Library's review
Truly understanding kata means really knowing your history
'Delving more deeply than the average writer on martial arts...the author achieves a holistic perspective that restores martial arts to the field of military science, and shows how their development was functionally driven by the need to
All too frequently, martial arts practitioners study their art withoiut truly understanding where it comes from, how it was developed, and why it was created in the first place. Indeed, many don't care-and if you feel this way, you should put this book down. For the rest of us, who have taken our art beyond tournaments, it is reasonable to expect that we want to uncover the past. We want to understand the where, why, and how of martial art development. We are intellectually curious about our combative history.
To study the combative arts is to understand the circumstances of their development and to gain insights into the views and ethics of the societies that created them. As we travel back in time, we see consistent evidence of martial systems being influenced by those that came before and/or invaded. We also see the use of 'pre-arranged' fighting patterns (kata) to transmit proven techniques from one generation to the next.
It is this transmission of martial knowledge, through kata and other forms of communication, that this book will explore. The author will demonstrate that pre-arranged fighting techniques (katas) were used by ancient Greek, Egyption, Asian, African, and European societies. And that Poetry, Dance, and Song were also significant methods of preserving and transmitting battle-tested fighting tactics through the ages.
The purpose of kata training is not to become bound by the form but to transcend the form itself-to evolve.
Michael Rosenbaum began his martial arts training at the age of five. Along with Isshin Ryu, which he has been practicing for 25 years, he has studied Bando, Judo, and Boxing. Michael is a former member of the elite 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, and has completed Infantry, Airborne, and Jungle warfare Schools. He currently resides near Knoxville, TN.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What's kata got to do with anything?
Chapter 1: Traditional martial arts
The Greek martial arts
Japan and the Koryu Bujutsu
Chapter 2: Inspiration and transmission of the warrior's way
Poetry, Zen, and the warrior's ethos
Poetry, written words, and the scholar warrior
Dance and the process of creation
Chapter 3: The spur of development: Combat
Military systems
Civilian fighting arts
Chapter 4: Kata, metaphors, and nuances
Esoteric realms
Physical metaphors
Chapter 5: Gunpowder and the classical warrior's demise
Works consulted (bibliography)
Endnotes
Index
'Delving more deeply than the average writer on martial arts...the author achieves a holistic perspective that restores martial arts to the field of military science, and shows how their development was functionally driven by the need to
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triumph and to survive...'-Richard Lawson, editor armed-combat.com (from his foreword)All too frequently, martial arts practitioners study their art withoiut truly understanding where it comes from, how it was developed, and why it was created in the first place. Indeed, many don't care-and if you feel this way, you should put this book down. For the rest of us, who have taken our art beyond tournaments, it is reasonable to expect that we want to uncover the past. We want to understand the where, why, and how of martial art development. We are intellectually curious about our combative history.
To study the combative arts is to understand the circumstances of their development and to gain insights into the views and ethics of the societies that created them. As we travel back in time, we see consistent evidence of martial systems being influenced by those that came before and/or invaded. We also see the use of 'pre-arranged' fighting patterns (kata) to transmit proven techniques from one generation to the next.
It is this transmission of martial knowledge, through kata and other forms of communication, that this book will explore. The author will demonstrate that pre-arranged fighting techniques (katas) were used by ancient Greek, Egyption, Asian, African, and European societies. And that Poetry, Dance, and Song were also significant methods of preserving and transmitting battle-tested fighting tactics through the ages.
The purpose of kata training is not to become bound by the form but to transcend the form itself-to evolve.
Michael Rosenbaum began his martial arts training at the age of five. Along with Isshin Ryu, which he has been practicing for 25 years, he has studied Bando, Judo, and Boxing. Michael is a former member of the elite 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, and has completed Infantry, Airborne, and Jungle warfare Schools. He currently resides near Knoxville, TN.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What's kata got to do with anything?
Chapter 1: Traditional martial arts
The Greek martial arts
Japan and the Koryu Bujutsu
Chapter 2: Inspiration and transmission of the warrior's way
Poetry, Zen, and the warrior's ethos
Poetry, written words, and the scholar warrior
Dance and the process of creation
Chapter 3: The spur of development: Combat
Military systems
Civilian fighting arts
Chapter 4: Kata, metaphors, and nuances
Esoteric realms
Physical metaphors
Chapter 5: Gunpowder and the classical warrior's demise
Works consulted (bibliography)
Endnotes
Index
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ISBN
1594390266 / 9781594390265
Publication
YMAA Publication Center, Inc.