So many books, so little time… I complained in an earlier post about the lack of quality books non-Taiji, non-training guide books on Chinese Martial Arts. That being said I’ve burned plenty of hours scouring for interesting material. Here are a few I would love to get around to reading sometime soon…
• The Bodhisattva Warriors: The Origin, History, Inner… by Terence Dukes
Scholarly examination on the Buddhist roots of martial arts and how they dictate their use and evolution
• Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and Chinese Martial Arts by Meir Shahar
• Tales of the Shaolin Monastery by Wang Hongjun et al.
A long out of print compilation of stories about the Temple. Hard to find for under $100.
• Skills of the Vagabonds by Leung Ting
A lurid encyclopedia of discipline techniques, physical feats and tricks employed by proto-ninjas. There is also a follow up- “Behind the Incredibles.”
• Martial Musings by Robert W. Smith
The pre-eminent MA historian’s thoughts on a career of training and writing.
• The Sword Polisher’s Record by Adam Hsu
15 years of collected column writing from Master Hsu’s column in various MA magazines
• Through the Wooden Men Lane by Zen Lee
Historical fiction. Could be fun…
• New York Zen: Tao of the Shaolin Kung Fu by Tak Wah Eng
First off the title is suspect- Zen is a Japanese term, then he uses Zen (Buddhist) to title a book about Tao (Taoist). Also, I’ve read some mixed things about the author, still, he is very accomplished and this, his memoirs of MA in NYC could be very interesting.
• The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Bodhidharma, Red Pine
Ostensibly a direct text of Damo’s teachings, rare in any language.
• Dueling with O-Sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage by Elis Amdur
About the author’s experiences learning Aikido from it’s founder and his personal explorations in becoming a martial artist.
• Men of Steel Discipline: The Official History of Black Pioneers in Martial Arts by William Hinton, D'Arcy Rahming
• Moving Zen: One Man’s Journey to the Heart of Karate by C.W. Nicol, et al.
• Ancient Chinese Weapons: A Martial Artist’s Guide by Yang Jwing Ming
• The Secrets of Eagle Claw Kung-Fu by Leung Shum, Jeanne Chin
This one may be a little of a “technique book” but it is also a definitive text by a true pioneer of CMA in America.
Why is it that all MA books seem to have to have a subtitle? Funny.
To clarify, I’ve left off books that I’ve already read and ones that are tangential to Chinese Martial Arts (books on meditation, Chinese history, philosophy, exercise science, etc). A couple that skirt the line may have slipped through but this list in an attempt to jot down interesting material directly on the arts.
Have you read any of these? Got an opinion on them? How about your list, what should we be reading? Let us know…
Martial musings is definetly a memoir, and the guy tends to repeat himself a bit. However, its also a very interesting account of guy who started with Judo and went on to study a lot of chinese styles, with a lot of first hand accounts of training. Its not a how-to, that is for sure, and is a worthwhile read.
ReplyDeleteAs a small update, I've since read Men of Steel Discipline. It is an interesting volume of short interviews with African-American martial arts pioneers. It is not groundbreaking by nay means, but certainly provides some interesting history on some of the greats of this century. This expands in that you get a perspective (nice for us young'ins) on how things got started in the 50s-70s. As well, you get a window into their personal philosophies on the arts and teaching.
ReplyDeleteGood, easy read. If you're interested in US martial arts history, a good buy.