Martial arts research library

[still kicking]

I just ordered the "Living Karate..." book from Amazon. I likwd the little bit I could read on there, and it got good reviews, so I decided to take a $30 gamble. I post about it once I've read at least some of it.

[bushido_man96]

Cool, please let us know.

[Jay]

I need to update my list of books I own on here. I will probably do it tomorrow. At the moment im reading BJJ Theory and Practice by Renzo and Royler Gracie.

I have alot of books I need to expand my knowledge though I tend to concentrate on a small section. Maybe we should have a book club and read a book every 2 months or so.

[bushido_man96]

I need to update my list of books I own on here. I will probably do it tomorrow. At the moment im reading BJJ Theory and Practice by Renzo and Royler Gracie.

I have alot of books I need to expand my knowledge though I tend to concentrate on a small section. Maybe we should have a book club and read a book every 2 months or so.

That would be kind of cool. It would make me turn my head away from all the fiction I've been reading of late. But, there are lots of titles out there; finding the good ones is hard sometimes.

If you can think of an idea to start a book list, post it up here, and we can try to kick this off.

[Kodiak]

The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Michiavelli's The Prince

to add to your collection.

Ok, I have to ask about this, no matter how long ago it was. The Prince is one of my favorite books, but wouldn't say, Art of War (same author) be more appropriate for the subject?

[bushido_man96]

Books can strike people in different ways. Perhaps the Prince struck home in some different manner?

I think everyone likes to put The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, The Book of Five Rings, and The Art of War as the the top 3 most of the time, due to the stature of those who wrote them. However, there is a lot more to learn from and read out there.

[bushido_man96]

The Little Black Book of Violence by Lawrence A. Kane and Kris Wilder.

I just finished this book, and really enjoyed what I got out of it. Its geared toward expanding upon the nature of violence that most people don't think about before engaging; things like when you cross the line from self-defense into assault, and the likelyhood of going to jail after an altercation is broken up by the police; coming to the realization that you are or are not willing to take a life if need be; and dealing with the legal ramifications you may face after a physical confrontation, just to name a few.

The book is broken up into three sections. The first is titled "Before Violence Occurs," and covers things such as awareness for avoiding places that are bad news, both obvious (like a rough bar) or the not-so-obvious (like parking garages, and other places where other people aren't likely to be around in big numbers). Also covered are the chest beating escalato game played by those wanting to egg on a fight, how to use words to aid in your defense (especially in developing witnesses), and surviving "the victim interview," just to name a few things.

The second section is titled "During a Violent Encounter." This section is focused on the nitty-gritty. Talk has failed, or you have been outrigt attacked, and its go-time. Topics such as trying to stay out of jail, understanding how much force is the proper amount of force to use, defending against women (geared towards the men here), and realizing that you will get hurt in a fight, along with how the adrenal dump affects your stress level and motor skills during a confrontation.

The third section is probably the most valuable section, and I say that because it is the part of a confrontation that is very rarely dealt with by many instructors, the "Aftermath of Violence." Knowing how to apply first aid (and applying it to your opponent if it is safe to do so), handling blows to your self-esteem (especially if you view yourself as a 'fighter' and end up on the losing end), dealing with psychological trauma and seeking help with things such as PTSD, understanding critical incident amnesia, seeking legal advise, and how to deal with the press if it becomes a factor.

Kane and Wilder have done a very good job of putting together a book that isn't necessarily geared toward the Martial Artist in general, but to young men who see violence glorified in the press and in movies and think they know what violence is about. It may seem cliche to say that "every young man should read this book," but it really does have a lot of valuable information in it, and it brings to bear the reality of being involved in a violent encounter.

[MasterPain]

In a couple days I'm getting Purifying Zen: A Translation of Watsuji Tetsurō’s Shamon Dōgen translated and with notes by Professor Steve Bein.

While not exactly martial, zen is useful and the concepts tie in well with martial arts. Steve is a fellow Bujin black belt, he's studied many other martial arts, and teaches philosophy, Samurai history, writes good science fiction, climbs mountains and is just all around pretty cool. I'll give a review shortly after I get it.

Edit: Not much martially applicable, but many who practice Japanese martial arts are interested in Japanese culture, history and spiritual practice. If that describes you, this book is great. If you are unfamiliar with basic concepts of Buddhism, it can be confusing.

That said, I'll give you an overview.

