Martial History Team

 Welcome to the May 2022 book survey, part two. I decided to break this month's survey into two posts, so here is the second segment. Introduction In May 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes 8 more books that I read in May. My last post addressed the other 8 that I surveyed last month. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Martial Arts of the Orient, Peter Lewis, 1985/1992/1993 I bought Martial Arts of the Orient in the 1990s. Back then, if I saw a book on martial arts at Barnes and Noble, I usually bought it. This title is a color hardcover measuring 11 3/4 inches by 9 1/4 inches. It includes chapters on karate, kung fu, aikido/judo/jiujitsu (not the Brazilian kind), taekwondo, other Japanese martial arts, "Siam," and weapons.  Like many of the books in this survey, it offers great pictures and dubious content. This book for some reason pushes the narrative that martial arts spread to the US because of the Korean War, not World War ...

 Welcome to the May 2022 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into two posts. Introduction In May 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes 8 books that I read in May. A subsequent post will address the other 8 that I surveyed last month. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Academic Approaches to Martial Arts, edited by Michael DeMarco, 2017 Journal of Martial Arts editor Michael DeMarco donated a print copy of  Academic Approaches to Martial Arts for review. Thank you!  This book is a collection of articles published in the journal, from 1992 to 2019, but mostly from 1992-2002; 12 date from that period, with only 1 from 2011 and 1 from 2019. This results in the articles skewing toward the "dark period" of martial arts studies, where poor sources and less than stellar research prevailed.  Frequent citations of early scholars like Mr. Draeger are signs you are reading something from this disappointing pe...

   Welcome to the April 2022 book survey. Introduction In April 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan that prioritized print books that have been on my shelf for months, or years. This post describes print books I read in April. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. Forza, The Samurai Sword Workout: Kick Butt and Get Buff with High-Intensity Sword Fighting Moves, Ilaria Montagnani, 2005 I bought Forza, The Samurai Sword Workout  after pursuing certification in a competing system called Jungshin Fitness. I was curious if any other "sword fitness" systems existed, and I found Forza. The author claims to have a black belt in Shōrinjiryū karate, and reports having trained in aikijujitsu and iaido. "Forza" means "strength" in Italian, which is the author's native land and language.  As far as technique books go, this is strictly for exercise. It features clear black and white photos showing fundamental fitness-styled movements. Having trained ...

   Welcome to the March 2022 book survey. Introduction In March 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan that prioritized print books that have been on my shelf for months, or years. This post describes a mix of print and digital books I read in March. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Invention of Martial Arts, Paul Bowman, 2021 The Invention of Martial Arts is another fascinating work by the prodigious Dr Paul Bowman. Page 1 notes that it is "primarily concerned with media representation of martial arts," particularly in the United Kingdom. Page 8 continues the theme by saying the book is about "the invention of ideas about martial arts, not martial arts themselves." This is an important distinction that colors the entire argument. Page 10 reminds readers that our ideas about martial arts don't necessarily come from martial arts themselves. They are more likely to derive from media. This does leave me wondering if practitioners' views a...