What MA book would you recommend?

[Joab]

If I was asked this question, I would say Rex Applegate's "Kill or be Killed" provided they desired practical self defense. Next on the list would be W.E. Fairbairn's, "Get Tough" and lastly, Greg Anderson's "Weapons at Hand." They all go together very well, and provide excellent instruction for battle and street tested combat martial arts techniques, clearly written with excellent illustrations or photographs. What MA book or books would you recomend?

 

[terryl965]

I like living the martial way and the worrior within.

 

[StrongFighter]

Don't forget Colonel Rex Applegate's " Close Combat Files "

 

[arnisador]

For an experienced audience:
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do
Zen in the Martial Arts
Historical/survey books by Donn Draeger

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

The Heart of Kendo, by Darrel Max Craig. It is kendo specific, but there is quite a bit that can be applied to any martial art, particularly budo arts.

I have others, but I am at work. I'll post further when I get home.

Daniel

 

[chrispillertkd]

Living the Martial Way by Forrest E. Morgan should be required reading for any student of the martial arts.

Pax,

Chris

 

[SensibleManiac]

Best books on Martial arts in general,
Living the Martial Way (Morgan)
On The Warriors Path (Bolelli)
The Book of Five Rings -Musashi (Cleary Translation)

Judo
Kodokan Judo Jigoro (Kano)
The Canon of Judo (Mifune)

BJJ
The Path to The Black Belt (Gracie)
Jiujitsu University (Ribeiro)

Shadow Strategies of an American Ninja Master (Morris) Ninjutsu and martial arts and life in general.

 

[Sandstorm]

No Holds Barred- Clive Gentry. Pretty good MMA book.
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do (as already mentioned)
Filipino Martial Culture- Mark Wiley (should read that again, it's been a while)
Budo- Ueshiba
For a bit of humour, check out 'Seagalogy', a study in the ***-kicking films of Steven Seagal- Vern

 

[exile]

My own 'best of the the best' list:

for Karate:
Abernethy, Iain. 2002. Bunkai-Jutsu: the Practical Application of Karate Kata

for Taekwondo:
Anslow, Stuart. 2006. Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul - Real Applications to the ITF Patterns: Vol 1

O'Neil, Simon John. 2008. The Taegeuk Cipher: the Patterns of Kukki Taekwondo as a Practical Self-Defense System

for general self-defense/applied MA:
Thompson, Geoff. 2004. The Pavement Arena

 

[Aiki Lee]

grappling: Grappling Master by Gene LeBell

ninjutsu: The Way of the Ninja: Secret Techniques by Masaaki Hatsumi

Karate: Dynamic Karate by M. Nakayama

history and strategy: Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu

 

[jkembry]

For me:

Zen and the Martial Arts

and

Bushido Code: The Soul of Japan

 

[seasoned]

There are so many good books that tell us what out bodies should be doing on the outside, as in many different techniques. I feel that “ The inner Structure of Tai Chi” is a very good book for any martial artist that is looking for that warrior within. It gives a very detailed description on where power comes from.

 

[KempoGuy06]

weightlifting for the martial arts!

B

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Aikido-This is Aikido http://www.amazon.com/This-Aikido-M...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236171717&sr=8-1
Has some of the best demonstration I have seen in an Aikido book.

Japanese Jujutsu-classic fighting arts by Serge Mol http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Fig...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236171841&sr=1-1
Actually you can buy any of the Koryu writers like Diane Skoss,Karl Friday and so on and get a lot of info.
If you can read Japanese then I suggest the Bugei ryu Daijiten
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugei_Ryuha_Daijiten

Ninjutsu-Schools of the Bujinkan http://www.ninjutsustore.com/store/product.php?productid=5886&cat=95&page=1

The way of the Ninja http://www.amazon.com/Way-Ninja-Sec...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172445&sr=1-2
Ninpo secrets-Shoto Tanemura

Judo-Judo unleashed http://www.amazon.com/Judo-Unleashe...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172511&sr=1-1

Taijiquan-Essence and application of Taijiquan (Yang style)

http://www.amazon.com/Essence-Appli...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172670&sr=1-3

A study of Taijiquan by Sun Lutang
http://www.amazon.com/Study-Taijiquan-Sun-Lutang/dp/1556434626/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Baguazhang- http://www.amazon.com/Bagua-You-She...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172871&sr=1-1 By Wang shu jin

Liang zhen pu bagua http://www.amazon.com/Liang-Zhen-Ei...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172907&sr=1-1

Xingyiquan- http://www.amazon.com/Xing-Yi-Quan-...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236172972&sr=1-3 Get Sun Lutang's book if you want to know about the internal arts.

 

[Aiki Lee]

Thanks for posting those links Jadecloud, I'm going to purchase some of them!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Master kicks
Taegeuk hyung WTF
Blackbelt hyung WTF

All by Hee Il Cho. All very good.

State of the Art Taekwondo, cannot recall the two gentlemen who wrote it, but it is recent.

The Secrets of Taekwondo, by Jennifer Lawler.

All of these are geared towards taekwondo, but a good read regardless.

Daniel

 

[Joab]

Don't forget Colonel Rex Applegate's " Close Combat Files "

That's a good one.

 

[Ronin74]

"Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds"... lol. J/K

Actually, I just picked up "Wrestling Tough" by Mike Chapman last week. The book doesn't go into techniques, but rather gives accounts to the mindset and attitudes behind wrestlers (amature, collegiate an olympic), as well as other athletes. There is a lot of name-dropping, but it's also very motivating.

Another classic (but hard to find, especially as a hardcover) is "In the Corner: Great Boxing Trainers Talk About Their Art" written by Dave Anderson. It's a series of interviews with a lot of great trainers, such as Kevin Rooney, Angelo Dundee, Emmanuel Steward, etc. They talk about how they brought up a lot of their more well-known fighters, as well as what they thought made the heart of their fighters. Personally, I can't say enough about how good this book is. I actually considered lifting it from a local library (it's been out of print for a while), but instead spent about $50 on a hardcover edition. It's that good.

If you're into legends, pick up "Myths and Legneds of the Martial Arts" by Peter Lewis.

 

[Perpetual White Belt]

I just picked up Me, Chi, and Bruce Lee. It's was a pretty interesting read. Slightly irreverent look at a mans journey through the martial arts.

 

[Ronin74]

I just picked up Me, Chi, and Bruce Lee. It's was a pretty interesting read. Slightly irreverent look at a mans journey through the martial arts.

I just saw that book tonight while looking for something cool to skim through at the bookstore. The title alone was catchy, but I wasn't too sure if it was more of a comedy-in-martial-arts thing, which didn't fit my mood for the evening.

Is it worth the price?