Although originally copyrighted in 1969, this book is still one of the
best, most comprehensive introduction to martial arts on the Asian
continent, extending beyond the realms of China, Japan, and Korea into
glimpses of India, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the
Philippines.) This book is one of the first to seriously study the arts
and their inherent history and culture on such a broad scale. Such
pertinent history and culture is not merely discussed as background
information, but presented by the authors in such a way that the reader
may infer the connections between a martial art and its parent culture'’s
influence. It is packed with historical information, so the owner may
find themselves reaching for it as a quick reference rather frequently.
Some unique photographs in the front of the book are an added bonus.
Albeit, some of the material is a little dated now, but it is written by
two of the pioneers in the field and I believe that there is additional
value in reading the original classic, just as the philosophy major must
read the original Plato, the evolutionist must read Darwin’s Origin of
the Species, or a Christian must read the
Bible.
About the only criticism one can make is that it doesn’t take into
account the arts from other regions, more modern developments (such as
the modern martial sport movements like we have seen in TKD) and more
modern styles (Hapkido, JKD, etc.) But these are comparisons to an
ideal rather than an actual fault in the book. One can hardly fault the
authors for not being clairvoyant, and the book never pretends to cover
anything but Asian arts. Other than that, this book covers just about
every major concept or theme that modern martial arts study and research
may expound upon, so the reader will have the framework to comprehend the
basis of many other books and subjects. Consequently, even the beginner
martial artist who takes the time to absorb this book will in many cases
be more knowledgeable than many of the so called expert black belts, at
least in an academic, more general sense. Anyone who considers himself
an expert in martial arts should be familiar with this book and its
contents. As the title states, this classic is a very comprehensive,
addressing the general concepts to the small details of specific arts,
making it a must read.
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