Luckykboxer Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 I am working on a black belt project involving the history of martial arts from start to present and all branches of it. It may be a project i never finish, but it is one i am approaching full on. I am looking for good books on the history of martial arts, preferably true history and not fantasy... sometimes it is hard to know the difference from what i have started running into. Any and all sources would be appreciated, also if people have old books they are not wanting i am interested in buying any and all books of quality i can find regardless of the martial art. One of my dreams for my studio is to have as complete a library on martial arts as i can find. Videos and DvDs as well. from instructional, to fights, to movies, etc. thanks
Rotten Head Fok Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 Great idea Luckykboxer, I have small library and I hope it is as big as my culinary collection some day. I have many articles, books, and videos on Choy-Li-Fut if I can help, please let me know. You must be stable and balanced in your foot work, if you have to use your martial knowledge in combat, your intent should be to win. If you do strike, you must release great power! The martial arts are easy to learn, but difficult to correct.
White Warlock Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 I have a small library of maybe a hundred martial art related books, and maybe about 40 tapes (UFC 1-10, some instructional, Japanese flicks, etc). A few of my books were hit with mold, so i had to toss them. Yes, i'm willing to part with most of them, but not at this time. I found most of my books in garage sales, used book stores, and direct from authors. A book called The Fighting Arts by Reid and Croucher, has a unique bent on coverage of martial arts history. Some good info, but not altogether accurate. Martial Arts - Traditions, History, People by John Corcuron and Emil Farkas is the most thorough collection of info i've seen to date, but it also has some errors. I don't believe either of those are still in print. "When you are able to take the keys from my hand, you will be ready to drive." - Shaolin DMV TestIntro
JerryLove Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 In hominids, I would guess they started when Ug smashed Bob with a rock for another piece of mammoth. Considering the thousands of styles through hundreds of cultures across at least thousands of years... good luck. You may want to narrow your scope and look specifically at the origins of a particular art or group of arts. https://www.clearsilat.com
Fat Donkey Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 I know the BBC did a series on the Martial arts some years (early 90's) ago and it was simply amazing. I'll try to look it up and get back to u. Good luck. Donkey
Akima Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 Two periodicals: The Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Classical Fighting Arts. Both are quarterly with well researched and cited articles.
Shorin Ryuu Posted August 15, 2004 Posted August 15, 2004 Really, almost anything by Robert W. Smith and Donn Draeger are good... Donn Draeger focused on hoplology (study of weapons, not country specific) and writes much on Japanese arts. One of the most prolific and respected authors in these fields. Robert W. Smith was originally a judoka, but has studied many Chinese arts as well in numerous trips to the orient. He is also highly respected, and was one of the first to write legitimately to the West about the Chinese arts. Therefore he would be an excellent person to read for Chinese developments (read below for Martial Musings, which is excellent in general). Below are the ones I've read pertinent to the question and would recommend... Classical Bujutsu by Donn Draeger (Classical Japanese styles) Classical Budo by Donn Draeger (Modern Japanese arts) Chinese Boxing by Robert W. Smith Unante by John Sells (I think the most in-depth, well-researched and legitimate book on the development of Karate, Both Okinawan and Japanese. It may be too knowledge-intense for some people though.) Okinawan Karate by Mark Bishop (easier read, but much less detail) Zen and the Way of the Sword (Excellent book on why Zen is such a big part of Japanese martial arts) by Winston L. King. Martial Musings by Robert W. Smith (Martial Arts in the 20th century, excellent resource and great read, even if you aren't a martial artist just because I think his flavor really shows through in this work) Martial Arts Blog:http://bujutsublogger.blogspot.com/
CloudDragon Posted August 15, 2004 Posted August 15, 2004 I enjoied "The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition-History-Pioneers" by John Cochran and Emil Farkas. Many arts are listed with a chronological history of each and entries on many of their prominent personalities. It also has and extensive section of how the MA were introduced in the U.S.. A Black Belt is just a white belt that don't know when to quit!
battousai16 Posted August 15, 2004 Posted August 15, 2004 there's a martial arts book sticky somewhere or other. you may wanna' look there. best of luck to you. "I hear you can kill 200 men and play a mean six string at the same time..."-Six String Samurai
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