What martial arts book are you currently reading?

[JR 137]

@_Simon_ Not sure if I’ve mentioned these (the thread is pretty long and I’m too lazy to check)...

have you read Joko Ninomiya’s books? His Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle is great from a karate strategy standpoint. He’s got an autobiography which I’ve heard is great, but I don’t know anything about it. Been meaning to pick it up, but you know how that goes.

 

[_Simon_]

I’ve read both Karate: Technique and Spirit, and The Human Face of Karate. Both are quite good IMO. Both are technically required, per the syllabus, but I haven’t heard of anyone taking a test on them by any means. My CI has a copy or two if someone wants to borrow them.

I bought Technique and Spirit during my first stint in karate (non-Seido) as I thought it was a great book. My interest was mainly his philosophy as it relates to the study of karate. There’s technique stuff in there too, which the main allure to Seido students is most likely terminology. There’s a history section which is a bit suspect IMO, but it’s ok. It isn’t intentional nor slanted to benefit him, Seido, nor anyone else.

The Human Face is his autobiography. Quite an interesting read. The earliest parts are about his growing up. It focuses heavily on his karate - his pre-Kyokushin days, his days with Oyama, being sent to the US, his departure from Kyokushin and the aftermath of it, and why he’s taken Seido in its current direction.

There’s some quite interesting stuff about his Kyokushin days that’s not common knowledge - he introduced the belt color system, the seniors were pretty opposed to it, yet Oyama allowed it; the struggles in running Camp Zama, which was a US military base, etc.

Technique and Spirit can be found pretty cheap new and especially used on Amazon here. Human Face isn’t very common; I ordered it directly through Honbu for I think $20 or $25? Both are worth their new price IMO. I bought Technique and Spirit brand new in a bookstore before Amazon (and the internet, for all intents and purposes) was a thing. I didn’t regret spending the money. Again, this was about 20 years before my Seido days, so no real bias on my part.

Ah awesome, thanks so much for the review . Yeah I'll probably get them, sound like a great read. And yeah that's what I meant sorry that it was a requirement in the syllabus (which I reckon is a fantastic idea to have in there).

@_Simon_ & @JR 137
i have "One Day One Life Time". i havnt read it in years but i really liked it. At the time i was practicing Rinzai Zen along with Aikido and my Karate. i was very much into blending Zen and karate at the time.

I also want that one too for sure! And that's so cool, and I'm big into that too, blending Zen and karate. I actually found a clip from a DVD on YouTube about it, so I contacted the dojo that filmed it a couple of years ago, very interested in the DVD. Turns out they're in the Netherlands! And it wasn't a professional production video, but filmed by one of their students, and they were more than happy to send me a copy. All they asked was that I pay shipping, and just a small donation to their dojo. It's called "Ken Zen Ichinyo" and it's really cool.

 

[_Simon_]

I haven’t read that one, but I’ve heard several passages of it during meditation class. Very interesting stuff. I’ve been meaning to get it, but $40 is a bit steep. I can’t find it anywhere for less, such as Amazon. I’ve though about asking my CI to borrow it, but it’s not a book you borrow for a few days IMO. He’d gladly let me borrow it though, along with any other books on his shelf in the dojo.

He’s got Oyama’s holy trinity - What is Karate, This is Karate, and Advanced Karate sitting there too. Among others.

Ahh he's got those... they are hard to come by at a cheap enough price haha.. also on my list

@_Simon_ Not sure if I’ve mentioned these (the thread is pretty long and I’m too lazy to check)...

have you read Joko Ninomiya’s books? His Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle is great from a karate strategy standpoint. He’s got an autobiography which I’ve heard is great, but I don’t know anything about it. Been meaning to pick it up, but you know how that goes.

Ah awesome no I haven't read those, didn't know he had any books out, I'll for sure look into those! Cheers

 

[JR 137]

Ahh he's got those... they are hard to come by at a cheap enough price haha.. also on my list



Ah awesome no I haven't read those, didn't know he had any books out, I'll for sure look into those! Cheers

Technique and strategy-wise, Ninomiya’s Sabaki Method is by far the best book I’ve read. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it just spoke to me the perfect way. There’s a section on basics, which isn’t anything different and nothing noteworthy for anyone who’s been taught kihon; what makes it my favorite is when he discusses angles and circling, getting to the blind spot, etc. It’s about $15 new here, so not exactly a big loss if you don’t see much in it.

 

[_Simon_]

Technique and strategy-wise, Ninomiya’s Sabaki Method is by far the best book I’ve read. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it just spoke to me the perfect way. There’s a section on basics, which isn’t anything different and nothing noteworthy for anyone who’s been taught kihon; what makes it my favorite is when he discusses angles and circling, getting to the blind spot, etc. It’s about $15 new here, so not exactly a big loss if you don’t see much in it.

