Martial arts research library

[bushido_man96]

Foot Throws: Karate, Judo and Self-Defense, by Hayward Nishioka.

Another Ohara publications book, it gives a brief history on Nishioka, and then gets right into foot throws. The first section is the Judo section, dividing the techniques up into sweeps, reaps, and wheels, and then what he calls some unclassified techniques and combinations. Nishioka then gets into some foot throws for Karate, and you can really see the difference in the set ups, where as the Karate throws have striking involved more than the Judo throw descriptions, which don't use the strikes. Finally, the self-defense section gives another set of foot throws, many related to others already mentioned, but with more striking involved as well, along with explanations in differences between competition based throws, and for self-defense.

Not a bad read, but it can get a bit confusing in trying to decipher the differences in the "his right, your left" descriptions of the pictures, but then again, if you have experience with Judo, I'm sure it comes a bit easier. Its still given me some ideas to use in incorporating more sweeping motions into my training.

[sensei8]

I've that book as well; it's a solid book to add to one's library/collection.

[bushido_man96]

The Way of Kata by Lawrence A. Kane and Kris Wilder.

I have quite a few MA books, and will read just about anything on it. But, there are a few authors that come along that I read, and just really think hit the nail right on, and do a great job of presenting their material, writing books I just have to get. These two are some of those authors. The Way of Kata is a great guide for those who study forms/katas, and are looking for ways to evaluate the applications that can be found in them and really make the most of them. They lay out a set of principles and rules to follow when studying what they refer to as kaisai no genri, the method of deciphering bunkai from kata. They also talk about making sure the applications line up with the strategies and tactics of the style, thus making sure everything lines up well. They present a lot of material for consideration, and do a good job of organization and presentation. They cite various authors like Rory Miller, Iain Abernethy, and Loren Christensen, to name a few. After laying out all the principles involved, they show some ideas of deciphering some different moves using some moves and applications from their own katas as examples. They also include a checklist to make copies of and mark off the components of the applications discovered to see how well they line up with the rules, principles, and strategies and tactics of the style.

Forms aren't for everyone. But for those looking for ways to find out how to dig deeper into their forms study, this is a great book to look into.

[sensei8]

I too own and have read quite a few MA related books, including kata, however, I take most kata books with a grain of salt because I'm a firm believer that kata is ones interpretation, especially concerning Bunkai/Oyo Bunkai. I love kata; it's an important and vital part of the three 'K's!!

There are many noted "experts" on the subject of kata in methodologies/ideologies and the like, but I can't and will never say..."Hey, this "expert" and that "expert" is correct/right concerning the understanding or the interpretation or the application or whatever" and that's because while we've been taught a certain methodology/ideology and the like, I can't ever admit that one's right and the other wrong and vise versa. My Dai-Soke taught us, but I'm my own MAist, and in that, I've my own beliefs and the like. Am I wrong? Maybe, but that's only to be seen through my own research and the like.

Do I keep an open mind on the subject of kata and entertain the methods and ideas from the "experts"? Yes!! The book you're talking about Brian is a great book, but it's one "opinion" and not written in granite.

[bushido_man96]

I agree Bob. That's what's great about this book. It doesn't give hard and fast applications of kata, and then says they are "the one." What it does is layout a process for those who are wanting to delve into kata bunkai to do so and come up with applications that are efficient and meaningful in regards to the methodologies, strategies, and tactics of the style they do. Since these two authors have lots of experience with Goju Ryu kata, that is the framework that they use to get there points across. But any stylist practicing forms can benefit from the process layed out in this book.

[jude30]

I didn't read every post in this thread but I did skim it pretty well, and I didn't see any of Rory Miller's books mentioned.

Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence, basically what the title says. A comparison to what is taught in Dojos versus what works in the real world from the perspective of a jail guard.

Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected A book on how to handle violence, before, during, and after an assault.

I also have an ebook by him, "

Drills: Training For Sudden Violence (A Chiron Manual)" I really like this book.

[bushido_man96]

I've heard lots of good things on Miller's writings. I just haven't had a chance to read any of them yet.

[bushido_man96]

Kata: The Folk Dances of Shotokan, by Rob Redmond.

This book was fun to read. It had a bit of history of the kata development through China and Okinawa, and discussed, and he spends time discussing what the katas originally meant, what meaning they did have, and also proposes that the East Asian method of using folk dances to catalog things such as combat moves. Very interesting proposals he makes, and his thoughts appear to be fairly well researched.

He goes through each of the Shotokan kata with a view of tournament performance; giving suggestions on how to perform those katas as taught in Shotokan, and what scorers look for in tournament performances or gradings. There are no pictures, and he references the Best Karate series often, and if you own those books, and follow along as you read his descriptions, I think the descriptions would be very vivid and make good sense. He puts a lot of thought into the descriptions, but since I don't know Shotokan kata, its tough for me to gauge. Overall, I thought the author's thoughts and interpretations on kata made the book well worth the read, even though trudging through the kata sections was dull for me. But, he does have some nice information in the kata intros, discussing the accurate translations of the kata names, and the ones that the name changes Funakoshi made stuck and didn't.

If you are a Shotokan practitioner, then I think it well worth the read, even if you are familiar with the author and his writings and don't agree with them.

[TraditionalMartialArtist]

Very well done Sir! Not many can be accounted to understand the morale and historical significance of the Muye Dobo Tong Gi. This book gave Hwang Ki his educational basis to form Soo Bahk Do due to the information on Soo Bahk Ki (composed of Rae Bop and Sung Ki Hwa Bop). Which, ironically were progressions of Tae Kyon, therefore only ligitamizing Hwang Ki's rumor of having mastered Tae Kyon by his early twenties. (Suborian - Presteige Developemental Studies)

Another great anthology for the History and minute theory and philosopy of all the TRADITIONAL ORIGINAL Korean Schools, such as Tae Kyon, Tang Soo Do/Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan (Hwa Soo/Rhang Do)...etc.....is the anthology "Korean Martial Arts Handbok - Glenn Jones". This anthology of information provides historical significance through the words of the original Masters. Very interesting.

If those of you who are interested in more history, will search "The thirteen influeces of Tae Kyon" - A Poem created by Hwang Ki to bring traditional virtues to modern allopathcicty. Although, it did little but provide sadistical morale gratification and socipathic berievement as the traditional styles die through the consistent misinterpretation of their fundementals, it lives on as a great insight into the formation of the old original school of Tae Kyon. You will find in very amusing, and one for the history books nonetheless! (HAHAHAHA)

[bushido_man96]

Jujitsu, Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art, by George Kirby.

This is another Ohara Publications book, and this one was a bit more in-depth than some of the others I have read. It had a pretty nice intro/history section, along with some theory of the author, and then the techniques section.

The techniques sections were pretty lengthy in spots, but overall I don't think the descriptions were poor at all. They were pretty thorough, and with a good training partner and some prior experience, going through the techniques wouldn't be too bad.

Other than the thoughts of the author in regards to "training for self-defense and training as a Martial Art," and the descriptions of ki in training, I thought the book was pretty good.