Collect Research Of Martial Arts Showcased By Jonathan Bluestein Issued As Textbook
recently had the pleasure of reading a book I thought would provide some esoteric insights on Martial Arts as a whole, but turned out to be far more than what it seemed.
Research of Martial Arts by Jonathan Bluestein isn't the type of book you read cover to cover though you could, It's more akin to a reference manual in my opinion, Something you go back to time and again to refresh your memory on the many basic and advanced concepts he has discovered through his own studies and from other Masters.
Jonathan Bluestein covers a wide variety of subjects from his own perspective, with chapters addressing the fundamental differences and similarities between Internal and External styles, the philosophy behind why Martial Artists move the way they do and a fascinating section discussing psychology and body mechanics.
One section, in particular, cemented my respect for the author, Part III: The Wisdom of Martial Arts , wherein Mr, Bluestein shines the spotlight on the thoughts of other Master practitioners in the form of interviews and anecdotes,
When I decided to get this book, I though I would be adding "just another" martial arts book to my library that might contain a few nuggets of useful information.
What I've since discovered is that this book contains as much depth of knowledge as it is thickpages!,
I recommend the purchase of Jonathan Bluestein's book, Research of the Martial Arts,
Jesse Bernal
Owner/Instructor
Colorado Martial Arts Academy
sitelinkwww, aurorakarate. com A well written book, My Bluestein has done his research, and done it well,
As a practitioner of Ryukyu Kempo Karate, the contents of the book are not directly related to my studies, but the information contained within allows a reader to make connections between movements, principles and concepts they are familiar with and those described.
I have, and will continue to recommend this book to all my students as both a good source of reference material, and a good introduction to the more complex topics within higher martial study.
My compliments to Mr Bluestien for completing a work to be proud of, Jonathan Bluestein's Research of Martial Arts is a book about the true essence of martial arts, It includes neither instruction on deadly killing techniques, nor mystical tales of so called superhuman masters, Rather, it is a vast compilation of seriously thoughtout observations made on the subject by the author, as well as many other martial artists and scientists, with a slight touch of history and humour.
The goal of this project had from the start been to surpass the current standard in the martial arts literary market, and offer readers worldwide something which they have never seen before.
In essence, a book in which are found countless answers for martial arts practitioners which cannot be read elsewhere, addressing commonly discussed martiallyrelated topics with breadth and depth unparalleled in other works to this day in any language.
It holds among its pages no less than,words, containing knowledge which would be coveted by many,
The aim of this book is to present the reader a coherent, clearcut, and indepth view of some of the most perplexing and controversial subjects in the world of martial arts, as well as providing a healthy dose of philosophical outlook on these subjects from various individuals.
At its core is the author's aspiration to build a stronger theoretical foundation for the discussion of martial arts, while addressing matters in innovative ways, which he had come to believe, would help people to better grasp the nature of these arts.
There are books by authors who will tell you that some aspects of the martial arts are too complex for concrete, coherent and defined explanations, Others have used ambiguous terminology to explain what they could not pronounce otherwise, This is no such book, This book was written to provide you with the solid, applicable answers and ideas that you could actually understand, and take away with you,
This book is chiefly comprised of three parts:
Part I: From the Inside Out External and Internal Gong Fu
This is essentially mostly a very long amp thorough discussion of martial arts theory and practice.
Traditional and modern concepts and methods are discussed through the mediums of Physiology, Biology, Anatomy, Psychology, Philosophy Western and Oriental alike, sports science, and the author's personal experiences.
The Internal Martial Arts of China receive a special, lengthier treatment in this part of the book,
Part II: Contemplations on Controlled Violence This one is of a Philosophical and Psychological nature, and contains the author's thoughts on the martial arts and their manifestation in our daily lives, with guestarticles by various martial arts teachers.
Part III: The Wisdom of Martial Spirits: Teachers, and the Things They Hold Dear
This part includes various interesting and comprehensive interviews with distinguished martial arts masters, spanning dozens of pages each.
Every one of the interviewees is a person whose views and ideas are thought provoking and wellworth reading, The teachers interviewed in this book are:
Master Chen Zhonghua Chen Taiji Quan
Master Yang Hai Xing Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang and Chen Taiji Quan
Shifu Strider Clark Tongbei Quan, Wu style Taiji, Shuai Jiao and more
Shifu Neil Ripski Traditional Drunken Fist and many others
Sifu James Cama Buddha Hand Wing Chun and Southern Praying Mantis
Itzik Cohen Sensei Shitoryu Karate
No matter the age, rank, status or experience this book was written for everyone who see themselves part of the martial arts community.
It is my sincere hope that any person who reads this book will benefit from the time he or she had spent doing so, May this work encourage others to continue intelligent writing and research in the field, as I was pushed forth and built upon the knowledge others have shared before me.
May you have a pleasant reading experience! Research of Martial Arts is truly three books in one, I loved Part, and enjoyed Partsand,
The FIRST PART attempts to initiate a finegrained analysis of the differences between the hotly debated topic of “internal” and “external” martial arts, a division that is broadly, but incorrectly attributed to certain martial sects i.
e. , taiji is internal, shaolin is external, The truth is that the lines are not nearly so clearwhatever the form one is practicing, the real question is what one is doing with ones body as one practices the form, and there are significant differences in how one cultivates one's body through training an external art as opposed to an internal one, regardless of what martial sect/form, one is attached to.
