Happy 1st Birthday Martial History Team


 
Today, 21 January 2021, Martial History Team is five years old. I (Richard Bejtlich) started this project to promote martial arts history based on sound evidence and sourced research. Matthew Krueger from the Walking with the Tengu podcast became the second official team member in our first year. 

I'm pleased to announce that today Dr Jonathan Clements, featured in the post Best Book Winner: General Martial Arts Histories in English for his book A Brief History of the Martial Arts, has also joined Martial History Team. See the post after this one for his contributed book review.

The project is currently a mix of daily social media posts, monthly longer form blog posts, and periodic short form podcasts (courtesy of Mr. Krueger). 

The daily social media posts feature books in the MHT library, or planned acquisitions. I use the hashtag #martialartsmailcall to label these books on Instagram. If you prefer Twitter or Facebook I post using the same hashtags there.

The monthly longer form blog posts generally address three topics. 

1. Some are the result of reading books which I hope will best meet the goals of the project. Posts like Best Book Winner: General Martial Arts Histories in English and Miyamoto Musashi Book Survey are examples. 

2. Some are explorations of specific topics in martial arts history. Posts like Five Facts about the 1879 Encounter Between Ulysses S. Grant and Kano Jigoro and American College of Physical Culture and Jiu-Jitsu are examples.

3. Some debunk popular myths or controversies involving martial arts history. Posts like Answering the Top Five Questions on Theodore Roosevelt's Judo and I Swear It Upon Zeus, Socrates Did Not Favor Wrestlers over Runners are examples.

Today's post is the 54th entry in the blog.

Thanks to Mr. Krueger, we've had four cool episodes of the project podcast. I am more of a writer, so I appreciate his research and speaking talents! The latest is here. If anyone would like to help, feel free to contact us via martialhistoryteam at gmail dot com.

Along with Martial History Team, I run a sister blog that started in August 2017 called Sourcing Bruce Lee. I've considered adding the posts to this project, as that content is a specialized case of debunking myths and controversies involving Mr. Lee. For now, it's a separate site, although I mention posts via MHT channels.

Finally, for what I find interesting about martial arts, outside of martial arts history, I operate Martial Vitality. That project celebrated its 5th birthday this week.

Looking forward, my goal is to complete one book survey per month. That will prompt a blog post on my findings. I have reading plans for over 200 books, spanning January 2021 through December 2022. The books on the list are usually the titles that appear in the #martialartsmailcall posts to social media, although not exclusively. 

For the next two years, then, the project will continue to "promote martial arts history based on sound evidence and sourced research." Please comment on one of our social media sites if you have feedback.

If you like this article, check out our Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter feed, and Amazon Wish List. Be devoted!

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