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Martial
Arts in General Herein are books on the general subject of martial arts that are not necessarily specific to any particular system or style. Note: (J) denotes the book is written in Japanese. Furyu the Budo Journal and all material on this site are copyright © 2002 by Tengu Press and Wayne Muromoto. All US and international copyright laws hold. Anyone interested in using any material of the site must contact Wayne Muromoto at wmuromoto@hotmail.com or at Tengu Press Hawaii, PO Box 61637, Honolulu, Hawaii 96839 USA. |
Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts
by Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith. Kodansha Intl., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan and New York, New York. 208 pages, paperback (my version). ISBN# 0-87011-436-0. c. 1969. $11.95.This still remains, after all these years, one of the best books available on the factual history, theory and practice of Asian martial arts of East Asia by two of the leading writers and researchers in the field. The late Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith spent decades in Asia, working, writing and studying various martial arts, and conducting field research into many schools and disciplines. Based in Japanese and Chinese systems, the authors also went to the source of other martial arts in Burma, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia to compile this book. While time and further research may reveal a couple of mistakes here and there, in the main the book is a wonderful introduction to the various martial arts and how they play out in the Asian martial arts world landscape. Don't look for articles on martial arts movie stars or the latest passing fad. Instead, you will find concise and accurate information on martial arts. Rereading parts of the book, I find myself most taken by what apparently is Smith's contributions. He likes to throw in witty and telling quotes. Example:
"Because getting education is like getting measles--you have to go where the measles is--many boxers shopped around. Like the vagantes, the wandering scholars in the Middle Ages, they traveled from place to place learning from famous teachers. In the process they took many a beating, but, if they persisted, more often than not the experience led to improvement."
The Craft of the Japanese Sword
by Leon and Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara. Kodansha Intl. Ltd., Tokyo and New York. 168 pages hardbound edition. c. 1987. ISBN: 0-87011-798-X (US). $34.95.A beautifully illustrated and written book about traditional Japanese swordsmithing. The Kapps, with swordmaker Yoshindo Yoshihara, explain the process of swordmaking, from raw metal ore to the finished product, and include information on the craft of ancillary arts, such as scabbard making, etc. Lots of photos, historical overview, interviews with master craftsmen, some scientific insight (Leon Kapp is a molecular biologist), and sword lore. I think there's a cheaper, paperback version now available. It's not the sword collector's definitive book on the intricacies of sword collecting, but an excellent introduction to the subject and one that will inspire sword collectors or any martial artist who uses the nihonto, the Japanese sword.
The Fighting Arts
by Howard Reid and Michael Croucher. Eddison/Sadd Editions Ltd. c. 1983. Published by Simon and Schuster. 240 pages, paperback. ISBN 0-671-47273-9.This book was based on a BBC TV series on Asian martial arts. From reading the book, it seems that it did a much better job at exploring the martial arts than any of our American TV documentaries have done so far. It does not seek to be all-inclusive, but does include a nice sampling of different teachers and schools from all over Asia to give us a general overview of martial arts. Reid and Croucher begin with the legends and myths surrounding the origins of martial arts. They offer us a rare insight into Indian martial arts of Kalaripayit. China is represented by Shaolin style martial arts and internal "soft" arts. From Japan, we catch a rare glimpse of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu and swordsmithing, Karate is represented by the well-respected Goju-ryu of Higaonna sensei, and then the book closes with some consideration given to modern Japanese disciplines and martial arts from other countries, as well as some speculation as to where this is all going. The book is a worthwhile addition to one's library if only for the rare look at the Katori-ryu and Indian arts, but it also has some interesting pieces on Higaonna sensei's concepts of karate, and so on.
Martial Musings
by Robert W. Smith. Via Media Publishing Co., Erie, Pennsylvania. 390 pages, paperback. Web: www.goviamedia.com. ISBN# 1-893765-00-8.Author Robert W. Smith is a rarity: a real-life adventurer, a throwback to a past when men were men and women were women. He grew up a writer of the rarest wit and humor, with a style and grace drawn from a love of the classics to pulp fiction. When he retired from his professional life, Smith compiled this collection of essays and articles, including quite a number of new ones written especially for this book, into a wide-ranging discussion of many different aspects of martial arts, culled from a lifetime of study. Smith met and studied with Chinese and Japanese masters, befriended legends like Donn F. Draeger, Jim Bregman, Jon Bluming, and others, and had firsthand experiences with all kinds of antics and adventures of that motley crew.
Smith talks about the sweet science of Western boxing, when it really was a science, compared to today's brawling, survival of the toughest-jawed, and of the days when wrestling still had a shred of real professional technical masters, so unlike the huff-and-puff blowhards we see nowadays on television. He has a cranky opinion on a lot of hallowed modern day martial arts icons, such as Bruce Lee ("Lee was an even worse actor than a fighter. . .As the tomcat said of his love affair with a skunk, I enjoyed as much of it [Lee's first film] as I could stand."), free-for-all contests ("Competent fighters see Ultimate as a beastly activity reflecting nothing so much as a terribly neurotic insecurity in participants and fans") and so on. Smith has a unique, engaging writing style and however much you may disagree with his opinions, you have to admit he brings a mountain of experience and evidence to the table that is hard to refute. And it's highly entertaining.
Musashi
by Eiji Yoshikawa. Translated by Charles S. Terry. Harper & Row, Publishers/Kodansha Intl. 970 pages, hardbound. c. 1971. ISBN# 0-06-859851-3.Yoshikawa was a journalist, a man after my own heart, who turned to serial fiction later on in his career. His serialization of the fictionalized tale of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi became an eagerly awaited series in prewar Japanese newspapers, probably as popular among young people as the Final Fantasy series or some such video game. Yoshikawa is a great storyteller, truly one of the more gifted popular novelists of his generation. While he may not have won a Nobel prize, like his contemporary Kawabata Yasunori, he writes a wonderful rollicking, exciting tale of Ye Olde Japan. He paints a picture of a likeable Musashi, driven by his need to excel in martial arts, and creates a world full of historical and semi-legendary friends and foes. It's a thick book, but it's a wonderful read, like picking up great fantasy novels by writers like Tolkien or Lewis. Highly recommended reading for long winter nights.
Sword and Brush
by Dave Lowry. Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts. c. 1995.120 pages, paperback. $14 US. ISBN 1-57062-112-8.Another wonderful book of musings by Dave Lowry. Known for his columns in various martial arts magazines, Lowry has compiled a series of short, thought-provoking articles on martial ways and artistic ways of Japan. He uses these arts as springboards to musings about the meaning of life, art, beauty and truth...all heavy subjects, but never too heavy for him to lay out a wonderful metaphor, image or mind-picture. For the price, it's worth it; it 's a good read to get the brain wondering about what we do what we do in the dojo.
". . .The agonies and torments, the tribulations and despair life sometimes provides, the bugeisha accepts. They are a part of his memories, a part of him. They are the shadows, the kage that give depth and delineation to his personality."