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The Overlook Martial Arts Reader
For the general reader and specialist, this anthology presents, in the words of the masters, the basic philosophies behind each martial arts discipline.
- GenresMartial Arts
358 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 25, 2023
Randy F. Nelson, who edited “The Overlook Martial Arts Reader” should have known that the vast majority of people who begin the study of an Oriental martial art are not interested in studying Oriental philosophy. They want to learn how to fight.
I see much value in Oriental philosophy, especially “The Analects of Confucius,” and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu.
Nevertheless, one can study Oriental philosophy without taking Oriental martial arts lessons. One can excel in the Oriental martial arts without studying Oriental philosophy.
A martial arts instructor has an obligation not to teach someone who will misuse what he is taught. Nevertheless, there is nothing intrinsically moral about learning how to beat someone up. My instructor was a good role model. He would have been an equally good role model as a high school teacher.
I took karate lessons for several years as a teenager. In retrospect I think the training could have been better. One step sparing amounted to learning many different defenses against an attack no one would ever make. One needs to learn several defenses against many possible attacks. The defenses need to be simple, easy to remember during the stress of a fight, and easy to execute.
Free style sparing required one to pull punches and kicks short of touching an opponent. There are two problems here. First, pulling punches and kicks short of an opponent does not build the power one needs to make a technique effective. Second, pulling punches and kicks can become a habit that will be hard to break in the stress of an fight. Once I read of a karate student who pulled his kicks and punches in a street fight. The results were unfortunate.
Protective equipment for full contact sparing was invented in the 1970’s. Unfortunately, few karate and kung fu studios use it.
Lafcado Hern’s essay “Jiujutsu” claims that one uses an opponent’s strength against the opponent, so that the stronger the opponent is, the easier he is to defeat. This is a misconception that permeates too much Western thinking about the Eastern martial arts. In every martial art one needs the strength, the power, and the physical conditioning to make a technique effective.
In his essay “The Samurai: Legend and Reality,” Kurt Singer wrote that Western knights were taught to defend the weak, the poor, and women. Samurai, on the other hand, were taught unquestioning obedience to their feudal lords, and indifference to death. These are traits that breed cruelty. They explain Japanese atrocities during World War II. The gentleness and low crime rates that currently distinguish Japanese everywhere in the world that they live, even when they are poor, have other explanations than the cult of the samurai.
The copyright for “Martial Arts Reader” is 1989. Mixed martial arts contests only became popular in the 1990’s. A mixed martial arts contest is as close as one can get to a real fight and still have an athletic contest. Mixed martial arts can be seen as a laboratory where techniques from the various Eastern and Western martial arts are tested against reality. Too much of what I learned in karate school looks good in a staged demonstration, but it would be ineffective in a real fight.
If “Martial Arts Reader” goes into a second edition it should include at least one article about mixed martial arts.
Years ago I read an article in a martial arts magazine that I wish I bought. The article concerned how practitioners of different martial arts compare in mixed martial arts contests. What usually worked best were a combination of Thai boxing and jiujutsu. To my distress, karate and kung fu were rated poorly.
If you want to learn how to fight, look for a studio where the emphasis is on full contact sparing using protective equipment, physical conditioning, and on punching and kicking a boxing bag. If you want to learn Oriental philosophy, go to a library.
I see much value in Oriental philosophy, especially “The Analects of Confucius,” and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu.
Nevertheless, one can study Oriental philosophy without taking Oriental martial arts lessons. One can excel in the Oriental martial arts without studying Oriental philosophy.
A martial arts instructor has an obligation not to teach someone who will misuse what he is taught. Nevertheless, there is nothing intrinsically moral about learning how to beat someone up. My instructor was a good role model. He would have been an equally good role model as a high school teacher.
I took karate lessons for several years as a teenager. In retrospect I think the training could have been better. One step sparing amounted to learning many different defenses against an attack no one would ever make. One needs to learn several defenses against many possible attacks. The defenses need to be simple, easy to remember during the stress of a fight, and easy to execute.
Free style sparing required one to pull punches and kicks short of touching an opponent. There are two problems here. First, pulling punches and kicks short of an opponent does not build the power one needs to make a technique effective. Second, pulling punches and kicks can become a habit that will be hard to break in the stress of an fight. Once I read of a karate student who pulled his kicks and punches in a street fight. The results were unfortunate.
Protective equipment for full contact sparing was invented in the 1970’s. Unfortunately, few karate and kung fu studios use it.
Lafcado Hern’s essay “Jiujutsu” claims that one uses an opponent’s strength against the opponent, so that the stronger the opponent is, the easier he is to defeat. This is a misconception that permeates too much Western thinking about the Eastern martial arts. In every martial art one needs the strength, the power, and the physical conditioning to make a technique effective.
In his essay “The Samurai: Legend and Reality,” Kurt Singer wrote that Western knights were taught to defend the weak, the poor, and women. Samurai, on the other hand, were taught unquestioning obedience to their feudal lords, and indifference to death. These are traits that breed cruelty. They explain Japanese atrocities during World War II. The gentleness and low crime rates that currently distinguish Japanese everywhere in the world that they live, even when they are poor, have other explanations than the cult of the samurai.
The copyright for “Martial Arts Reader” is 1989. Mixed martial arts contests only became popular in the 1990’s. A mixed martial arts contest is as close as one can get to a real fight and still have an athletic contest. Mixed martial arts can be seen as a laboratory where techniques from the various Eastern and Western martial arts are tested against reality. Too much of what I learned in karate school looks good in a staged demonstration, but it would be ineffective in a real fight.
If “Martial Arts Reader” goes into a second edition it should include at least one article about mixed martial arts.
Years ago I read an article in a martial arts magazine that I wish I bought. The article concerned how practitioners of different martial arts compare in mixed martial arts contests. What usually worked best were a combination of Thai boxing and jiujutsu. To my distress, karate and kung fu were rated poorly.
If you want to learn how to fight, look for a studio where the emphasis is on full contact sparing using protective equipment, physical conditioning, and on punching and kicking a boxing bag. If you want to learn Oriental philosophy, go to a library.
September 14, 2023
A collection of articles, essays, excerpts, speeches, etc about the martial arts. Some get philosophical, some about technique, some about history, some about concepts. Your mileage may very but there’s bound to be at Least a few you can connect with.
Better suited for people who actually train and have a mindset Beyond just fighting. I do and do, so it’s right up my alley!
Better suited for people who actually train and have a mindset Beyond just fighting. I do and do, so it’s right up my alley!
February 19, 2018
re-read many times.
September 17, 2008
This book provides an excellent selection of some of the best martial arts literature in the market. It contains a good variety of styles of writing and styles of martial arts, so not everyone will like everything. However, most martial arts students should find something to chew on here. Each selection is fairly short, but gives a good taste of the writer and his or her beliefs, attitude, etc. It is good place to start for anyone interested in martial arts literature.
December 28, 2013
In the early 90's, I taught a course at California Lutheran University on the "Philosophy of Martial Arts". At the suggestion of my course co-instructor and martial arts student, Dr. Kirkland Gable, this was the text book that we used for the course. It is an excellent collection of introductory works on martial arts and the meaning of study. I highly recommend this book as a starting point for anyone looking for a deeper understanding in those two areas.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews