Title: Hidden in Plain Sight: Esoteric Power Training Within Japanese Martial Traditions, Revised and Expanded Edition
Author: Ellis Amdur
Publisher: Freelance Academy Press
Publication Date: April 27, 2018
Format: Paperback
Pages: 441 pages, 6 in x 9 in
Cover Price: $39.95
ISBN: 978-1937439323
Content
Sensei Ellis Amdur is a prominent trainer in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in verbal de-escalation of aggressive and mentally ill individuals. Sensei Amdur has studied classic Japanese combat arts for fifty years, spending thirteen of these years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions. I first encountered his work through his contribution to the latest edition of Sensei Patrick McCarthy’s Bubishi, previously reviewed here.
Hidden in Plain Sight is Sensei Amdur’s exploration of a concept proposed by one of his colleagues, Mike Sigman, that “there once was a substrate of subtle skills within Japanese martial traditions, similar to those referred to by such terms as ‘internal strength’ within Chinese martial arts such as taijiquan and xingyiquan.” Sensei Amdur continues: “My own research eventually led me to the opinion that teachings on internal strength were once relatively common within Japanese martial traditions, and I felt the weight of years wasted, as this was one of the things I’d gone to Japan to find, only to end up disappointed.” This book discusses his personal research into the idea of “internal strength.”
Pros
As founder of Martial History Team, I am constantly searching for resources that would interest my readers. It did not take me long to become hooked on Sensei Amdur’s material. He is an exceptionally engaging writer. Too often we encounter authors who are technically proficient in whatever art they practice, whether it be of the martial or professional kind, yet they lack the ability to capture the audience’s attention. This is not a problem for Sensei Amdur. He writes in a thoughtful and organized manner, delivering his message without boring the reader.
Cons
I have historically been fairly quick to dismiss the idea of “internal strength.” Nevertheless, I’ve had a few encounters over the years which might qualify as “extraordinary experiences.” For example, I remember being the uke for Sensei Wally Jay, founder of the Small Circle Jujitsu system, at a seminar in the mid-1990s. When I grabbed his arm (as instructed), I felt something like iron—but was that just the result of almost 70 years of physical training? Sensei Amdur makes a compelling case that there is more to this than routine Western exercise.
Conclusion
I give this book 5 out of 5 ninja stars.
I greatly enjoyed reading Hidden in Plain Sight. Although I took extensive notes, this is likely one of the books I will read again. I’ve purchased some of the books he cited as resources, and I’ve started researching some of the practitioners who Sensei Amdur feels embody internal strength. Whether you believe in such possibilities or not, I suggest giving this book, and his other two martial arts-themed tomes, a close look.
- Book Review: Worth Defending - November 25, 2020
- Book Review: See You on the Mat - November 24, 2020
- Book Review: Flashing Steel, 25th Anniversary Edition - November 23, 2020
“Internal Strength” comes from the word/phrase “neijin” … almost a literal translation, although you have to understand what “jin” means. “Jin” is often translated as something like a “specialized force skill”, a “force vector”, “intent strength”, or something along those lines. The Chinese refer to jin as “the physical manifestation of qi”. If you don’t understand what “qi” and “jin” are in the functional sense, you don’t understand Asian martial-arts. Qi and jin skills are demonstrable, reproducible, and understandable … where westerners go off-course is in thinking that the woo-woo stuff some people focus on is all there is to “qi”. The problem is that most westerners, despite their credentials, don’t really know much about the core of Asian martial-arts.
Without wasting a lot of time, the functional “qi” of the body refers to the strength supplementations we get from the involuntary muscle-fascia systems of the body (which are controlled via the subconscious). The Asians understood that we could increase strength, the ability to take blows, etc., if we could train these aspects of our bodies. Western physiology never paid much attention to the involuntary-muscle systems of the body.