Good point. I've even heard of some schools making the students buy books to aid the learning process. Good books are a great source of information. But I do agree that proper instruction is invaluable. There are subtleties that you can't get from books. But that's why God invented formus and message boards!

I'm not expecting to become a judo expert from the book I bought (anxiously awaiting), but I'm confident I'll know more about throws and leverage than I do now.