Tuttle Dictionary of the Martial Arts of Korea, China & Japan [Paperback]

Sun-Jin Kim (Author), Daniel Kogan (Author), Nikolaos Kontogiannis (Author), Hali Wong (Author), Scott Shaw (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; First Edition edition (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804820163
• ISBN-13: 978-0804820165
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Korean

More About the Author

Scott Shaw, Ph.D. is a prolific author, composer, and filmmaker. He was born and spent his formative years in Hollywood, California. Since his late teens, Shaw has traveled the globe. His particular focus has been on Asia, where he continually returns, documenting obscure aspects of Asian culture in words and on film.

During his youth, Shaw was drawn to two factors that have come to define much of his life; namely: Eastern Meditative Thought and the Martial Arts. These inclinations led him to study in both the West and Asia. Shaw is an initiate of Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi sects. He has been a certified instructor of both Yoga and Meditation since the age of eighteen.

Shaw began studying the martial arts at six years old. He has emerged as one of the leading modern proponents of integrating spirituality into the martial arts. He was the first non-Korean ever to be awarded the seventh degree black belt by the prestigious Korea Hapkido Federation and has since been promoted to eighth degree black belt in both Hapkido and Taekwondo. He also has been certified seventh degree black belt in Aikijutsu and Kumdo.

As an author, Scott Shaw's writings were initially published by literary journals in the 1970s. He continued forward to have several works of poetry and literature published in book form. By the 1980s, Shaw's writings came to be embraced in Spiritual and Martial Art circles. From this, he has authored numerous articles and a number of books on Zen Buddhism, Yoga, Ki Science, and the Martial Arts.

In addition to writing, Shaw has an active career as an actor and filmmaker. In 1991, he developed a new style of filmmaking that he titled, Zen Filmmaking. The primary premise behind Zen Filmmaking is that no screenplay should be used in the creation of a film. According to Shaw, "In Zen Filmmaking there are no rules and no definitions. Instead, the spontaneous creative energy of the filmmaker is the only defining factor. This allows for a spiritually pure source of immediate inspiration to be the only guide in the filmmaking process."

As a university professor, Shaw has taught seminars and courses on Asian Studies and Filmmaking at such institutions as the University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Los Angeles, the University of Oxford, Silpakorn University, and the Korea National University of the Arts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little book - well worth the money, November 11, 2005

By 

T. Hassler - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tuttle Dictionary of the Martial Arts of Korea, China & Japan (Paperback)

There aren't that many martial arts dictionaries to begin with, but this one is really quite nice. It has a 6"x4" form factor and is a little under an inch thick. At 318 pages and 7000+ definitions, it packs quite a punch and I've found it very handy.

Definitions are given with their Language of Origin (Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin) and includes pronunciation guides for the same. As far as printing, it's on quality paper with a clean font and the printing is quite exceptional compared to a lot of rag books that seem to pop up in the MA world.

With this many definitions, it covers a lot of ground. I wouldn't mind it including more phrases, especially terms from particular styles. However, when it does have phrasing, it tells you if it's commonly used, or particular to a given style of MA.

I love the size and it's a nice addition for any student. Certainly it's worth it's price. One might think it would be helpful to include the native language pictograms, but with multiple languages, this could be confusing. Those typically take up a lot of space and for the most part, English speaking martial artists don't tend to need that information. If you do, I recommend you pick up an accompanying dictionary for the language you need.

I lament only one thing about this book, and it's why I can't give it a 5. Although the pages of the book themselves are bound and cut very nicely, the cover gluing is brittle and the cover came off of mine amost immediately with use. It's hanging on by the edge of the front cover, and I'm certain I'll need to glue this up on my own to repair it. I may have simply been unlucky. Either way, it can be fixed and shouldn't detract from your consideration to purchase this book.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book to keep in Karate bag, November 1, 1999

By 

William Jones "L.B." (Nashville Tn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tuttle Dictionary of the Martial Arts of Korea, China & Japan (Paperback)

Easy to find words and handy size to keep in your Karate bag. Doesn't cover all but does a good job covering most of the common names. Has blank page at the end to make notes. Well worth the money.