Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat

by Patrick McCarthy (Translator)

Treasured for centuries by karate's top masters, Bubishi is a classic Chinese work on philosophy, strategy, medicine and technique as they relate to the martial arts. Referred to as "the bible of karate" by the famous master Chojun Miyagi, for hundreds of years the Bubishi was a secret text passed from master to student in China and later in Okinawa. No other classic work has had as dramatic an impact on the shaping and development of karate: all of karate's legendary masters have studied it, applied its teachings or copied passages from it.

This beautiful new hardcover edition features over 250 line drawings, photographs and calligraphy throughout. Along with additional commentary and a new foreword from Patrick McCarthy, the first person to translate the Bubishi into English, this book is an excellent addition to anyone's library.

Genres: Martial Arts, History, Nonfiction, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 1995

About the author

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Reviews

[Cristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Named "The bible of karate-do" by Chōjun Miyagi (founder of Gōjū-ryū), having been in the hands of some of the most prominent Masters Karate has had, and being transmitted in secrecy from master to pupils, it's not hard to see the impact this work has had in Karate (even less when you consider that Funakoshi's and Mabuni's publications included precepts from it).

The book is a series of articles, which Mr. McCarthy has reorder (but kept with the original number order in which they appeared) into 4 sections: History and philosophy, Chinese medicine and herbal pharmacology, vital points, and fighting techniques, all of which count with an introduction from the author into the history or context from where many of them come, commentary and translation notes from the author, etc.

It's amazing the work that Mr. McCarthy has put into the translation of this work. Consulting several other martial artists and professionals both from Japan and China to corroborate his writing, it makes you wonder if any other version (both the Japanese translation the old Karate-Do masters used, and the original Chinese source) is better, specially in the herbal medicines section where most of the names where codified/invented -not official- , and reading the original names wouldn't tell you much unless you had some previous knowledge, but where McCarthy with the help of several other people has managed to make something logical out of it.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Karate-Do in general, its' history, influences, mindset and even techniques and strategies, just don't expect everything to make sense on the first read, since some of the information has been codified or even lost in the sands of time, and might take quite a few reads to make sense of it.

[Chance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fascinating book that gives a deep dive into the connection between the Chinese civil fighting arts and the following dissemination of those arts to the rest of the world. However, it does this via the ancient book that actually did the disseminating. McCarthy’s work here really adds context to what would otherwise be a very esoteric collection of pictures and writing passages that would be hard to grasp without further explanation. But when that explanation and context is given, the text comes alive in a way that is really compelling and deeply interesting to people who have an interest in such things. I really only wish that there was more content given and that it would have been clearer where commentary stopped and the original text began.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Must read for every martial artist and especially KarateKa.

[Markus Wall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the parts pertaining to the fighting aspect quite a bit, however I was not overly pleased on how non-critical the chapters on TCM were. We are in the 21th century, and we can be fairly certain that things like acupuncture and moxibustion doesn't work. A more scientific approach to the subject would have been appreciated.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two different works to review here: the historical work, the Bubishi itself, and Patrick McCarthy's translation and supplemental information.

While "reviewing" any historical work, especially one that is the Bible of anything, seems to be the wrong choice of words, I can discuss its value to the modern day karateka. Several sections had little relevance for the modern martial artist, particularly pressure point fighting, as well as herbal remedies for trauma injuries. I'm sure they have their merits, however their practicality is limited. Perhaps the section of most interest to modern karateka is the one that includes illustrations of self defense techniques. Here, an approach that matches the current day is put to use, showing mechanical means of protecting oneself. Lastly, simply knowing that the great karate masters of the last 100+ years all used this as a reference makes it worthwhile. By going back to such an ancient text, we can see what the likes of Chojun Miyagi decided to embrace and what to leave behind. Thus, we learn how to adapt this art and keep it alive as they did.

Patrick McCarthy's translation and context provided real value. He frames the history in as unbiased a way as possible. Martial arts writers and historians tend to get caught up in their interpretation, and all else be damned, but not McCarthy. Multiple times, when he mentions how the Bubishi ended up in Okinawa, he is careful to emphasize that it is just one way that the Bubishi likely arrived - not the only way.

The book as a whole was pretty dry at times, however well worth the read.

[TjeerdFokkens · Rating 3 out of 5]

With all the buzz about this work in the karate world, I of course had to read it. The Bubishi is considered by many to be the bible of karate. I only agree to that statement in part. The Bubishi describes fighting techniques from styles that, way back in history, lay at the foundation of modern karate. It is very difficult, however, to recognise modern karate in the text and the techniques described do not all seem very effective. Also, the text is not only about fighting, but about many more things like herbs, medicine and vital points. These sections are of very limited use, as the descriptions make little sense to modern readers. Only people who are taught about these matters already might understand. Hence, the relation to modern karate is rather thin. What I don't like about the book is that mr. McCarthy does not clearly distinguish which parts are original and which parts are his additions; the text therefore fails to meet modern academic standards and fails to give the reader an accurate answer to the question: what does the Bubishi actually say? The good thing of the book is that it is a nice historical text that makes you think how people approached fighting back in the days and what training methods they developed for these purposes.

