to get yourself a copy of „Stick-Fighting" by Masaaki Hatsumi&Quintin Chambers (originally published back in 1971, well before the ninja craze centered on Hatsumi sensei started!): on less pages you get a lot more techniques (60 compared to 27 in Goss' book) explained in over 300 clear and well chosen photos, a lot more explanatory text and at a cheaper price than this book.
