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Thread: Book Reviews Club

  1. #31
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    "Random" one of the books I listed earlier, is by Jay McInerney, the same guy who wrote "Bright Lights, Big City" and others dealing with the excesses of the 80's yuppies. Not a guy you'd expect to write about martial arts, and it is a little different that most books about the subject. The hero (for lack of a better word) of the story is the Random of the title, an American living in Japan learning Shotokan karate (I think, I haven't read it in a while and I can't find my copy right now). He has some shady history involving drugs and there's an undercurrent of his using the time to Japan as an escape from that. And the ending took me completely by surprise, and involves a sword fight with another American in a Japanese park. The description of the senior Japanese student at the dojo Random is a member of, is one of my favorite passages in any book.


    Another great book is called "Moving Zen: Karate as a way to gentleness" (that's the original title. Its been re-published under "Moving Zen: One man's journey to the heart of karate"). Its an autobiographical account of C.W. Nicol's first years in Japan, learning shotokan karate and goes up to his shodan test. Its a beautiful book, and has stories from his time living in a house with Donn Draeger, but its mostly about his training and development as a human and karateka. I know its a popular book - I've owned three copies of the original and had all three borrowed - permanently!

    William Johnson

  2. #32
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    Greetings,
    In choosing books to purchase for a home library, I would say that it is important to take a balanced approach. A good budo library should contain a number of different types of books. These can be technical, psychological, biological, historical, and anecdotal (biographies). When looking at books about martial arts history, take a good look at the bibliography. If the list are short or reference only other martial arts books I would advise against it.Always take a good look at the qualifications of the author. Are they an acknowledeged expert in their field? Do they speak and or read the native language of the art they are writing about? Would their book stand up to academic scrutiny?
    If you want to know about the history of a country that is the birthplace of your art, go to the History section of your local bookstore, not the martial arts section.
    Read books about combat stress written by pyschologist, not martial artist.Books about zen written by experts on Zen (BTW I've heard it reported {NPR} that there are more books written about zen in the library of congress than any other single topic, seems there is a lot to say about nothingness).
    Check out the International Hopological Society web site for an extensive reading list, I won't try to recreate it here. It is one of the best list I have seen, and I've spent the last four years using it as a buying guide and I have not been disappointed yet. I would also recommend the reading list compliled by Meik Skoss on the Koryu books web site.
    I hope this is helpful.
    Best regards,
    Bruce Mitchell

  3. #33
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    Default Good Reads

    Greetings,

    The following may not be the best, or most authoritative books on oriental martial arts, history or culture, but they have provided much enjoyment and insight for me. These are all printed in American, if not English.

    In NO PARTICULAR ORDER, they are:

    "Judo and AIkido" Kenji Tomiki
    "Aikido: Tradition and the Competitive Edge" Fumiaki Shishida & Tetsuro Nariyama
    "Shotokan Karate: A Precise History" Harry Cook
    "Lives of Master Swordsmen" Makoto Sugawara
    "Zen Combat" Jay Gluck
    "Martial Musings" Robert W. Smith
    "The Secrets of the Samurai" Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook
    "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook
    "A History of Japan" (3vols.) George Sansom
    "Traditional Aikido" (5 vols.) M. Saito
    "Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Japan" Karl F. Friday
    "The Heart of the Warrior" Catharina Bloomberg
    "Its A Lot Like Dancing" Terry Dobson/Riki Moss
    "Budo Series" (3 vols.) Donn Draeger
    "The Way and the Power" Frederick Lovret

    Regarding Korean Karate, which I study (Chi Do Kwan), there is precious little that provides a solid non-nationalistic painting of its history. Most of the works available, buy the line of a national martial art that goes back, unbroken, for 2,000 years. I have not seen one good work, commerically available in book form, that delves into the influence of China, Okinawa and Japan on Korean arts, to any great extent. If any one out there is aware of a non-biased work on the history of the kwans, after WWII, please reply.

    Enjoy the summer reading, and be aware some of the works listed above have flaws and some others are rather dry, but they educate and make one think.

    Regards,
    TommyK
    Tom Militello
    "Respect every time!"

  4. #34
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    Talking I know your pain!

    Tommy:

    I hear ya (about TaeKwonDo). I've recently read some material where the author indicated that Korean arts may have influenced Japanese and Chinese martial arts and culture. The author indicated that the Hawrang(sp) may have influenced the Japanese developement of Bushido. That was the first time I'd heard anyone suggest that. I think it's in the new Dragon Times.
    I'll see if I can find the article.


    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  5. #35
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    Talking All quiet on the Budo front.

    Why is it whenever we mention Korean arts it gets so quiet in here?

