5 Books Martial Artists Need To Read
This is by no means a definitive collection. Just a few of the books in my own library that I feel are essential..Here is my selection of the best martial arts books ever published. They will help you to learn more about your existing martial arts style and discover new martial arts systems & techniques. 1. Mas Oyamas's Complete Karate CourseKarate is currently enjoying wide popularity the world over. We encounter it frequently in books, films and on television. There are few people who have not seen a demonstration of brick or wood breaking or a single bare-handed man defeat a host of armed opponents. But karate is much more than this. It was developed over a thousand years ago, not only as a form of unarmed combat, but as a way to discipline the body in order to improve the spirit. In this way, a unity of body and spirit could be achieved.
If this sounds too abstract, perhaps we can use terms that are easier to deal with. Besides conditioning the body and improving speed, strength and co-ordination, karate increases one's alertness and self-awareness. It also teaches confidence not cockiness or brashness-but a deep confidence in one's abilities to deal with the world around him. And with confidence comes calmness and a sense of inner peace. This is the true karate, the karate that one can practice years after he can no longer break bricks. But everything must have- a beginning and great things cannot be accomplished in a handful of days. In karate, the beginning is the physical forms-the punches, kicks and blocks that we have all seen. These are the techniques that enable an adept karate to perform the seemingly impossible feats that he does.
Not everyone who studies karate achieves success, but if you are able to master the techniques described in this book, you could be one of them. Work with patience and perseverance and you are sure to find some measure of satisfaction. You must also work with caution, always bearing in mind that karate is a combat form and enables one to deliver a blow of devastating power. Techniques applied improperly or with insufficient care could cause injury to you or others.
May your pursuit of karate be a rewarding one.
2. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin The book "Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin" by Jin Jing Zhong is devoted to the most enigmatic and little-known aspect of training of Shaolin monks. The book was written in 1934 with blessing and direct participation of the Head of the Shaolin Monastery Reverend Miao Xing nicknamed "The Golden Arhat", one of the best Shaolin fighters of all times. For the first time the book describes full training methods in all 72 Shaolin Arts. Being until recently for outsiders the most secret part of training of Shaolin monks, which made them invulnerable in fight, 72 Shaolin Arts at the present time become available to all who are ready to practice them persistently and with an open heart. Training methods described in the book allow to develop supernatural abilities, far beyond abilities of an ordinary man. The book has been translated from the Chinese language for the first time.
3. Kalarippayattu: The Complete Guide to Kerala's Ancient Martial ArtIn clear, easy-to-understand language, this book will tell you how to learn and practice payattu with or without weapons. Action photographs make poses and techniques easy to follow and traditional oral commands in Malayalam have been rendered into English.
For the first time, this manual opens up the closed world of this martial discipline to anyone interested in physical and mental fitness. For the newcomer to martial arts as well as the seasoned enthusiast, this manual offers an authentic and practical guide that will help you find a new, challenging and enjoyable route to health.
4. Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master TextNineteen kata ("forms") of karate--the art of self-defense without weapons--are presented here in complete detail. They are the ones selected by the great master and teacher, Gichin Funakoshi, to give comprehensive training in Karate-do, the way of karate.
Fully illustrated demonstrations by the translator cover not only every technique of the kata but also the fundamentals and applications: how to make a fist; the correct form of the open hand; preliminary training in blocking, striking and kicking; the seven stances; and sparring.The author presents, besides kata that he himself originated, beginning and advanced kata from both the Shorei school and the Shorin school, the former remarkable for their forcefulness and development of strength, the latter characterized by their gracefulness and lightning swiftness. This book, the most comprehensive and authoritative ever published, was being revised by the author shortly before his death in 1957, at the age of eighty-eight, and is translated for the first time. Through his advice on both practical and spiritual aspects of training, the master guides the student from techniques to the Way of karate. Complementing the English edition are illustrations of National Treasures from Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji temples in Nara and Master Funakoshi's calligraphy.
Karate, whose value for the well-rounded development of strength, coordination and agility is scientifically validated, can be practiced at any time and in any place, for any length of time, by men and women of all ages, and requires no special equipment. It also fosters the development of spiritual qualities: courage, courtesy, integrity, humility and self-control. Gichin Funakoshi's karate books, the first published in 1922, are landmarks, for the development of this martial art in Okinawa was shrouded in secrecy, and almost no records of its early history, dating back more than a thousand years to the Shao-lin Temple in Hunan Province, China, exist. Karate-do Kyohan is a book that lives up to its title: it is in truth the master text for karate instruction at all levels and in all aspects of technique and character development.