Bluestein discusses this subject in stepbystep detail, attempt to interrelate traditional Asian theories on the subject along with modern Western exercise physiology and sports medicine, His discussions on “pengjin” and “tantien” are, in particular, valuable due to his attempts to integrate various Western theories concerning training and coordination of connective tissue, At this stage, NONE of the theories about how highlevel internal strength physiologically works are satisfactory, One test will be that the quality of an explanation metaphoric or scientific will be determined by the results practitioners get as they
use that metaphor for their own development.
As many explanations are extremely culturebound, translating concepts in a workable manner into Western languages is truly an important goal, and Bluestein has made some really wonderful strides here for all of us interested in the subject.
THE SECOND PART, a short section of fifty or so pages, focuses on Bluesteins thoughts on martial arts, taking his own development as an example, as well as integrating several short interviews from other teachers.
He takes a very common view of the arts as a kind of character/spiritual development, and does that very well, Because I tend to disagree with this viewpoint, seeing as much possibility of character/spiritual development in MMA or kick boxing, and as much possibility for selfdelusion within “higher,” spiritual arts, this section resonated less for me.
Some of the best men and women I know are practitioners of modern combatives, their training being how to most effectively kill other human beings, yet they are finer and more trustworthy than many, if not most, who are a product of classical martial arts, with all those philosophical and spiritual underpinnings.
I want to be clear that this is not to denigrate the quality of Bluesteins discussionhe interweaves his personal odyssey with a metaperspective of traditional Asian thinking on martial arts, and does it very well.
I simply have a somewhat different viewpoint,
THE THIRD PART had a chain of interviews of varying qualitysome are treasures, while others are merely quite enjoyable encounters with intriguing personalities, What is most useful within the interviews are the small tidbits of essential knowledge that some of the interviewees offer: training techniques, and ways of using ones body.
These are gems.
Ive selfpublished a number of books myself, and this one carries some of the same flaws that are rife in the genre, There are many typographical errors, as well as grammatical mistakes, On the other hand, one of the best qualities of this very long work is that the chapters are shortit is so information rich that it is much easier to take in knowledge in short bites.
Others might disagree, but I almost wish this were divided into three books, The first section is already five, The second could use more development and perhaps, some other viewpoints, The third could easily be amplified to include more interviewees who would be exhorted to include more concrete information on training specifics that make their training either unique or exemplary.
Even so, this massive book is a very important contribution to the study of martial arts most specifically those of Chinese derivation, but beyond it, any cultivation of the body through the study of martial techniques.
This book is huge and has a lot of information, but it is well researched and well written, Definitely a good book for the martial arts lovers out there,
I received this book for free through the Good Reads First Reads program, I love reading martial arts books, Over the course of my career, I have probably read hundreds of them, There are currently a dozen or more on my book shelf, I had to get rid of some that I no longer read to make space for the ones I constantly go back and refer to over and over again.
Unfortunately, in recent years martial arts books have become boring and predictable, They have little real content and lots of pictures of techniques that dont really mean anything unless you are taught them in person, I literally cannot remember the last martial arts book I read in the past few years that was worth talking about, Until now
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a complimentary copy of Jonathan Bluesteins new book, Research of Martial Arts, I am very happy to say that this book is outstanding! I have not yet read the book in its entirety, but have perused it several times, each time stopping and reading snippets from each of themain sections.
Each time I stop to read just a short piece, I end up reading more!
Part: From the Inside Out External and Internal Gong Fu
This section is the longest in the book.
It is also the most detailed and well presented contrast of external vs, internal martial arts that I have seen in print to date, Jonathan has taken an incredibly difficult and highly contested topic and broken it down into a cogent, detailed analysis of both, I was extremely happy to read his thoughts on fascia as well as his treatment of biotensegrity and how it relates to creating an omnidirectional structure, or the Chinese concept pf Peng.
The section on dantian is also extremely well put together and worth reading!
Part II: Contemplations on Controlled Violence
Partis a series of essays by Jonathan and several guest articles by other martial arts teachers.
Some of the teachers who contributed articles are, Allen Pittman, Nitzan Oren Jonathans teacher, Steve Rowe, and others, These interesting philosophical and psychological looks into the world of martial arts,
Part III: The Wisdom of the Martial Spirits: Teachers, and the Things They Hold Dear
This section contains interviews with contemporary teachers of various martial arts.
The interviews are a fascinating look into not only the arts represented but also the men, the history, and the culture surrounding them, Myfavorite interviews were with Chen Zhonghua and Yang Hai,
This book is super easy to recommend buy it!
I forsee a permanent place on my bookshelf for this particular book on martial arts, I have to thank Jonathan Bluestein for reaching out to me and generously sending over a copy of this wonderful book, And, in case I wasnt clear if you have any interest in gaining a deeper understanding of the workings of both external and internal martial arts, I highly recommend you pick up Research of Martial Arts.
Jon Haas
sitelinkwww, WarriorFitness. org.