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Every sensei should have a recommended reading list. The list I've composed
below is made up of books that have helped me form my martial arts "values" as
well as serve me equally in my non-marital arts life. I hope you find them
worthwhile and as equally rewarding
You can order these books directly from Amazon by clicking on the
Amazon icon below the picture & price of each book.
If you'd like to read some
great articles by respected martial artists, click
Articles Worth Reading to go to the bottom section of this page.
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Dan Carrison and Rod Walsh,
Semper
Fi, Business Leadership the
Marine Corps Way, Amacom, NY, 1999, ISBN 0-8144-0413-8. Want to develop sound
leadership and solid loyalty? This book clears up many of the misconceptions of USMC
training and brings the same form of positive supportive leadership into the civilian and
business world. Leadership is more than just telling people what to do.
Leadership is established by being in the front lines with all your
"troops". It's you're willingness to get your shoes just as dirty as
anyone else's while providing an example of being out in front and at the same
time making sure that everyone is up there with you. You, the leader, are the
example! It is extremely well-written and should be in any top sensei's book
collection. Dan Carrison is one of my Black Belts. I recommend this book to all
my black belts! |
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Bruce D. Clayotn, PhD,
Shotokan's Secret: The Hidden
Truth Behind Karate's FIghting Origins {Expanded Edition].
Cruz Bay Publishing, 2010, ISBN-10: 0-89750-188-8. Bruce
Clayton has done an exceptional amount of research to backtrack
the history and origins of Shotokan Karate. His expanded edition
is a very enjoyable read complete with technique pix as
appropriate and an extensive bibliography. 382 pages. |
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Thomas
Cleary,
Soul of the Samurai. This is one of three books I picked up as I
was interested in Yagyu Munenori. It contains a slightly different translation
of "The Killing Sword", "The Life-Giving Sword", and "No Sword". Why read
different translations of the same writings? Because I think you get a more
accurate interpretation of a writer if you read different interpretations
of his original writings. [Of course, if I could read Japanese then I could read
the original writings by Yagyu Munenori. |
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Darrell M. Craig,
Japan's Ultimate Martial Art; Jujitsu Before 1882 The Classical
Japanese Art of Self-Defense.
Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1995, ISBN 0-8048-3027. If you'd like to
read a good book on the history of Ju-Jitsu in Japan, along with
line drawings of techniques and other eclectic material, this is
a great resource. There's also some good "trivia" in here that
isn't found anywhere else in dealing with the formalities of the
art. |
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Don
Cunningham,
Secret
Weapons of Jujutsu. In his first book, Don Cunningham places
considerable emphasis on the history and use of the jutte. It has lots of great
pix of various jutte & other related weapons. This is an essential book for
your library if you're into weapons. |
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Don
Cunningham, Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age
of the Samurai.
This is Don Cunningham's second book dealing with the jutte
as well as other arrest techniques from the samurai of the Edo period in Japan.
Cunningham sensei provides a great deal of insight into how life was conducted
during the Edo period. This book is well written, has excellent drawings of
jutte techniques, and is easy to read. Get yourself a copy and sit down for some
enjoyable reading. |
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Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi,
Flow: The
Psychology of Optimal Experience. Although this is not a martial
arts book I highly recommend it because it establishes validity to the oriental concept of mushin. Through various validated "western" research, Dr. C, [as he is
known to his students], presents a concept
known as the "flow theory" which is identical to the concept of mushin. As with
mushin, the flow theory can also be applied to your daily life. |
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Tri
Thong Dang,
Beyond
the Known: The Ultimate Goal of the Martial Arts, Although the author presents the "ultimate goal" from
his perspective, what author doesn't? This is worthwhile reading from a highly
knowledgeable and experienced sensei |
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Gavin De Becker,
The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals That Protect Us From
Violence, Random House, NY, 1997, ISBN:
978-0-440-50883-0. This book, sent to me by a federal
law-enforcement agent, is a book worth reading. We all are [or
should be] aware of 'situational awareness", "6th sense", "gut
feeling", and other terminology that hopefully protects us from
bad experiences. The gift of fear takes this to another level by
helping the reader understand the difference between imagined
fear, which can isolate us, and real fear, an actual awareness
that something bad may actually happen and allows us to be
proactive. De Becker also presents simple but effective tools
for differentiating between real and imagined fear. There is a
difference between living in fear and having the tools to
recognize and control real fear, an important asset to any
martial artist, law-enforcement, military or lay person. |
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Taisen
Deshimaru,
The
Zen Way to the Martial Arts. There are many good books
dealing with Zen. I chose this one because it was straightforward and devoid of
interpretations and examples which may limit your thinking because they give you
a false sense of direction. It is well written and you can easily see how Zen
can apply to your life and lifestyle. |
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Kensho
Furuya,
KODO:
Ancient Ways, Lessons in the Spiritual Life of the Warrior/Martial Artist.
