Martial History Team

 Welcome to the June 2023 book survey, part three. I decided to break this month's survey into four posts. The themes for this month are diverse, but include Japanese arts, Filipino arts, and European arts. These are generally the last print books in my library that have not been previously surveyed. Here are parts  one  and two . Introduction In June 2023, I (Richard) continued my book survey plan. This post examines several books on jujitsu. This is my preferred spelling for arts that are neither strictly Japanese "jujutsu" nor Brazilian "jiu-jitsu" or "jiujitsu." You'll see this spelling used by most of the books in this survey. Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art, George Kirby, 1983/1995 My copy of  Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art  is a paperback measuring 5 7/8 inches by 8 7/8 inches with 128 black and white pages. The Internet Archive  also has a copy. Kirby (born 1944) is a student of Sanzo Seki (1914-1998), and Kirby wro...

   Welcome to the June 2023 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into four posts. The themes for this month are diverse, but include Japanese arts, Filipino arts, and European arts. These are generally the last print books in my library that have not been previously surveyed. Introduction In June 2023, I (Richard) continued my book survey plan. This post examines several books on Japanese arts. The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art, Stephen K. Hayes, 1981 I have both digital and physical copies of  The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art , originally published in 1981. Tuttle appears to repackage it every few years with a new cover. I included the covers of the two versions in my library. My softcover print copy measures 5 1/4 inches by 8 inches with 156 black and white pages. This was not Mr. Hayes' first book on ninja. His first appears to be a pamphlet published in 1975. He also wrote a six volume set beginning in 1980, but this book does not...

 Welcome to the March 2023 book survey, part three. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. The theme for this month is Kung Fu. Part one is  here . Part two is here . Introduction In March 2023, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This month I surveyed a number of books on Kung Fu.  Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense, Bruce Lee, 1963/1987/1988/2008 This is one of the few books in the MHT catalog that has an entire web site devoted to it -- Bruce Lee Chinese Gung Fu Book  by Steve Palmer. Mr. Palmer has done the definitive research on this book, which was the only title published during Mr. Lee's lifetime (1940-1973), regardless of what the Dragon movie depicts : My print copy is a 1996 twelfth printing of the 1988 third edition. It is a paperback measuring 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/4 inches with 102 black and white pages. There is a digital copy of a twentieth printing of the same edition from 2005 on the Internet Archive . I also o...