Watsuji is a philosopher from early 20th century Japan. He studied western philosophy, tried writing his thesis on Nietzsche, and was told to write on a real philosopher. (To me that says he was ahead of his time, but I'm a Nietzsche fan.) He later became a professor. Anyway, before his death, his dad- an old school type- admonished him for not studying Japanese thinkers and giving his countrymen something to be proud of from their own culture. So he dug up nearly forgotten texts on the founder of Soto Zen- Dogen.

The main body of the book is Steve's translation of Watsuji's book about Dogen. Steve was helped by Watsuji's closest student who, sadly, passed away a few years ago. Watsuji's telling of Dogen's story has something to offer everyone, zen practitioner or not. Dogen was a monk in the 1200s that felt the temple had become corrupt, traveled to China to find the true way, came back and taught his way until his death. Dogen died as he wished to, practicing seated meditation, surrounded by good monks.

[bassaiguy]

This thread made me take a good look through my personal library. There are definitely some books mentioned here that are going on my wish list. I'll add a few more for the bibliophiles:

Martial Musing by Robert Smith. Sadly, Mr. Smith passed not too long ago, but his martial arts autobiography is fascinating.

Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na by Yang, Jwing-Ming. For me it unlocked a lot of karate kata bunkai.

Legacies of the Sword by Karl Friday. If anyone wants to read a real academic history of a traditional ryu this is it.

The Martial Spirit and A Path to Liberation by Herman Kauz. These are interesting short books by a Western martial arts pioneer. They only seem basic because their style has been copied so many times.

I'm surprised that Dave Lowry's many books haven't been mentioned more prominently.

For the fellow looking for MA fiction - I recommend John Donohue's Connor Burker series.

Finally, someone mentioned The Bodhidsatva Warriors by Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio. Maybe it's entertaining, I don't know, but it sure isn't true and the author has made a lot of money from gullible people buying his pipe-dreams.

[Liver Punch]

Since I've pretty much got a non-fiction library in my house that consists of History Books, Political Books, and Combative books, I'll throw my list in here.

Book of 5 Rings by William Scott Wilson (Miyamoto Mushashi )

This is for obvious reasons.

Hagakure by William Scott Wilson (Yamamoto Tsunetomo)

See above.

Art of War by John Minford (Sun-Tzu)

Ditto.

On War by Carl von Clausewitz

This book has always more of an effect on me than the Art of War. It trades Art of War's ambiguity for what can best be described as a very large quantity of dryness - which I prefer.

Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee

This, too, is for obvious reasons.

Fedor by Fedor Emelienko, Glen Cordoza, and Erich Krausse

Cordoza and Erich Krausse do a phenomenal job on all of their books and I'd recommend their books for any subject matter. This one provides an in-depth look and breakdown at the fighting style of what is at this point, the most dominant Heavyweight in MMA history, as well as a highly ranked, highly successful Sambo practitioner.

Muay Thai Unleashed by Erich Krausse and Glen Cordoza

This is my favorite Muay Thai book to date. It provides a good breakdown of everything from the most basic techniques, to much more advanced maneuvers in picture and text form.

Wrestling for Fighting by Randy Couture, Glen Cordoza, and Erich Krausse

With Couture thrown into a book with Cordoza and Krausse, you pretty much end up with one of the best instructional books ever. Randy guides you from basic collegiate and Greco-Roman take-downs into modifying them for MMA/real life and moves into using them to secure positions, ground striking, and submissions.

XTreme Training by Randy Couture, Lance Freimouth, and Erich Krausse

A huge illustrated book showing you almost every conditioning drill done at Randy's Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. I can personally attest that the gym and the book contain some pretty brutal stuff.

Krav Maga by David Kahn

A fairly basic Krav Maga book with good illustrations and descriptions. It's a good starter book for someone who wants to get into the art as it provides a good history, depiction of what schools are like, and gets into technique. I'd like to supplement this book with some others that are more advanced.

Beyond the Lion's Den by Ken Shamrock and Erich Krausse

Anyone who has a desire to leg lock every living thing on earth should own this book.

Gracie Jiu Jitsu by Helio Gracie

Written by the man himself, this one cost me entirely too much money. It could probably be considered the authoritative text on Gracie/"Old" Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It has a lot of insight into the art, especially beyond just technique.

Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge by BJ Penn, Glen Cordoza, and Erich Krausse

Building on his earlier Brazilian Jiu Jitsu book, Penn covered every technique he's probably ever used in MMA. If you're flexible enough, it's the perfect style to copy.

