MA history reading list

**Robbastard** · Posted On: 9/18/2006 7:52pm

Can anyone suggest any good books on the history of martial arts?

**mad_mally** · Posted On: 9/19/2006 3:31pm

anything about Mas Oyama is a good read. Bull killing FTW.

**Matt Bernius** · Posted On: 9/19/2006 3:38pm

You need to be a bit more exact. Are you looking for a "unified" history of the Martial Arts? If so, good luck finding one. Even better luck finding an accurate one. Part of the reason for this is that there is no unified history of MA. Many emerged independently in different areas of the world.

Now there are a number of worthy histories of various individual or national arts. But I doubt you'll find any accurate history of all martial arts.

So I suggest refining the question and taking another pass.

- Matt

**Doctor X** · Posted On: 9/19/2006 5:11pm

Have you read Ashida Kim's scholarly works?

Flees flying bricks. . . .

--J.D.

**Robbastard** · Posted On: 9/20/2006 3:24pm

Originally Posted by Matt Bernius

You need to be a bit more exact. Are you looking for a "unified" history of the Martial Arts? If so, good luck finding one. Even better luck finding an accurate one. Part of the reason for this is that there is no unified history of MA. Many emerged independently in different areas of the world.

Now there are a number of worthy histories of various individual or national arts. But I doubt you'll find any accurate history of all martial arts.

So I suggest refining the question and taking another pass.

- Matt

Actually, any art would be fine, but I'm specifically looking for stuff published eariler (in English) that doesn't involve Western boxing or wrestling.

I'd also be interested in say, encyclopedia-type works.

For those who are curious, I'm looking for stuff to request for my local library.

**Matt Bernius** · Posted On: 9/22/2006 8:06am

Ok, then my suggestion is to look into these author's work:

Donn Draeger

Robert Smith

Harry Cook

Mark Wiley

Also request books written by founders of respected arts. Kano's books and Oyama's are good examples of that. Funikoshi's work is wort h looking into as well.

- Matt

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 9/22/2006 9:35am

from the Kano history book liniage you can also look to H. Irving Hancock and/or Katsukuma Higashi.

**Sam Browning** · Posted On: 9/22/2006 9:59am

The only decent Encyclopedia I know of is:

John Corcoran and Emil Farkas, The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia (Pro Action Publishing, Los Angeles, 1993). This is the slightly revised version of a text that was written in the early 1980s and is pre UFC. Even though it is approaching 30 years old there is still some good material in it.

**MaverickZ** · Posted On: 9/22/2006 11:25am

The Western Way of War - Keegan

**brianlkennedy** · Posted On: 9/30/2006 9:43pm

Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo; Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: a Historical Survey, published by North Atlantic Books. The reviews were good and I like the book a lot....well, that may have something to do with the fact I wrote it.