Customer Reviews

The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I believe this work to be informitive, yet the essence of masters was not detailed. The book is a good overview of the time line though and does give insight in the overall reasons that the martial arts developed. I would recommend this book to any serious student of the arts who is looking for the tidbits to fill in the gaps. I must admit that many times I was taking notes to share with others.

Excellent book based on the BBC documentary series. It covers the asian martial arts in a professional fashion instead of the silly fashion seen in so many martial arts magazines and books which lack any sort of scholarship. My favorites were the coverage of the Indian martial arts: Kalari Payit and the traditional japanese swordmanship school, the Katori ryu. Excellent book period.

Although "The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" was first published in 1987, it continues to be an important contribution to the martial arts and vital reading for all serious practitioners of the fighting arts. It belongs on the shelf with the best of the best of martial art books.

Historical information on the origin of martial arts is all too scarce and suspect, but the authors succeed in shedding light onto this elusive subject. Howard Reid and Michael Croucher committed themselves to exhaustive research and extensive travels in order to observe and interview both students and masters of numerous martial arts systems. They provide readers with valuable insights into the origin of martial arts and where these arts stand at the present time. It is to their credit that they were able to accomplish this task and present the reader with a wealth of knowledge; all condensed into a mere 223, very readable, pages.

Their writing is clear and intelligent and follows the historical timeline of the oriental fighting arts, such as the ancient art of Kalaripayit, Shaolin Temple boxing, kung fu, karate, Jujutsu/Jujitsu, Filipino arts and the many forms that derived from them. The authors also cover some of the weapons used in the fighting arts, especially the cultural significance and utility of the Japanese samurai. They write of the importance of Buddhism, philosophy, meditation, kata (formal exercise), tradition, culture and much, much more. The book is well-presented and profusely illustrated with drawings, paintings, and photographs. "The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" can also serve as a reference book.

"The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" is not a how-to book of self-defense. The reader will not acquire fighting skills by reading it; its goal is to pass on to the reader a firm understanding of the basic history of the numerous Asian martial arts, their founders, masters, philosophies, their gradual evolution, and where they stand in today's world. Buy it, read it, and keep it for the future.

After searching unsuccessfully for the critically acclaimed BBC Documentary I pluncked down my $11 and bought a used copy of this book.
Basically, I can only comment on the Chapters regarding Chinese and Okinawan Arts. All I can say is the pictures are matched incorrectly with the text and many statements(now common knowledge) are totally wrong. I guess for the time it was written it was ground breaking.
I would still rather have the video.

This book is ok. It was recommended by somebody when I was wondering how to choose a martial art to practice. I wish there was a better book on the subject. The video it's based upon was shown on the discovery channel a month ago. And that was awesome!! But the book fails to deliver. It's a book made after a movie. So it doesn't capture the attention as well as the movie does. It might have all the information there, but it's pretty tiring looking for them.