This book can hardly be placed on the must read list when it isn’t the type of thing you
can sit down and read through--just as most people don’t sit down to read through an
Encyclopedia Britannica volume. But it can be recommended as a basic reference book.
The task of compiling an encyclopedia was no doubt daunting, and the authors have done
an overall good job in its synthesis. The book is divided in three sections (as the
subtitle implies): tradition, history, and pioneers.
The tradition section has entries on a fairly thorough representation of the martial
arts from around the world, and a synopsis of weapons, equipment, and training devices.
Some arts are covered much more extensively than others (judo and karate, for example,
are heavily favored.) Some of this can certainly be attributed to sheer imbalances in
available information and subject matter, but some of it may also be a question of
perceived importance by the authors and contributors. While this is certainly a
dilemma for this type of book, some decisions do seem a bit peculiar, such as the
relegation of Thai kick-boxing to an miscellaneous art (although the actual entry is
not that bad) and kuk sool won to eclectic, while giving Lua (a Hawaiian art) and
Kalaripayat (Indian art) independent billing. Perhaps the lesson here is that it
doesn’t matter where the entry is found, the entries do not represent relative
importance, popularity, or sphere of influence. The fact that Western art forms, such
as boxing, the various European schools of fencing, and modern wrestling systems were
omitted from discussion is a bit disappointing. One could speculate that these Western
combative systems were judged to fall outside the definition of martial arts, but the
book is not limited in geography (it includes Brazil and Russia,) and does include Greek
Boxing, Pankration, and Cornish Wrestling making the policy a little inconsistent.
The second section addresses history. This is probably where the book has its most
value as a stand alone text, in that it covers not only events in Asia but also in
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, and the US. It is often difficult to
find general information on the arts once they cross over. There is perhaps an
overemphasis of the blood and guts era of karate/kick-boxing and the history of martial
arts movies in the US, but it is easily excused since such information is not readily
available in such a useable format. There is also an excellent timeline that concurrently
traces the development of various martial arts around the world.
The last section is dedicated to the pioneers of the martial arts world. Again, there
is perhaps an overemphasis of martial artists in America during the 60-70’s, but is it
this sector that also makes the book uniquely valuable. A rich supply of photos
throughout the book also adds much to the historical value. One aspect that is lacking
a specific or overt section is the religious and philosophical influences on the martial
arts, though some of this is mentioned throughout the discussions of specific arts.
Faced with the daunting task of covering everything, the authors and contributors did a
pretty good job. But that is not to say that the book should be used as an authoritative
reference. While is it great for a general reference, it would not be useful for more
in-depth or scholastic use. Here the analogy to a regular encyclopedia is rather
accurate good for a junior high student to use in a report, but not something a PHD
candidate can use for a dissertation. The contributors, while accomplished martial
artists, were not always the most accomplished scholars on the martial arts. Many of
the entries simply perpetuate the oral tradition of those arts, which can be debated
when looking at more serious historical evidence. The entries are at times rather prone
to the contributors opinions and subjectivity. For example, the TKD entry talks about
the students becoming part of the schools family and how beginning training is dedicated
to developing the flexibility to kick head high. (Nice notions, but hardly objective and
universal statements.) At times the articles do take on more of a historical flare but
are flawed such as the misprint of one of the Kwans of Tae Kwon Do. Then the question
arises, what parts can you believe and what parts can you not? Probably the majority is
sound. The book becomes a valuable place to start, but the caveat remains that more
original research must be done in order to avoid blindly perpetuating false information.
This review is based on my copy of the SECOND EDITION, but word through
the grapevine is that it is almost identical to the first. The
information is a little dated and more recent events are not WELL covered.
All in all, it comes down to the fact that students are faced
with a decision: buy a library of books on the various subjects, or buy this single one.
It is recommended that you start with this single book. A student of the martial arts
can easily find general information on just about any subject he is unfamiliar with.
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