Who writes a well-written history of martial-arts and swords? Good books you know of?

[FliGuyRyan]

I was curious to see if you experienced historians amongst yourselves knew of any good books concerning the history of swords, martial arts, and the connection of both.

Also, a "how-to" book would be great too if you can think of any.

Thanks,
Ryan

P.S. See my thread about Last Legends as well please...

 

[tedwca]

I really liked these two books. They are mostly western swords though. The second one deals with the martial history of western swords

The Book of the Sword by Sir Richard F. Burton
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...178179/ref=sr_1_1/104-0200075-6300709?ie=UTF8

The Secret History of the Sword
by J Christopher Amberger
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...177964/ref=sr_1_1/104-0200075-6300709?ie=UTF8

 

[FliGuyRyan]

Are there any combining the history of martial arts - fighting styles - as well as the swords they use?

Thanks tedwca for the feedback, I'll look into those.
Ryan

 

[tedwca]

The second title does cover different styles and the swords they used. It's only western style though.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

Yeah, I'm looking for oriental/katana uses.

 

[tedwca]

I don't do a lot of asian styles but these were pretty good. Lots of historical stories and techniques.

The Way of Kendo and Kenjitsu : Soul of the Samurai
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...00249/ref=sr_1_41/104-0200075-6300709?ie=UTF8

The Heart of Kendo : A Comprehensive Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of the Art of the Sword
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...1/104-0200075-6300709?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

 

[TexasNativeDRJH]

Anything written by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, the 34th soke of Bujinkan Ninpo Taijutsu (Ninjutsu-the real thing not the fake stuff). He has written many books that are very informative. He was also the technical advisor for the martial arts scenes in 2 James Bond movies.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

tedwca, and Tanto Fiend... I appreciate your comments to the utmost; thank you both.

Ryan

 

[tusktheaztek]

Hi,

I teach Sei Shi Ryu. There is a great book written by Oscar Ratti - The Secrets of the Samurai.

This is an excellent book and is in it's gazillionth printing.

Joe

 

[Anthroman]

I've seen Oscar Ratti's The Secrets of the Samurai get a lot of flack for historical inaccuracies and generally considered poorly researched, so be forewarned.

Personally I like Japanese Swordmanship by Gordon Warner and Donn F. Draeger. The martial focus is more on iaido however.

 

[Gwinnydapooh]

By the Sword by Cohen is my favorite. It mentions the Japanese for a chapter, with some good info but obvious awe and credulity.

However, Cohen is an international-caliber fencer and unabashed admirer of Sir Burton (mentioned above.) His book is basically a history of swordplay in the West with a decided emphasis on the strange custom of duelling. He's thorough and credible, but he's hilarious and makes the whole thing read like a set of campfire stories. Basically he says duelling was as ugly as its opponents said, and as fascinating as its adherents said, and still everyone manages to misunderstand it.