Guerilla Jiu Jitsu by David Camarillo and Erich Krausse

The blending of Judo and BJJ by a guy who's great at both of them. This book gives Judo guys direction on what to do once they've "Judo'd" their opponent, and BJJ guys direction on what to do before the "BJJ" someone. I'm using this book to get better at both.

Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey

Brutal. I mean really...brutal. It's hard. If you can complete the techniques in this book from cover to cover, you're a bad, bad, human being.

Bas Rutten's "Big Book of Combat" Volume 1: Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros

It's tough to get your hands on now, but this was one of the first modern combative books to be written by a mixed martial artist. Bas is no slouch outside the ring either, and most of his techniques are easy, straightforward, and well laid out. It's a great read.

U.S. Army Hand-to-Hand Combat by The Department of Defense

If you have no idea how to fight, you're in luck - this book was made for people with no ability or knowledge whatsoever. If you're a patriot (and signed your selective service card), it's your duty and responsibility to know the "official martial art" of your nation. For my fellow Americans, this is the one.

The Little Black Book of Violence: What Every Young Man Needs to Know About Fighting by Lawrence A Kane, Kris Wilder

This one has been covered here, and it gets a thumbs up from me as well.

Sword Fighting in the Star Wars Universe: Historical Origins, Style, and Philosopy by Nick Jamilla

I just got this one. As a nerd with historical, combative, and martial arts interest - it seemed like a no-brainer.

Manual of the Mercenary Soldier by Paul Balor

Written under a pen name by a guy who had his hand in every international "incident" in the 70's and 80's, this book features a chapter that goes into great depth about hand-to-hand combat and weapons. I've been reading it non-stop since I was about 10 years old. (which probably explains what's wrong with me) The personal combat chapters are no-nonsense, straight to the point and discuss avoidance, running away, punching, improvised weapons, blades, and firearms. It's a great read all around, and particularly for those who plan on visiting anyplace that could be considered "hostile" or "third-world."

Samurai Swords by Clive Sinclair

A good all-around text on the samurai sword. It discusses historical origins, the forging process, and the collecting process. It's a good book with broad subject matter for anyone with an interest on the subject.

Samurai Battles by Michael Sharpe

It would amount to an above-average history book if not for the gruesome details of the battles and the art work that accompanies it. 5 stars.

Legends of the Samurai by Hiroaki Sato

It's a pretty good story book. If I ever have children, I might use it for bedtime stories.

 

The Samurai by Robert T. Samuel

This book is part compilation of other Samurai-Era texts, and part history book. Everything is presented in an easy to read and understand fashion, which makes it less taxing than similar books.

Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armor by Paul Regan

It's an encyclopedia of most relevant arms and armor since the beginning of time. Lots of big pictures too!

The Grammar of Warfare by Tim Newark

Similar to above, but with a lot more emphasis on tactics, strategy, and technique. Lots of big pictures!

Warrior: A Visual History of the Fighting Man by R.G. Grant

Similar to the above two but with more focus on individual combat, and specific types of soldiers, as well as how their weapons, armor, and tactics made differences on the individual basis. Lots of big pictures!

Men at Arms: German Medeival Armies 1000 - 1300 by Christopher Gravett

Men at Arms: German Medeival Armies 1300 - 1500 by Christopher Gravett

A very in-depth look at...what else, German Medeival Armies from the years 1000 to 1500. If you wanted to know everything there was to know about this topic, these are the books for you.

Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer

A close up look at individual combat - particularly swordsmanship, in medieval Europe. A solid read.

The Complete World Encyclopedia of Guns By Fowler, North, Stronge, and Sweeney

 

Almost every gun ever with a photo, general data, and a short paragraph about development and use. An enormous wealth of knowledge within its pages.

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

A fun read and good companion to World War Z, this book contains useful knowledge for any survival and combative situation. Replace zombie with Hippie, Hurricane, Earthquake, Nuclear Winter, or Robot Overlord, and it's still relevant.

Be Ready When the (Bad Word) Goes Down - Forrest Griffin, Erich Krausse

 

A good, if not humorous, survival book to accompany the Zombie Handbook written by a pretty good Mixed Martial Artist.

SAS Urban Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman

 

SAS Survival Guide by John "Lofty" Wiseman

Two phenomenal survival and informational books. I have both the full-size and pocket version of the latter, and I get as much use as possible out of them. It's the sort of thing that the art I come out of uses to supplement and broaden the scope of our training.