Martial History Team

   Welcome to the August 2022 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into two posts, as I did last month. Introduction In August 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes 8 books that I surveyed in August. A subsequent post will address the other 7 that I surveyed last month. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Bokuden Ryu Jujutsu: A Record of Intensive Lessons of Jujutsu, Otsuka Nobuyoshi, translated by Eric Shahan, 2016 Bokuden Ryu Jujutsu  is one of several Eric Shahan translations I've bought. This small paperback (also now available via Kindle) was written in 1916 and first published in 1917. There appears to be no real information on the author save his photograph.  There is some detail on the style founder, Tsukahara Bokuden, from a cited 1885 text. Dr Hall's great encyclopedia notes that Tsukahara Bokuden lived from 1489-1571 and was founder of Kashima Shinto Ryu. He was born into the Yoshikawa fam...

  What did Ankō Itosu really say in his first precept of Karate?  Introduction I finished reading Sensei Patrick McCarthy's latest edition of the Okinawan  Bubishi , a martial arts manuscript that will be the subject of future book reviews. In the book, Sensei McCarthy included his translation of a related document by Sensei Ankō Itosu (1831-1915), a karate master who is beginning to receive more attention for his role in creating modern karate.  In 1908 Sensei Itosu wrote a letter titled Ten Precepts of Karate, intended to be read by Japan's Ministry of Education and Ministry of War. Itosu wanted to promote karate within Japan and explained its benefits. It was McCarthy's translation of the first precept that prompted this post. McCarthy's Translation of the First Precept McCarthy's Translation of the First Precept, Bubishi, 2016 The underlined text from page 254 of the 2016 edition of McCarthy's Bubishi made me stop and think. McCarthy translated Itosu as sayi...

   Welcome to the September 2022 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. Introduction In September 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes 8 books that I surveyed in September. Subsequent posts will address the other 16 that I surveyed last month. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Karate: Its History and Practice: 空手道 その歴史と技法(英語版), Koyama Masashi, Wada Koji, Kadekaru Toru, Alexander Bennett (translator), 2021 Karate: Its History and Practice is a small paperback offering 483 pages. I had high hopes for this book, as one of my favorite martial arts authors, Dr. Alexander Bennett, was the translator. Unfortunately, this book is a largely incoherent collection of material. It contains no real insights into karate's origins. It sometimes repeats what other "famous" instructors wrote in their books, with no analysis as to whether what they wrote was correct or justified. Some material is interes...

  Welcome to the October 2022 book survey, part one. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. Introduction In October 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes the first 7 books that I surveyed in October. Subsequent posts will describe the last two batches of 8 and 7 books. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Katori Shinto-ryu Warrior Tradition, Risuke Otake, 2007 Katori Shinto-ryu Warrior Tradition  is not an easy book to acquire. I bought my copy from Koryu Books in 2020 but I do not know if they still sell it. My copy is a 7 inches by 10 inches black and white paperback with 317 pages. It is based on the earlier three volume work titled The Deity and the Sword  published in 1977-1978. This new edition claims to be retranslated and edited, with 850 new photos. The text offers Japanese and English, usually on facing pages. Iizasa [Shurinosuke] Yasusada, 20th generation headmaster of Tenshin Shoden Katori ...

   Welcome to the September 2022 book survey, part three. I decided to break this month's survey into three posts. Introduction In September 2022, I (Richard) continued my reading plan. This post describes the last 8 books that I surveyed in September. Previous posts described the first two batches of 8 books each from September. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Decisive Judo: Step by Step Introduction, Des Marwood, 1998 Decisive Judo  is a unique book because the author is both the artist and a judoka. My copy is a used black and white paperback measuring 6 3/4 inches by 10 inches. It was originally published in 1992 as Critical Judo .  This is a short 128 page book, but I really like the presentation. Each technique features many line figures with arrows to show directions of motion. Each also includes variations based on uke reactions. The term "critical path analysis style" is appropriate for this sort of presentation.  Page 18 is also p...