My oldest Martial Arts Book

Xue Sheng

Xue Sheng

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I have well over 100 book in my Martial Arts Library and I was looking through it this evening thinking about what was going on when I bought them, how old I was, what I was training, who I was training with and what my life was like when I bought them when I came across the very first Martial Arts book I bought, way back in the early 70s when I was training Jujutsu.

Asian Fighting Arts
By Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith

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I have had that book for 40 years.

What is your oldest book?
 
I honestly don't remember my first martial arts book. I have a pretty big library of MA books, and it was probably purchased when I was 15. I'll have to go through them now. See what you've done... :)
 
I've still got that book, myself, Xue.

THis one is my oldest, though....1966...though I got it in '71, so I've had it longest......some are actually older, but I got them much later....
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i really dont know what my first book was but "zen and the art of archery" by eugen herrigel would be a good candidate, i know i got it when i was 14. not bragging because i know some have way more but but i think i have over 300 just on martial arts and related fields. so many good books. it would be so interesting to spend time in other peoples libraries. the book stores at least in my area dont carry good MA books anymore. the few they have are MMA technique books. how many of you have branched out to also buy realted fields like strategy, medical texts, japanese or asian culture, philoshopy, religion, history and others to compliment and expand your base of knowledge?

not sure if this link will work https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/17543159
 
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I gave away my oldest book two years ago. It was The Roar of the Crowd, by Gentleman Jim Corbet, an original edition from 1926, to a good friend who's a boxing historian. I give away a lot of books because I just don't have room. The oldest one I have now is The Art of Ju-jitsu, by Cliff Freeland from 1965. I used to take it out of the library when I was a kid, long before I ever trained. Hadn't seen it forever, and thought it would be cool to own it. Bought it on Amazon a couple of years ago for a couple hundred bucks. Oh, God, it's awful.

But three or four years ago, I bought a recreation of an old boxing book from someone right here on this forum. (I have no idea who) It's in a closet somewhere right now and I'm about to go to bed, so I ain't about to look for it. It was about the original boxing program at Harvard University, and it's one of my most cherished possessions.

Here's a typical page -

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God, I love this book. So, thanks so much to whoever this is from.
 
My first martial arts book would have been a Bruce Tegner book, or maybe Jay Gluck's Zen Combat. My oldest? A Pearson's Annual, containing the original article written in English on Japanese martial arts, by Edward Barton Wright, founder of Bartitsu. 1899, I believe.
 
My first martial arts book where by Bruce Tegner on Judo and Karate. My next was by Robert Smith. I gave them to friends when I went into the military back in 66.
I have been able to get the first 2 again ( found at yard sales) and i understand I can get the 3rd on ebay but have not yet
 
Buka said:
I gave away my oldest book two years ago. It was The Roar of the Crowd, by Gentleman Jim Corbet, an original edition from 1926, to a good friend who's a boxing historian. I give away a lot of books because I just don't have room. The oldest one I have now is The Art of Ju-jitsu, by Cliff Freeland from 1965. I used to take it out of the library when I was a kid, long before I ever trained. Hadn't seen it forever, and thought it would be cool to own it. Bought it on Amazon a couple of years ago for a couple hundred bucks. Oh, God, it's awful.

But three or four years ago, I bought a recreation of an old boxing book from someone right here on this forum. (I have no idea who) It's in a closet somewhere right now and I'm about to go to bed, so I ain't about to look for it. It was about the original boxing program at Harvard University, and it's one of my most cherished possessions.

Here's a typical page -

35hlpbq.jpg


God, I love this book. So, thanks so much to whoever this is from.
Click to expand...

Knee-jerk guess is Kirk Lawson, moderator of Western MA subforum iirc. He is THE man when it comes to republishing Boxing/Wrestling out-of-print classics
 
My first MA book was either Tao of Jeet Kune Do "by" Bruce Lee or Bruce Lee's Fighting Method. Don't recall. ages ago plus old man memory are my enemies!

My oldest book - i have to really check, have over 300 books, some good, some bad... oldest may be some boxing book - circa early 1900's.
 
Moving Zen by C.W Nicol. I got this book when it came out in, I think 1971, and I loved it then and I still do today. I started my martial arts training at about this same time. This was a special time. I was 14 years old attending a Shotokan Karate school in Charlotte N.C. A friend of mine got me started and his older brother ( also a student ) drove us up there each week. Martial Arts had a mystique and mystery about it then. I can almost remember the way that Tokkaido uniform smelled when I first got it ( I think it only 15.00, by the way ) The book is about Nicol moving to Japan to study Shotokan. I used to daydream about going to Japan also, and training with great masters. I didn't stay with Shotokan, but I did stay in the martial arts. I have reread this book several times over the years and it always inspires me and takes me back to that special time.
 
Gung Fu Man said:
Moving Zen by C.W Nicol. I got this book when it came out in, I think 1971, and I loved it then and I still do today. I started my martial arts training at about this same time. This was a special time. I was 14 years old attending a Shotokan Karate school in Charlotte N.C. A friend of mine got me started and his older brother ( also a student ) drove us up there each week. Martial Arts had a mystique and mystery about it then. I can almost remember the way that Tokkaido uniform smelled when I first got it ( I think it only 15.00, by the way ) The book is about Nicol moving to Japan to study Shotokan. I used to daydream about going to Japan also, and training with great masters. I didn't stay with Shotokan, but I did stay in the martial arts. I have reread this book several times over the years and it always inspires me and takes me back to that special time.
Click to expand...

We are about the same age and you brought back some great memories of my martial arts beginnings. Thank you!!
 
My first instructional type martial arts book was called "Every Boy's Judo". I believe the author's name was Harrington. Got it when I was in Fifth grade through the Weekly Reader book sales.
 
My two oldest books (got both as a gift) are The Techniques of Judo by Tagaki and Sharp, and The Secrets of Judo by Watanabe. About 3 years back it was.

Judo was the first martial art that I really fell madly in love with. :)
 
I can't seem to hold on to them. I give them to my students. I bet I've bought Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere 10 times and Living the Martial Way 20. I don't mind giving good books to good people.
 
cool book :)

i only own two martial arta books
i owned the first book(orange one) for probably around four years and the second(green) maybe almost two years
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