I had the privilege of first meeting Rev. Kensho Furuya through the LAPD
Civilian Martial Arts Advisory Panel, of which were both members. Furuya
Sensei always impressed me as being soft-spoken and completely dedicated to his
art and the martial art. KODO is extremely well written and thought
provoking. That is what I believe he meant it to be. Furuya Senseis writing
is easy to follow while causing a great deal of self-reflection at the same
time. He makes good use of Japanese history and well-placed analogies to prove
his point or that of other well-respected sensei. I think that it is the simplicity of what he says that brings clarity to
complex western thought regarding the martial arts philosophy. KODO;
Ancient Ways will be a welcome addition to my library of books on
philosophy. I urge you to read this book. It will help you understand your art
and your life. Does the teacup really reflect the moon? |
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Jay
Gluck,
Zen
Combat [& the Secret Power Called Ki]: Personally Oriented. This is an
interesting book for someone wanting a different overview of the
martial arts. It's not always available - but it's a great book
to get! |
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Wally Jay,
Small Circle
Jujitsu. This is a "must have" book for anyone seriously
interested in Ju-Jitsu. Prof. Jay presents his small circle theory which works on the
concept of efficiency and minimal movement. |
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Lawrence A. Kane and Kris Wilder,
The Way of Kata; A Comprehensive Guide
to Deciphering Martial Applications. YMAA Publication
Center, Boston, MA, ©2005. This is
a very well organized and structured book which follows a
consistent theme and provides strong support for the concepts
presented. The Way of Kata is representative of a “second
generation” of martial arts books being published in the U.S.
Rather than just presenting techniques, these "second
generation" books delve into the theory and backgrounds of
how/why techniques work. They also develop constructs that help
simplify the arts they are discussing – even though those
discussions may be very complex.
Martial
artists are ready for this second generation of more
professional and exploratory examination of the martial arts.
This approach reflects a more mature approach towards studying
any martial art and its elements. Although I took issue with a
few small elements, the book does cover a lot of important
ground that affects all martial arts in the same way. It also gave time to
some items [finer points] that many instructors simply gloss
over, but which are of major importance to being successful in
any martial art, whether it be to perfect the art [a life-long
endeavor] or use the art for effective self-defense.
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Stephen F.
Kaufman,
The
Art of War. Whether you're on the mat, on the street, or in the
business world, you need to read and master the concepts of this book. Strategy, planning,
knowledge of the opposition, and the efficient use of resources are a requirement for any
form of success in the world. |
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Dr.
Haha Lung and Christopher Powant,
Mind Manipulation: Ancient and Modern Ninja Techniques ,
© 2002.
I ran across this book at Barnes & Noble, sat down
with a cup of coffee at their Starbucks, and almost finished the book by
the time I finished my coffee. [I drink slowly.] This is a very easy
read and straight to the point. I don't know about "ninja techniques"
[except as a catchy title], but it really build on Sun Tzu's concept
that the easiest way to defeat an enemy is in his mind. Mind
Manipulation lays out all sorts of strategies, ancient and modern, to
defeat your opponent through mind manipulation. It provides real tools
for dealing with attempts at mind manipulation in the modern world. Yes,
I bought the book and finished the rest of it at home. |
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Yagyu
Munenori,
The Way of the Living Sword: The
Secret Teachings of Yagyu Munenori,
[trans. by D.E. Carver]. This is another translation of Munenori's writings. |
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Yagyu
Munenori,
The Life Giving Sword: The Secret
Teachings from the House of the Shogun,
[trans. by William S. Wilson], This is probably the most enjoyable
translation of Yagyu Munenori's writings and the first one I read. Once I read
Wilson's translation I was curious as to what other translations also said. |
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Miyamoto Mushashi,
The Book of
Five Rings. The world flows along many pathways. This book presents a
clear approach on how you can guide your life. Although it's a short book and is
deceptively easy reading on the surface, its concepts lead to serious thinking and
evaluation of what you've read. This is also another book you need to read for
philosophical growth and success in your life.
