Recommended historical/philosophical martial arts books?

P

perceive

Yellow Belt
I looked through the reference sticky, and did a search. There were so many threads that were similar too, but to quite exactly what I was after. (Or if there were it proves my search skills are not up where they ought to be).

I am looking for martial arts books that may explain historical information. Also, traditional texts - I have read the Art of War, and habve on order, but have not read Book of Five Rings and the Tao te Ching.
In context, i am only beginning a martial art this week (it will be either karate, or ninjutsu, depending on which I choose after this week's visit). Any texts related to these forms in particular would be great. Any other texts that you can think of as must have's would also be appreciated, for e.g The Tao of Jeet Kune Do may still be worth reading.

I an effort to stop rambling I will leave it there. If I am not clear on what I am after I will try and clarify further, but don't be afraid to recommend a book only loosely associated with the things listed above, as it is always good to have an excuse to read more books!
 
For karate, I'd suggest "karate-do: My way of life" by Gichin Funakoshi. "Shotokan's Secret" is very in depth too, IMO and can be found here http://www.amazon.com/Shotokans-Secret-Karates-Fighting-Origins/dp/0897501446

I would assume "Ninjutsu: History and Tradition" by Masaaki Hatsumi would be a good one too, but I admit I've never read it.

Interesting Cryo that you would pick the Unfettered mind. I actually own this book but have never once read it. Perhaps I should dig through my closet and see if I can't find it.
 
This isn't a historical book, but I really enjoyed Martial Mechanics, by Sifu Phillip Starr. Its a no-nonsense look at the mechanics that are employed by many different style. Its not a book you can use to necessarily teach yourself martial arts, but it can provide a bit more insight to what you are learning, and may even help spawn questions for your instructor to help you understand your own style more.

Good luck on your journey!


http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Mecha...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297064999&sr=1-1
 
Let's see what we can come up with here. With my personal bent, of course, I tend towards the Japanese systems and that may colour my choices, but considering your options of art, that may not be a bad thing!

Okay, here we go.

Historical texts: Family Traditions of the Art of War, Yagyu Munenori; Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunemoto; The Life-Giving Sword - The Secret Teachings From the House of the Shogun, Yagyu Munenori; The Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soto; Gorin no Sho, Musashi Miyamoto.

Texts on historical aspects: Legacy of the Sword, Prof. Karl Friday; Hired Swords, Prof. Karl Friday; Koryu Bujutsu, edited by Diane Skoss; Sword and Spirit, edited by Diane Skoss; Keiko Shokon, edited by Diane Skoss; Katori Shinto Ryu, Otake Risuke; Arms and Armour of the Samurai, I. Bottomley and A.P. Hopson; Samurai - An Illustrated Guide, Mitsuo Kure; Classical Fighting Arts of Japan, Serge Mol.

Philosophical Texts: Ninpo - Living and Thinking As a Warrior, Jack Hoban; Ninpo - Wisdom for Life, Hatsumi Masaaki; The Warrior's Edge, John B. Alexander; Iron John, Robert Bly (okay, not a martial arts one, but essential, really); Meditations on Violence, Rory Miller; The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker.

There's a lot more to all of these, and each has their own strengths and weaknesses, so don't take any as completely endorsed, but each are very good to read for their own reasons. I don't want to dismiss anyone else's suggestion, however I will say that Ninjutsu: History and Traditions is not really that highly recommended these days. It has a lot of information that is considered inaccurate and out of date, mainly as it was a collection of short articles written by Hatsumi with a lot of addition, interpretation, and otherwise embellishiment by Stephen Hayes when Steve was rather inexperienced. There are far better Ninjutsu-orientated books out there....
 
Chris Parker said:
I don't want to dismiss anyone else's suggestion, however I will say that Ninjutsu: History and Traditions is not really that highly recommended these days. It has a lot of information that is considered inaccurate and out of date, mainly as it was a collection of short articles written by Hatsumi with a lot of addition, interpretation, and otherwise embellishiment by Stephen Hayes when Steve was rather inexperienced. There are far better Ninjutsu-orientated books out there....
Click to expand...

I figured this may be the case, but I wasn't sure. Are there any available reliable texts on the history of the ninja?

I think Gift of fear is essential for anyone interested in self defense.
 
Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) by Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith

The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Martial Arts - 5000 years. Professor Kang Ge-Wu

Arts of Strength Arts of Serenity
Martial Arts Training for Mental. Physical, And Spiritual Health
By Nicklaus Suino

Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hymams

Mastery by George Leonard
 
Living the Martial Way by Forrest Morgan. An excellent guide to serious training.
 
Thanks for the response everyone, I've made a spreadsheet and will start ordering some of these books, in no particular order other than they happen to be available!
 
perceive said:
Thanks for the response everyone, I've made a spreadsheet and will start ordering some of these books, in no particular order other than they happen to be available!
Click to expand...
I just realised how sad that must seem that I made spreadsheet. The things we do.
 
perceive said:
I just realised how sad that must seem that I made spreadsheet. The things we do.
Click to expand...

:hmm: Well no, I wouldn't call it sad...but unfortunately, based on the whole spreadsheet thing, you must now be shunned :ubercool: :uhyeah:
 
Shunned already! And I didn't even start a flame thread. To answer the question, 6 of the books are on order, so I am hoping to get a decent start there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

which books are classics, by M.H.I. author

Previous Thread

Girly reads

Next Thread

Similar threads

R
Recent favorites to read
Replies
0
Views
1K
Rabu
R
K
Martial Arts books making the top selling list
Replies
3
Views
1K
Elfan
E
B
Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey
Replies
2
Views
2K
brianlkennedy
B
C
Martial Arts 'theory' books
Replies
11
Views
2K
kidswarrior
kidswarrior
Instructor
  • Poll Poll
Interview of Forrest E. Morgan, author of Living the Martial Way
Replies
5
Views
3K
Instructor
Instructor

Latest Discussions

Back
Top