Martial History Team

   Welcome to the February 2022 book survey. Introduction In February 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 February. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Bartitsu Compendium, Volumes 1 and 2: History and Canonical Syllabus, and Antagonistics, Tony Wolf, 2005 and 2008  The Bartitsu Companion Volume 1 and Volume 2  are excellent resources for anyone who wants to learn about martial arts in the UK during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tony Wolf has done a tremendous service by compiling these two large format paperback books. The work of Edward William Barton-Wright (1860-1951, a contemporary of judo founder Kano Jigoro, also born in 1860) comprises the bulk of the material in Volume 1.  Volume 2 integrates content from so-called "Edwardian jiu-jitsu," such as  The Complete Jujitsuan by Willi...

 Welcome to the January 2022 book survey. Introduction In January 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 January. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. A Complete Guide to Judo: Its Story and Practice, Robert W. Smith, 1958/1961 I bought A Complete Guide to Judo: Its Story and Practice  by Robert W. Smith strictly for the martial arts book bibliography at the end of the volume. I chose the hardcover, but in the two years since then, Amazon has released paperback and Kindle editions. The Kindle version appears to be a print replica, meaning it's a PDF wrapped in Amazon formatting. The hardcover is a reproduction of the 1961 third printing of the original Tuttle version. The book, beyond the bibliography, is a collection of material from other sources. I made the following notes on the contents. Page 29 begins with an arti...

  Welcome to the December 2021 reading survey!  Introduction In December 2021, 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 December. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. Weapons of the Samurai, Stephen Turnbull, 2021 Weapons of the Samurai is one of the latest additions to the impressive catalog of Dr Stephen Turnbull. I devoted an entire post to him in March 2021 titled Survey of Stephen Turnbull Samurai Texts . This new book offers what you'd expect from publisher Osprey -- great illustrations, modern scholarship, and beautiful presentation. I was surprised to read about the use of Chinese-made firearms in Japan as early as 1468, well before their introduction by the Portuguese in the famous 1543 event. Dr Turnbull mentioned there is a record of a samurai being wounded by a firearm in 1524 or 1527 (p 55), for example. I liked how th...

  Welcome to the November 2021 reading survey!  Introduction In November 2021, I (Richard) continued my reading plan that prioritized print books that have been on my shelf for months, or years. This post describes books on Bodhidharma, Shaolin, Tai Chi, and budo. The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen, Jeffrey L. Broughton 1999 I turned to The Bodhidharma Anthology to try to find a reliable source for the semi-mythical figure who many assume brought martial arts to the Shaolin Temple. That is basically a myth, as later books in this survey series will reinforce.  The author is Dr. Jeffrey L. Broughton. His biography on the California State University Long Beach Emeritus Faculty site notes: "Professor Broughton’s specialty is Buddhist Studies (early Ch’an texts). He has a B.A. from Columbia University in English Literature and Oriental Studies and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Chinese from Columbia’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. We c...