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Inazo Nitobe,
Bushido The Warrior Code. |
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Peter Payne,
Martial Arts:
The Spiritual Dimension.
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Steven
Pearlman,
The Book of Martial Power:
The Universal Guide to the Combative Arts.
When I first read this book it blew my mind. It seems that
Steven and I were almost on the same page as when I wrote
Advanced Jujitsu: The Science Behind the Gentle Art. In fact
both of our books were published in 2006. Although my approach
at dealing with universal concepts came from my background of
ju-jitsu, Steven's approach evolved from the "hard" arts. What
is absolutely amazing is that both books not only inherently
support each other, but each book covers different aspects of
the same issues. It's almost like we got together before writing
our separate works and splitting up the task. I also believe,
that as Steven said, both books are an unintentional reaction to
the current MMA trend. Traditional martial artists recognize the
need to start looking at universal concepts of how and why
techniques work. It is the ability to present this information
that will confirm the validity and strength of the traditional
martial arts. It also shows how the same concepts are used by
the MMA and may lend some sense of common structure to that area
as well.
The Book of Martial Power, much like
my book
Advanced Jujitsu, will take some time to read and
understand. To get the total picture you've got to read both books. |
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Robert
T. Samuel,
The Samurai; The Philosophy of
Victory, © 2004. This is another Barnes &
Noble book I picked up because the cover looked interesting. It presents
a summary of the life of the samurai as depicted by excerpts and
summaries of traditionally classic readings. if you want a quick or
introductory education on the standards and way of life of the samurai
this is a good book to get. There is quite a bit of good in this book.
The Samurai
is well laid out, has great pix/artwork, and is well organized. It also
serves as an interesting book to have on your coffee table as a
conversation starter. |
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Oscar
Rattl & Adel Westbrook,
Secrets of the Samurai: A Survey of the Martial Arts
in Feudal Japan. If you want a good
detailed history of the martial arts in Japan this is an excellent resource/ It
gets bogged down in details at times [that are interesting] but it's still an
excellent resource that includes insight into this period of Japanese history. |
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Katsusuke Serizawa.
Tsubo:
Vital Points for Oriental Therapy. Believe it or not I
actually found the hardback version of this book [now out of print] at the
Japanese Pavilion in the EPCOT Center, Disneyworld, Florida. This is probably
the best resource for pressure points that I have ever found. It is also a
exceptional resource concerning Oriental pressure point therapy. If you can find
this book BUY IT! The copies at Amazon are paperback only.
Whomever I loaned my copy to . . .
PLEASE RETURN IT! |
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William S.
Wilson [trans],
Budoshoshinshu: The Warriors Primer . . .
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William
S. Wilson [trans],
The Ideals of
the Samurai. |
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Articles Worth Reading:
The articles listed
below are worth reading. The articles are the opinions of the authors. Feel free
to contact them to discuss the article with them.
Aikido,
Judo, Karate and Jujitsu - Comparing Different Forms of Martial Arts,
Mark Jordan
Duty,
Kevin Brennan
Generosity, Bob Connolly
History
of Japanese Jujutsu - the Worlds Most Effective Martial Art,
Mark Jordan
Integrity and Credibility,
George Kirby
Japan in America - Traditional Dojo Etiquette,
Bill Hughes
Japanese
Jujutsu - Is Jujutsu Different From Jujitsu or Jiu Jitsu,
Mark Jordan
JuJutsu Ryu Names, Ben Haryo
Jujitsu Schools - Learn About Traditional Japanese Jujitsu Schools,
Mark Jordan
Legal issues regarding Self-defense,
Mark Jordan
Martial Arts Are Not Ennobling,
Harvey Kurland
Renaissance Man, Thomas C.
Salander
Self-Defense
Weapons - What is the Best Weapon for Self-defense,
Mark Jordan
Student Retention, George Kirby
Surviving the Attack, Gene Roos
The Colored Belt Ranking System,
Ben Haryo
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