Martial Arts of the World

Hollywood popularizes the martial arts in its own image - violence, glitz, and gore. But do you know the stories behind the martial arts systems? The rich history of the disciplines? These books set out to answer these questions and more.There are scores of martial arts systems thriving and vibrant - some are based on ancient systems and some are modern. Many styles, but not all, are Asian. Did you know that there is a difference between medieval and Renaissance swordsmanship? That the Soviet Union developed its own martial arts system in the 1930s? That drama and magic and the supernatural are tied to some martial arts styles, and politics and nationalism are tied to others? Highlights include: Keith Otterbien on dueling, Karl Friday on Samurai, John Clements on Renaissance European swordsmanship, Tommy Gong on Jeet Kune Do, and Mikael S. Adolphson on the Sohei (Warrior Monks of Japan).These volumes offer carefully crafted entries dealing with the history, philosophy and evolution of the subject, coverage of contemporary practice, cross-references to related topics, and bibliographic citations to accessible sources and translations for general readers and the best scholarly texts for researchers.