In the interests of full disclosure, I was given this book for review purposes. Title: Scottish Fencing: Five 18th Century Texts on the Use of the Small-sword, Broadsword, Spadroon, Cavalry Sword, and Highland Battlefield Tactics Author: Jared Kirby Published: 2018 Format: Softcover Pages: 185 Cover Price: $15.09 There’s something in [Read More]
In the interests of full disclosure, this book was received for review purposes Title: The Kata and Bunkai of Goju-Ryu Karate Author: Giles Hopkins Publisher: Blue Snake Books Publish Date: 2018 Format: Paperback Pages: 268 Cover Price: $24.99 For those not in martial arts systems which rely heavily on kata, [Read More]
This review is Spoiler Free!! Viewing: DVD Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, et. al. Director: Akira Kurosawa Writer: Akira Kurosawa Rating: NR Release Date: 1954 Runtime: 3 hours 27 minutes Style: Chambara (Period/Samurai) More information on this movie can be found on this IMDB page. Kurosawa’s Masterpiece There are sometimes just [Read More]
Author’s Note: This Post is Spoiler Free Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayers, Bolo Yeung Directed By: Newt Arnold Written by: Sheldon Lettich (story/screenplay), Christopher Cosby (screenplay), Mel Friedman (screenplay) Rating: R Released: 1988 Style: Action, Biography (?) For more information, check out the page on IMDB The [Read More]
This review is Spoiler Free!! Starring: Steven Seagal, and Pam Grier Director: Andrew Davis Writer: Andrew Davis & Steven Seagal (Story); Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett, and Andrew Davis (Screenplay) Rating: R Release Date: 1988 Style: Action, Crime Drama More information can be found on the IMDB page. The Rise of [Read More]
In the interests of full disclosure, I received this book for review purposes The author of this book is also a contributor at Martial Journal Title: From the Desk to the Dojang; A 50-year-old’s Taekwondo Journey Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Author: David Ianetta Publish Date: 2018 Format: Paperback Pages: 154 [Read More]
Nunchucks (properly called nunchaku) are one of, if not the most, iconic martial arts weapon. Just mentioning the word brings up mental images of Bruce Lee or the Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo. Part of the reason it’s so recognizable is that they are so… odd. Physically it is a simple weapon. [Read More]
Knight Fight If you haven’t seen it, History Chanel has a new show called Knight Fight. It’s a competition show where practitioners of medieval weaponry battle, using medieval weapons, against each other wearing period-style armor. Sounds good so far right? It sounds like it would be [Read More]
In the interests of full disclosure, I received this book for review purposes. Title: Crippled Immortals: Shaolin Enlightenment on a Singapore High-Rise Author: Chris Murray Publisher: Arcadia Format: Paperback Pages: 269 Price: $15.00 (on Amazon) I think most martial artists have this dream, inspired by many movies from the ’80s, [Read More]
Today’s post is going to be a little different. I’m hoping to introduce more people to Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series by Stan Sakai. Usagi Yojimbo has anthropomorphic animals in a mimic of Edo-period Japan and is filled with great information about its history, folklore, architecture, and clothing. Everything in [Read More]
In the interests of full disclosure, I received this book for review purposes Title: Krav Maga, Extreme Survival Author: Gershon Ben Keren Publisher: Tuttle Format: Softcover Pages: 224 Price: $19.99 This is the third book by Gershon Ben Keren. I’ve read them all and even had him on my podcast [Read More]
In the interests of full disclosure, I received this book for review purposes Title: Striking Distance: Bruce Lee & The Dawn of Martial Arts in America Author: Charles Russo Format: Hardcover Pages: 232 Price: $18.68 There’s a lot of Bruce Lee books out there. I’ve reviewed Bruce Lee: A Life [Read More]
Train For Your Environment By Adapting All martial arts were developed to serve a specific function from a specific time period. Many of the older martial arts have tried adapting to modern-day environments with varying degrees of success. However, some are more suited to our modern environment than others. Japanese [Read More]
Title: Irish Swordsmanship: Fencing and Dueling in Eighteenth Century Ireland Author: Ben Miller Format: Hardcover Pages: 483 Price: $34.95 (Hardcover)/$23.95 (Softcover) In the interests of transparency, I was given this book for review purposes. HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) has an unusual place in the minds of many of us [Read More]
Although it is not my favorite magazine, Blackbelt is the default martial arts magazine still in existence. For my tastes, most of their feature articles (not the monthly articles mind you, which I love) are a little shallow, and serve really as an introduction to a subject. Occasionally, there are [Read More]
What Makes This Bruce Lee Book Stand Out? Title: Bruce Lee A Life Author: Matthew Poly Publisher: Simon & Schuster Format: Hardcover Pages: 656 Price: $35.00 In the interests of full disclosure, I was given this book for review purposes I know what you’re thinking “What? Another book on Bruce [Read More]
Does Japan The Ultimate Samurai Guide Make The Cut? Title: Japan the Ultimate Samurai Guide: An Insider Looks at the Japanese Martial Arts and Surviving in the Land of Bushido and Zen. Author: Alexander Bennet Publisher: Tuttle Format: Softcover Pages: 144 Price: $16.99 In the interest of full disclosure, I [Read More]
Everyone wants to be included into a group. It’s part of human nature. Even those who don’t fit into the “mainstream” society create their own groups to belong to. It used to be (way back in the 90’s) that comic books weren’t considered cool. I hid my comic books from [Read More]
Martial arts has many different sides to it. On one hand, you have the most obvious, purely physical side to it. And let’s face it, the physical component of the art is probably the initial draw for almost everyone. However, for most of us, that would not be enough to [Read More]
I love talking about martial arts. All aspects of martial arts. I recently got the chance to talk with Jeremy Lesniak from whistlekick Martial Arts Radio and Scott Bolon (frequent author here) to talk about martial arts and how the rest of the world sees us and our weird little [Read More]
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