    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  6. #36
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    Good question Budoka34! From what I understand the face of the TKD has changed a bit since I did it in the 80's, with all the McDojo's, etc., but the art, as I was taught it, is very effective. My TKD school was just as traditional as my former Wado Ryu and Shotokai dojo, and my teacher respected in the community. I learned a lot from him. But the art to me is worthy of respect, at least the way I was taught. It is a shame that some individuals and organizations seem to have brought ridicule to it.
    David F. Craik

  7. #37
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    David:
    Sorry it took so long for me to reply. I've been at a five day Qi-gong seminar.

    I'm tyrying to over come a slight prejudice toward modern Korean arts.
    I've had some bad experiences with TaeKwonDo and Hapkido instructors.
    The whole McDojoizing of traditional martial arts is just really depressing.
    Why do people have to lower everything to the lowest common denominator?
    I met an instructor recently who said with pride, "Well I couldn't do that movement and make it look good, so I changed it".

    Boy, do I need to get off the soap box!

    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  8. #38
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    Talking new stuff

    Some new stuff!
    I just found a whole collection of books for sell at a local used bookstore. I chose about ten titles. One of the best is "Okinawa Karatedo Goju Ryu" by: Mario Higaonna. *note* I may not have the title exactly correct.

    This is a great book! It has one of the best history briefs I've seen in a Karate title. Lots of Goju Ryu foundational material.
    Truely one for the collection. Now if I can find the other two in the set I'll be thrilled.

    More later.

    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  9. #39
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    Prof. Eliot Cohen's book SUPREME COMMAND, has gotten a lot of press since Pres. Bush praised it. It discusses the role of national leaders and their relationship with the military. Of special interest to me was that Cohen includes an excerpt from Forrest Morgan's LIVING THE MARTIAL WAY.

  10. #40
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    Talking Cool!

    Mark:
    I'll add it to my list of books to check out.

    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  11. #41
    couch Guest

    Wink Other books

    I know these aren't specifically on Martial Arts, but they do have a spiritual value, and have made me a better person:

    1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
    2. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
    3. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma

    I'm going to be reading The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty Moore soon, and I will be re-living my childhood and re-reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse!

    Hope this adds to the collection!

  12. #42
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    Wow - this is great ! I picked up some good suggestions by reviewing this thread. I see the prices for used copies of "The Judoka" are quite high, but one of these days maybe I'll find a reasonably priced copy.

    I'm listing 3 of my favorite books that I have not seen elsewhere in this thread. In no particular order:

    1. "Dueling With O-sensei" - Ellis Amdur (available only on his web site). I can't believe this hasn't come up on this thread because a) It is one of the best MA books I have ever read and b) his book is listed in this forum ! The book is full of interesting (true) stories and insightful points. The author's background in psychotherapy, crisis intervention and a classic martial art (in addition to Aikido) provides for a very interesting perspective and many interesting stories, which cover a wide range of subjects relevant to the martial artist. His stories about training with Terry Dobson are quite interesting and his controversial questions about the history of M. Ueshiba are fascinating. Since originally written for Aikido Journal (and he is an Aikidoist) many of his examples/stories come from an Aikido context, however the issues are universal.

    2. "There Are No Secrets" - Wolfe Lowenthal. This book is a series of brief chapters, which alternate between describing Lowenthal’s training with Professor Cheng, his recollection of Cheng’s philosophy about Tai Chi/life and various stories about the Professor himself. As a result, the reader comes to meet Cheng in some small way and also gain some understanding of what Tai Chi is all about. There is also a bit of information about Chinese culture slipped in. This is a small book with a great deal of content (and even has some nice pictures of the Professor), which I have found myself rereading on several occasions.

    3. "Attack Proof" - J. Perkins, A. Ridenhour, M. Kovsky. This book has had the biggest impact on my understanding of the practical applications of martial arts. The book covers three critical areas: 1) Practical and specific advise about avoiding potentially violent people/situations 2) Time & battle tested basic techniques to increase your chances of survival if you absolutely must fight and 3) The basic ideas and drills from the art of Ki Chuan Do, which is a method of fighting that combines the balance & sensitivity of Tai Chi with the applications from WWII military close combat and a few other martial arts (including Native American fighting). The authors stress simple, devastating techniques made even more devastating by developing basic physical attributes (looseness, body-unity, balance & sensitivity) to a very high level. This book presents both skills & strategies necessary to survival under chaotic conditions and also provides a number of brief true stories that remind the reader why it is important to learn these skills.

    I hope these suggestions are helpful to someone. I will definitely try to pick up some of the books mentioned elsewhere on this thread.

    Regards,
    Brian Crowley

  13. #43
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    Unhappy Good Stuff!

    Brian:
    Great additions!
    I'm hoping to purchase a copy of "Dueling with Osensei" very soon.
    Gotta pay for all these seminars first.

    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  14. #44
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    Talking New books

    I've recently picked up quite a few new books, I'll post a list soon as well as some information on each.
    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

  15. #45
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    Default

    just trying to put up a new avatar.
    R. Kite
    Budoka 34
    "Study hard and all things can be accomplished; give up and you will amount to nothing".

    -Yamaoka Tesshu

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