5. Tao Of Jeet Kune Do ExpandedCompiled from Bruce Lee’s notes and essays and originally published in 1975, this iconic volume is one of the seminal martial arts guides of its time. The science and philosophy behind the fighting system Lee pioneered himself—jeet kune do—is explained in detail, depicted through hundreds of Lee’s own illustrations. With the collaboration of Lee’s daughter, Shannon, and Bruce Lee Enterprises, this new edition is expanded, updated, and remastered, covering topics such as Zen and enlightenment, kicking, striking, grappling, and footwork. Featuring an introduction by Linda Lee, this is essential reading for any practitioner, offering a brief glimpse into the mind of one of the world’s greatest martial artists.
If this sounds too abstract, perhaps we can use terms that are easier to deal with. Besides conditioning the body and improving speed, strength and co-ordination, karate increases one's alertness and self-awareness. It also teaches confidence not cockiness or brashness-but a deep confidence in one's abilities to deal with the world around him. And with confidence comes calmness and a sense of inner peace. This is the true karate, the karate that one can practice years after he can no longer break bricks. But everything must have- a beginning and great things cannot be accomplished in a handful of days. In karate, the beginning is the physical forms-the punches, kicks and blocks that we have all seen. These are the techniques that enable an adept karate to perform the seemingly impossible feats that he does.
Not everyone who studies karate achieves success, but if you are able to master the techniques described in this book, you could be one of them. Work with patience and perseverance and you are sure to find some measure of satisfaction. You must also work with caution, always bearing in mind that karate is a combat form and enables one to deliver a blow of devastating power. Techniques applied improperly or with insufficient care could cause injury to you or others.
May your pursuit of karate be a rewarding one.
2. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin The book "Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin" by Jin Jing Zhong is devoted to the most enigmatic and little-known aspect of training of Shaolin monks. The book was written in 1934 with blessing and direct participation of the Head of the Shaolin Monastery Reverend Miao Xing nicknamed "The Golden Arhat", one of the best Shaolin fighters of all times. For the first time the book describes full training methods in all 72 Shaolin Arts. Being until recently for outsiders the most secret part of training of Shaolin monks, which made them invulnerable in fight, 72 Shaolin Arts at the present time become available to all who are ready to practice them persistently and with an open heart. Training methods described in the book allow to develop supernatural abilities, far beyond abilities of an ordinary man. The book has been translated from the Chinese language for the first time.
3. Kalarippayattu: The Complete Guide to Kerala's Ancient Martial ArtIn clear, easy-to-understand language, this book will tell you how to learn and practice payattu with or without weapons. Action photographs make poses and techniques easy to follow and traditional oral commands in Malayalam have been rendered into English.
For the first time, this manual opens up the closed world of this martial discipline to anyone interested in physical and mental fitness. For the newcomer to martial arts as well as the seasoned enthusiast, this manual offers an authentic and practical guide that will help you find a new, challenging and enjoyable route to health.
4. Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master TextNineteen kata ("forms") of karate--the art of self-defense without weapons--are presented here in complete detail. They are the ones selected by the great master and teacher, Gichin Funakoshi, to give comprehensive training in Karate-do, the way of karate.
Fully illustrated demonstrations by the translator cover not only every technique of the kata but also the fundamentals and applications: how to make a fist; the correct form of the open hand; preliminary training in blocking, striking and kicking; the seven stances; and sparring.The author presents, besides kata that he himself originated, beginning and advanced kata from both the Shorei school and the Shorin school, the former remarkable for their forcefulness and development of strength, the latter characterized by their gracefulness and lightning swiftness. This book, the most comprehensive and authoritative ever published, was being revised by the author shortly before his death in 1957, at the age of eighty-eight, and is translated for the first time. Through his advice on both practical and spiritual aspects of training, the master guides the student from techniques to the Way of karate. Complementing the English edition are illustrations of National Treasures from Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji temples in Nara and Master Funakoshi's calligraphy.
Karate, whose value for the well-rounded development of strength, coordination and agility is scientifically validated, can be practiced at any time and in any place, for any length of time, by men and women of all ages, and requires no special equipment. It also fosters the development of spiritual qualities: courage, courtesy, integrity, humility and self-control. Gichin Funakoshi's karate books, the first published in 1922, are landmarks, for the development of this martial art in Okinawa was shrouded in secrecy, and almost no records of its early history, dating back more than a thousand years to the Shao-lin Temple in Hunan Province, China, exist. Karate-do Kyohan is a book that lives up to its title: it is in truth the master text for karate instruction at all levels and in all aspects of technique and character development.
5. Tao Of Jeet Kune Do ExpandedCompiled from Bruce Lee’s notes and essays and originally published in 1975, this iconic volume is one of the seminal martial arts guides of its time. The science and philosophy behind the fighting system Lee pioneered himself—jeet kune do—is explained in detail, depicted through hundreds of Lee’s own illustrations. With the collaboration of Lee’s daughter, Shannon, and Bruce Lee Enterprises, this new edition is expanded, updated, and remastered, covering topics such as Zen and enlightenment, kicking, striking, grappling, and footwork. Featuring an introduction by Linda Lee, this is essential reading for any practitioner, offering a brief glimpse into the mind of one of the world’s greatest martial artists.
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