martial art book you like most

[TallAdam85]

i was at the store the other day looking at martial arts book alot of the books i did not like but was like someone must buy them cause they sell them but just wonder what is your fav and why

 

[chinto01]

My favorite martial arts book would have to be Karate-Do My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi. It gives insight into the life of a true karate master and will also make you look at your training and the way you carry yourself alot different. If interested I will give you a list of some of the better books I have read.

 

[OC Kid]

American Freestyle Karate, A Guide to Sparring, It a awesome book. It has everything a teacher/fighter would need. The techniques havent changed a bit in the 20 plus years of fighting Ive done. It is very a comprehensive collection of techniques, footwork , theory ect.
And its written by a former National/World champ who I knew when He was competiting and had hair..:>)

plus He's one of our own who post here.......

Super Dan Anderson

 

[Ronald R. Harbers]

I have just finished a good read. "The Lone Samurai", by William Scott Wilson. It is the first English version of a history of Musashi Myomoto. It even covers some of the older works along with a history of fiction and movies about this outstanding man.

 

[DavidCC]

"Secret Tactics" by Tabata. Contains excerpts from and essays on Budo classics by Musashi, Munenori, etc. very good survey of Japenese classic budo literature.

 

[bignick]

right now i'm reading Canon of Judo by Mifune....though my favorite would probably be either Kodokan Judo by Kano, for the sheer completeness, or some of Dave Lowry's essay books

 

[Randy Strausbaugh]

My personal favorite is The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi (both the Harris and Cleary translations). I've read it countless times and I have yet to exhaust its potential.

 

[Gin-Gin]

Hello,

I have two recommendations: one is a book from a particular system, and the other is a general reference book for Martial Arts (since I'm not sure which you would prefer). First, I would like to recommend Ed Parker's "Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol. I: Mental Stimulation." It has a little bit of everything: a brief general history of martial arts, Mr. Parker's philosophy of the Art (which you may or may not agree with), his arguments for people taking martial arts, and his explanation of some of Bruce Lee's most misunderstood quotes [since Bruce Lee stayed at Mr. Parker's house for a while and they were friends until Lee's death]. It usually costs around $20 or less, and can be purchased at most American Kenpo schools or on the Internet [via Amazon.com or martialartsmart.com].

However, if you want to read a general reference book, "The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia" by Emil Farkas and John Corcoran is a good overview of the various martial arts, their traditions/philosophy, their history, and Who's Who (pioneers, famous tournament fighters, etc.). The copy I have is dated from 1992 or 1993. I'm not sure if it's still in print or not, but you might call various bookstores and/or search the Internet to see who might sell it.

Good Luck in your search.

Respectfully,
Gin-Gin :asian:

 

[GAB]

My favorite martial arts book would have to be Karate-Do My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi. It gives insight into the life of a true karate master and will also make you look at your training and the way you carry yourself alot different. If interested I will give you a list of some of the better books I have read.

Yes, that is one of the better, I think an early book by Ed Parker was also very informative. Kenpo Karate.... Law of the fist and empty hand. It was his first try and a good one it was. IMHO. Fit well into my time frame anyhow.

Regards, Gary

 

[Shurikan]

My favorites were the series of "MACE the year of ..."

 

[DoxN4cer]

The Warrior's Edge by Colonel(Ret) John Alexander

 

[ThatWasAKick]

You guys have given me a pile of books to read, as if I don't have enough stacked up already! <rubs hands in anticipation>

You may not qualify these as MA books, exactly, but two that I love are the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu) and The Gift of Fear (Gavin de Becker).

My favorite "martial arts" book is definately The Warrior Within by John Little.

 

[Marginal]

I've found Living The Martial Way to be a very good read.

 

[bignick]

by forrest morgan?

it's actually sitting on my dresser right now...my buddy was going to borrow it but he forgot...

 

[Radhnoti]

Let me second "Living The Martial Way" by Forrest Morgan. That book was very inspirational to me.

 

[ppko]

Any book by GM Dillman

Any book by Wally Jay
Any book by Remy Presas
and The Mighty Atom by Ed Speilman (not a true MA book but has a lot of the guidlines to make it one)

 

[Marginal]

by forrest morgan?

it's actually sitting on my dresser right now...my buddy was going to borrow it but he forgot...

That's the one. Don't really care about the living as a samurai today stuff, but how he talks about developing strategy etc is great. Way too many books just show various techniques and combinations without bothering to get into that area at all.

 

[TallAdam85]

fighter's fact book
ben the jets book


one day soon my books lol as long as i can get a person to fix the grammer!

 

[Paul B]

"Complete Aikido: Aikido Kyohan" by Roy Yukio Suenaka

Just an all around good book. The personal martial biography is very entertaining! Stories of Osensei,Tohei,founding of Shin Shin Toitsu Do,the "split" from the Aikikai,barfights on Okinawa,studying with Hohan Soken of Hakusturu Ryu/Katsusomething Karate,Fusei Kise.this Sensei studied with important people, Mitose,Okazaki...the list goes on. Just a great read!

 

[Dronak]

Well, I don't have the kind of library I think some people around here do, but I've got a small collection of books, mainly on tai chi. One of the ones I tend to prefer is _The Dao of Taijiquan_ by Jou, Tsung Hwa. The chapters are Roots, Philosophy, Foundation, Classics, Experiences, and Push-hands and I think it's a pretty good summary of the aspects of tai chi. If you see it in a store, give it a skim and see what you think.