Martial History Team

  "The way that most men deal with traditions, even traditions of their own country, is to receive them all alike as they are delivered, without applying any critical test whatever...  So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Text: Thucydides (471/455- c.399 BCE), The Peloponnesian War , as cited in The Classical Greek Reader , Kenneth J. Atchity, 1998/2014 Image: Roman copy (c. 100 CE) of an early 4th Century BCE Greek original, Pushkin Museum; photo by Shakko Kitsune

  “Judo is originally a teaching of the literary and military arts, and one must begin with ‘waza’ [physical technique] when embarking on the ‘do’ [way, pronounced "dough"] of Judo. How many people, although they make rapid progress with waza, require a great deal of training in order to reach the point at which they can appreciate the do.”   Professor Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo, as quoted in "Mind Over Muscle" (Kodansha International, 2013), p 65. Credit to PreserveHmongRoots for the colorization.

   Welcome to the May 2023 book survey, part three. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. The themes for this month are judo, judo, and more judo! Here is part  one  and here is part two . Introduction In May 2023, I (Richard) continued my book survey plan. This post examines 7 books on judo, featuring three about or for women. 50 Great Judo Champions, Simon Hicks, Nicolas Soames, 2001 I bought my copy of 50 Great Judo Champions directly from the publisher. Hicks is cofounder of Fighting Films and Soames is founder of Ippon Books. My copy of their book is a hardcover measuring 7 3/4 inches by 10 1/2 inches with 118 pages. Pages 1-86 are black and white while 87 to 118 are in color. This is a pretty neat book. It celebrates the founding of the International Judo Federation in 1951. I wondered if they might produce another edition in 2026 for the 75th anniversary? For each of the 50 champions, the authors offer a multipage biography with key stats a...

   Welcome to the May 2023 book survey, part two. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. The themes for this month are judo, judo, and more judo! Here is part one . Introduction In May 2023, I (Richard) continued my book survey plan. This post examines 7 books on judo, primarily from a non-US aspect. Judo: History, Theory, Practice, Vladimir Putin, Vasily Shestakov, Alexey Levitsky, 2004 I bought my copy of  Judo: History, Theory, Practice before the (latest) Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since that time, the International Judo Federation suspended Vladimir Putin's status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the IJF , and  World Taekwondo withdrew the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to him in November 2013 . I'm not sure how much of this book Putin wrote anyway, as he tends to attach his name to judo projects like the 2008 video Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin and then has others do the work. I read the excellent biography by ...

    Welcome to the May 2023 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. The themes for this month are judo, judo, and more judo! Introduction In May 2023, I (Richard) continued my book survey plan. This post examines books on judo, specifically the 14 title series by Ippon Books and Fighting Films bearing the  Judo Masterclass Techniques  banner, usually shortened to simply Judo Masterclass. I will cover all of the titles in one post, with example content from two books. Armlocks (Judo Masterclass), Neil Adams, 1989 Tomoe-nage (Judo Masterclass), Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, 1989/1992 Harai-Goshi (Judo Masterclass), Jean-Luc Rouge, 1991 Uchimata (Judo Masterclass), Hitoshi Sugai, 1991 Ashiwaza (Judo Masterclass), Nobuyuki Sato, 1992 Grips (Judo Masterclass), Neil Adams, 1992 Osoto-gari (Judo Masterclass), Yasuhiro Yamashita, 1992 Shimewaza (Judo Masterclass), Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, 1992 Ashiwaza II (Judo Masterclass), Michael Swain,...