[Clay Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this on the enthusiastic recommendation of Jesse Enkamp, YouTube "Karate Nerd." Overall I was extremely disappointed by the book, which is touted as the "classic manual of combat." What it really is is an extremely poorly edited collection of hearsay "history," a whole lot of bullshido (dim mak, say no more), a lot of rave reviews by various people, which take up a substantial portion of the beginning of the book, training advice that sounds like it was lifted from the cutting floor of the 1970's TV show "Kung Fu," and - finally, towards the end of the book - some drawings that are supposed to illustrate the essential techniques of the art. Learning martial arts from books is troubled at best, even with very detailed drawings, and these cartoonish drawings do little to show how you would stand even, much less execute a technique.

I suppose if you're truly a "Karate Nerd" like Jesse you might want this in your collection, but I see no practical reason why you'd need to study it to become better at karate.

[Des Paroz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read every edition of this book since the very first self-published version that McCarthy Sensei released in the early 90s, through to the latest.

Although each edition is based on an original translation, McCarthy has continued to research and refine the translations, and continues to add a vast swathe of additional, original research into the art and science of karate.

This book is a must for any karateka’s bookshelf.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Due to the eccentric transmission of this text I guess it’s not surprising that it is idiosyncratic. Rather a hodgepodge of legends, Chinese healing arts, and some illustrated descriptions of techniques. Translator’s introduction to the various sections is helpful and, to me, more interesting than the Bubishi text itself.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best translation of the Okinawan Bubishi (武備誌) I've come across thus far. It includes a comprehensive analysis into the history of karate and this writing, then moves on to ethics, medicine (acupressure and herbalism), and numerous fighting techniques and explanations.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A horrible, awful, needlessly bloated and pointless iteration of an otherwise really interesting text.

The Bubishi / Wubei Zhi is absolutely worth reading. Not this worthless dreck.

[Lance Schonberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is several different books in one to my reading.

The best parts of the book are Hanshi McCarthy’s commentaries and historical notes. Next comes the translations of the combat and technique sections. Finally, and least enjoyable to me (enough to drag my overall rating of the book down at least a full star), the section on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology.

Mr. McCarthy’s translations are, by all accounts, excellent, and the social and historical context he’s providing, especially in the first section of the book is fascinating at times, and interesting even when it doesn’t quite reach that level. This is where the book really shines and I would have been satisfied just reading this chunk.

In the “Medicine and Pharmacology” section, the author takes a purely historical view, just a bare presentation of the original information translation. This doesn’t make the information any easier to swallow from a modern, rational context. I’m not going to open up the eastern versus western medicine debate in this review, because there really isn’t any such thing. There’s only medicine and stuff that hasn’t been shown to work. In the latter category, we range from the placebo to the harmful, and I think that range is present here. Temper your expectations in this part of the book.

The techniques sections range from good to excellent. Again, looking through an historical lens, sometimes the illustrations and original Chinese names for the techniques leave us short of any understanding and it’s only Mr. McCarthy’s translations or commentaries on those names that make them make sense. “Small demon trying to remove door bar”, for example, tells me nothing on its own, though the illustration looks like a double block from a low stance to me. “Tiger pulling down a boar” looks like one man trying to break another’s back over his knee but the commentary provides it as scooping a leg (or legs) and flipping your opponent over your extended leg.

Overall rating, 3.5 stars, which I’m going to shift to 3 on Goodreads, and that’s entirely due to the “medicine” sections. I understand wanting to present it as an historical document, but I would have quite enjoyed a little commentary here and there about how some of this eventually led to real medicine (if it did) and some of it was outright dangerous.

Very much enjoyed the rest of the book.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of an educational/historical read. This book has it all for any serious martial arts enthusiast: History, philosophy, anatomy, strategy, and of course, the vital point analysis. The idea is to disrupt an attackers normal body functions by a certain "touch" or strike to a specific point or points on the body, with affects ranging from numbness in the limbs, to unconciousness, or permanent organ damage. The remedies for all injuries are also listed, since it was necessary for any practitioner to learn to heal before learning to hurt. Some people worry about the misuse of a book like this, however, the information presented takes years of diligent study to understand and apply.

[Manuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of history and ancient writings that might be in the Karate genesis.
However, it is not a practical book where one understands the hidden meanings of a Kata or much of anything, really.
So, I ended up disappointed, to say the least.

[Rahmat Romadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini juga akan saya pesan bulan depan berbarengan dengan buku Nintai td. Gak sabar pengen baca buku ini.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A challenging and inconsistent set of historical articles, but Mr McCarthy’s editorials provide great context.

[Mazen Alloujami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent translation and explanation of this classical of the karate-do from Okinawa.
If you are martial arts practitioner don't miss it.

[Seamus]

a must for any serious karateka

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for every serious karate practitioner.

[Luiz Arias]

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