Ah cool appreciate that, nice to hear how others find certain texts. Will look into it for sure (just downloaded a bunch of Seido vids from YouTube to watch hehe. Some cool stuff out there, and inspiring to watch)

 

[Xue Sheng]

Yiquan Beginners' Guide: Basic Skill by Joseph P. Lau

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

http://combatshuaichiao.com/photo/book/cover.jpg

 

[_Simon_]

Reading "Karate: Technique & Spirit" by Tadashi Nakamura, really like it so far...

 

[arnisador]

I bought Matthew Polly's new Bruce Lee biography, but haven't started it yet--soon!

 

[Xue Sheng]

A Study of Taijiquan by Sun Lutang

Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan: The Fighting Art of the Manchurian Palace Guard by Tina Chunna Zhang

 

[dvcochran]

Taeguek Cipher.

 

[elder999]

https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Art-...killing+art+the+untold+history+of+tae+kwon+do

 

[Xue Sheng]

Tai Ji Qi by Stuart Alve Olson

 

[Blindside]

Lessons of the Broadsword Masters by Christopher Thompson.
https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Broadsword-Masters-Christopher-Thompson/dp/0359139639/

 

[_Simon_]

Reading "Karate: Technique & Spirit" by Tadashi Nakamura, really like it so far...

Aaaaaaaand after more than a year later I finally finished this one haha... really great read, I really love Nakamura's philosophy and approach to training in the Seido system, got alot out of it. Really hones in on the spiritual underpinnings of it all too.

Covers alot of topics: foundations and history, breathing, posture, etiquette, diet, warming up, stretching, exercises, stances, natural weapons, basic techniques, tameshiwari, kata, weapons, kumite, and ends with a fair few excerpts of his meditation lectures.

The kumite chapter is a little short but in general there was still some great all-round info and perspective.

 

[JR 137]

Aaaaaaaand after more than a year later I finally finished this one haha... really great read, I really love Nakamura's philosophy and approach to training in the Seido system, got alot out of it. Really hones in on the spiritual underpinnings of it all too.

Covers alot of topics: foundations and history, breathing, posture, etiquette, diet, warming up, stretching, exercises, stances, natural weapons, basic techniques, tameshiwari, kata, weapons, kumite, and ends with a fair few excerpts of his meditation lectures.

The kumite chapter is a little short but in general there was still some great all-round info and perspective.

It’s one of my favorites, and perhaps my favorite MA book. Again, I bought it a good 20 years before I was in Seido, so it’s not a fanboy thing.

Interesting side note:
There’s a group picture of Seido black belts in a park. My former teacher, and his 3 former teachers are all in it. I didn’t know they came from Seido when I bought the book. It was a few months later when I saw those guys staring at me in the picture that I brought the book to my then sensei and asked about it. I knew we came from kyokushin, but didn’t know the Nakamura lineage and about his teachers following Nakamura when he left kyokushin. They left Seido a little while after the picture was taken.

Side note 2: My current teacher isn’t in the picture because he had hip replacement surgery a few days beforehand.

 

[_Simon_]

It’s one of my favorites, and perhaps my favorite MA book. Again, I bought it a good 20 years before I was in Seido, so it’s not a fanboy thing.

Interesting side note:
There’s a group picture of Seido black belts in a park. My former teacher, and his 3 former teachers are all in it. I didn’t know they came from Seido when I bought the book. It was a few months later when I saw those guys staring at me in the picture that I brought the book to my then sensei and asked about it. I knew we came from kyokushin, but didn’t know the Nakamura lineage and about his teachers following Nakamura when he left kyokushin. They left Seido a little while after the picture was taken.

Side note 2: My current teacher isn’t in the picture because he had hip replacement surgery a few days beforehand.

Ah wow fancy that, very cool! Yeah it's cool seeing those pictures of back in the early days

 

[IronPalmJimmy]

"Qigong: Chinese Medicine or Pseudoscience" by Lin Zixin, Yu Li, Guo Zhengyi, Shen Zhenyu, Zhang Honglin and Zhang Tongling.

 

[_Simon_]

Currently reading this special edition mag I've had for ages and have read before... quite a good summary of different styles and traditions. Doesn't have Uechi ryu in there for some reason, but I'm sure there are many more sub-styles it wouldn't have room to cover

 

[_Simon_]

Am starting a book I got a while ago that feels as though it has been written specifically for me haha... called "The Karate Cure". Probably very much a minority population book, but very applicable to me and learning to integrate both martial arts and pelvic tension/pain is a constant struggle.

Can't wait!

Oh and still reading through my Blitz mags hehe.