The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers [Hardcover]

John Corcoran (Author), Emil Farkas (Author), Stuart Sobel (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-There's a wealth of information here, including terms used in various martial arts, history, and hundreds of the important men and women involved in these sports, accompanied by lots of black-and-white photographs. The narration is presented in an entertaining manner and will make readers want more details. The discussion on weapons is particularly explicit and complete with clear line drawings. Movements are explained step-by-step, but without sequential pictures. One section presents the history of martial arts in movies. Students involved in tae kwon do may be disappointed that it receives a fraction of the coverage of karate, but overall, this volume is quite comprehensive.
Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

All of the major arts and styles, and many of the minor ones, are historically traced in The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia as it explores the martial arts, its history, and martial arts pioneers around the world. There are hundreds of historical photos of of important martial artists including Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace in the point-fighting days. From Judo's founder Jigaro Kano to World Judo Champion Gene LeBell, from martial arts legend Bruce Lee to his son, action film star Brandon Lee The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia has it all. The text has been written by some of the world's finest martial arts journalists. The photography has been taken by many of the most gifted photo-journalists the arts have to offer. The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia is a tour-de-force of martial arts facts, biographies, historical photos, and insightful contributors. Highly recommended! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 27 pages
• Publisher: Pro-Action Pub. (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961512636
• ISBN-13: 978-0961512637
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #640,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific One-Stop Source of Martial Mania, January 12, 2001

By 

K.H. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers (Hardcover)

This reference work was written and edited by the same authors who wrote the Q&A, "Martail Arts Catalogue" in 1976. This book is more indepth and authoritative. The primary sections are on Tradition, History, and the Pioneers who have helped shaped this multi-faceited idea of what we call "martial arts."

The chapters are very good, providing excellent history and coverage. America is probably a little over represented. This however, doesn't mean they should have written less about American martial arts, just more of other traditions.

It must also be fair to say, that America has contributed much to the Asain arts and helped expand the arts, for better or worse, where they are today. The photos are neat and add greatly to this book. The writing is sometimes dry, like most reference works are.

All in all, it is a book that stands on its own and should be purcahsed by those martial artist who either are interested in history or having a quick refernce at their bookshelf.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent source of material, if a little out of date., August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers (Hardcover)

As a martial artist and role playing gamer, I have used this tome as a research aid many times.

I have had the original edition since it first came out, and used it to write generalized martial arts rules for Shadowrun (back in 1st Ed) and Cyberpunk 2020 (posted to the old cyber-rpg mailing list way back when), as well as revising and adding arts for Ninja Hero and The Complete Martial Artist. It's even listed in the Bibliography for Ninja Hero. It's a wealth of information.

I'd have given it 5 out of 5 stars if they had been keeping up with current information. I'd love to see a new edition with new information in it, or even a second volume of updates.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Survey of the Practice and History of all Martial Arts, February 20, 2009

By 

Kevin Brett "www.KevinBrettStudios.com" (Stafford, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers (Hardcover)

This book is outstanding! It covers the entire family tree of martial arts from the beginning to current day. This is truly an exceptional work that will educate even a seasoned martial artist about all of the various styles and noteworthy masters and practioners.

I highly recommend especially new students read this book and learn about the various styles, masters and practitioners. No matter what style you study you should have some knowledge of all styles to round out your martial arts education. You will gain a better understanding of where your style fits into the history and family tree structure of the martial arts and that will give you more context to understand your own studies.

This is one of the books I have listed as essential for any martial artist to have in his or her library. A fascinating read!

Kevin Brett is CEO of Kevin Brett Studios, Inc. and the author of "The Way of the Martial Artist: Achieving Success in Martial Arts and in Life!"

The Way of the Martial Artist: Achieving Success in Martial Arts and in Life!