Customer Reviews

The Way of a Warrior: A Journey into Secret Worlds of Martial Arts

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What I said about John Gilbey's first book, "Secret Fighting Arts of the World," applies just as much to this book. The real author, Robert W. Smith, intended this book as a satire!

Years after this book was published, Robert Smith came out and explained exactly how back in the early `60's he and a group of friends (all senior martial artists including Don Draeger who were Westerners trained in Japan and China) got the idea of writing a spoof about the martial arts. They made up the name, "John F. Gilbey," and invented a personal history for the name that combined their actual martial arts credentials. The first book, "Secret Fighting Arts of the World," turned out to be a great success, but not as they had planned. Unfortunately for them, so many people believed that "John F. Gilbey" was a real person and the book a completely true book, that it took on a life of it's own and only added to the wild tales about martial arts that became popularized in the West. This happened because Smith was so skilled at interweaving fact with fiction that he unwittingly produced a satire that many found believable as complete "fact." Robert Smith later wrote this second book, "The Way of the Warrior," as an even more wild sequel thinking this would finally enlighten people, but once again, he was wrong. Finally, he just came out in the martial arts magazine, "Journal Of Asian Martial Arts," and told the true story. He later repeated it in his book, "Martial Musings," which I highly recommend. "Martial Musings" is fact and includes actual photos rather than drawings. It also names many people, places, and events that can be confirmed via other sources, and many of which are famous in the martial arts.

For a more complete explanation of this, check out my Amazon review of "Secret Fighting Arts of the World" at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007ISZY8/qid=1136766252/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-4476568-9636606?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I'll conclude by saying exactly what I said about the other book. This book is a fun read for entertainment, cut-to-the-core insight, and deadpan satire. Smith has a sense of amused perspective on oneself, history, and the fighting arts. The writing style is great, and I highly recommend it. Just remember that the author intended this as a spoof!

This book is the sequel to the underground classic "Secret Fighting Arts of the World", and chronicles the further adventures of the Indiana Jones of exotic martial arts. Similar in theme and style to SFAotW, "Way of a Warrior" is also more soulful and in-depth: the fireworks are still there, but we also get a glimpse of the ethical and, yes, spiritual implications of a life-long pursuit of martial esoterica. I'll say it again, this guy is the best writer in the field, bar none: buy this book!

To those who dont know yet, read MARTIAL MUSINGS or one of Smiths interviews in JOURNAL OF ASIAN MARTIAL ARTS. He has basically stated that the two books he wrote as Gilbey were fiction. In fact theres a whole secion in MUSINGS about how some of the pictures and stories were created.
There is some truth nestled in here such as the history behind Savate. Its an enjoyable, ENTERTAINING read.

To be taken with a grain of salt. The writing style is vintage 50's complete with slang. Philosophy is good but the author/s have a inflated opinion of themselves. If a quarter of the information is true then there is some merit. Worth reading once for entertainment value.

......I always suspected that Gilbey and Smith were the same person. In his (their) first book, Secret Fighting Arts Of The World, Gilbey (Smith) gave a very good narrative of useful and real techniques although experience and a good deal of thought were required to fill in the gaps of information needed to make most of the techniques work. In this second book the author has done a formidable job of saying next to nothing. The work is filled with inconsistencies as well as typographical, syntaxique and spelling errors and has a rather boring and awkward style. If you feel you must have it "just to see" then don't expect too much for your purchase.