This book is designed for those who have no previous training in the martial arts; formal karate techniques are explained where necessary to clarify points of instruction. Physical fitness and mental discipline are emphasized, and the interested student can enjoy numerous physical conditioning exercises before he embarks upon the twelve step-by-step lessons of basic self-defense techniques.
Amazon Review:

This large soft cover format 210 page book (The Essence of Self-Defense by Hidy Ochiai) was published in 1979; however, the vast majority of material is still educational and of value for anyone seeking a good basic introduction to learning how to defend yourself. Even though the main focus is on learning Karate Do techniques it does show some Judo, Jujitsu, and Aikido techniques along with the striking counters.

This book covers a wide range of topics in its four chapters. After the introduction explaining what to expect of this book the first chapter covers the importance of physical conditions. Running, walking, half knee bends, light stretching, deep abdominal breathing, sit-ups, full squat and front kick, and numerous other exercises are covered. This is a twelve lesson format approach to learning self-defense. These include stances, basic punches, strikes and kicks and how to use these techniques in various self-defense situations such as grabs, chokes, ground defense and many other situations. This book is filled with numerous clear black and white photographs which makes this text easy to understand and follow.

As I have emphasized in all my reviews of martial art and self-defense books, the real value of these books and manuals is when they are used in conjunction with actual hands-on training with a competent instructor.

If you are seeking a good basic manual on self-defense while also studying with an instructor this is a book you should check out.

The Essence of Self-Defense

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