recommend some books to me

[jarrod]

specifically, i'm looking for books written by some of the first westerners to come into contact with/study japanese martial arts. e.j. harrison's "the fighting spirit of japan" is a perfect example of what i'm looking for. thanks for any help.

jf

[melmiel]

Books by Donn F. Draeger:



Classical Bujutsu : Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol I., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
Classical Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol II., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
Modern Bujutsu & Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol III., Weatherhill, 1974, 1996
Japanese Swordsmanship : Technique And Practice (with Gordon Warner), Weatherhill, 1982

[jarrod]

thank you, i was thinking that this thread was dead. i've read some of draeger's stuff, very good.

jf

[suicide]

Okinawas complete karate system

isshin ryu

by Micheal Rosenbaum

[lhommedieu]

Zen and the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel.

Best,

Steve

[Brian R. VanCise]

Books by Donn F. Draeger:



Classical Bujutsu : Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol I., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
Classical Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol II., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
Modern Bujutsu & Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol III., Weatherhill, 1974, 1996
Japanese Swordsmanship : Technique And Practice (with Gordon Warner), Weatherhill, 1982



Jarrod,

The above books are all very good to read and extremely well done. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif Classical books for any library! http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif

[canit]

Donn Draeger's books are definitely good reads.

Trevor Leggett (http://www.leggett.co.uk/Trevor_leggett/Trevor_Leggett.htm) wrote a number of great books. 'Zen & the Ways' and 'The Sprirt of Budo' are both related to martial arts. You can read some of Zen & the Ways here (http://books.google.com/books?id=zMoOAAAAQAAJ&dq=Zen+%26+the+ways&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=578bo0YACw&sig=-MUb6w7LRw-AGzk8OmowP_859LA&hl=en&ei=X6HsSp-7A8vFlAf0s4iABQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false) via Google books.

'This is Kendo' by Junzo Sasamori & Gorden Warner is another early book worth reading (IMO).


Re 'Zen in the Art of Archery'
A few articles have been written re how much the book really had to do with either Zen or Kyudo (archery). Even the man Herrigel claimed as his teacher was critical of the book. See this thread (http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5556&highlight=herrigel+archery) on e-budo for more on that. If you are not an e-budo member see this article "The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery (http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/586.pdf)" [pdf file].

[lhommedieu]

Re 'Zen in the Art of Archery'
A few articles have been written re how much the book really had to do with either Zen or Kyudo (archery). Even the man Herrigel claimed as his teacher was critical of the book. See this thread (http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5556&highlight=herrigel+archery) on e-budo for more on that. If you are not an e-budo member see this article "The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery (http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/586.pdf)" [pdf file].

Thanks for the correction. Yamada Shoji had a book (http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Dark-Japan-Buddhism-Modernity/dp/0226947645/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257600030&sr=8-1) published this year that expands upon the article cited above.

Best,

Steve

[lhommedieu]

Re 'Zen in the Art of Archery'
A few articles have been written re how much the book really had to do with either Zen or Kyudo (archery). Even the man Herrigel claimed as his teacher was critical of the book. See this thread (http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5556&highlight=herrigel+archery) on e-budo for more on that. If you are not an e-budo member see this article "The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery (http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/586.pdf)" [pdf file].

Just to ammend the post, above. I read Zen in the Art of Archery as a freshman in college and was not aware until now about how wrong I've been! Presumably I was the perfect audience for Herrigel's book.

See also Earl Hartman's review (http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090) of Zen in the Art of Archery at Amazon.com. He recommends Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery by Onuma and DeProspero. See also the Wikipedia articles about Eugen Herrigel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Herrigel) and Zen in the Art of Archery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_art_of_archery).

Best,

Steve

[LuckyKBoxer]

not adding anything useful... just wanted to say the recommendations peaked my interest, I am ordering those four books by Draeger now... Thanks

[chrispillertkd]

specifically, i'm looking for books written by some of the first westerners to come into contact with/study japanese martial arts. e.j. harrison's "the fighting spirit of japan" is a perfect example of what i'm looking for. thanks for any help.

jf

You might want to check out Koryu Bujutsu, Sword and Spirit, and Keiko Shokon, all edited by Diane Skoss.

Also, Dave Lowry's Autumn Lightning and Persimmon Wind are both great reads.

All of the books mentioned above are available through www.koryu.com (http://www.koryu.com)

Pax,

Chris