Product Description

Like any other philosophy, religion or culture, each martial art has its founding myths and heroes; stories that tell of the art's origins and makes sense of its underlying philosophic principles. This book is a collection of these myths and legends.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #788097 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

An excellent compilation
I enjoyed this book very much. It contains exactly what it says in the title: Myths and Legends of the martial arts. I found every one of them entertaining, each with their own message and insight into the minds of these warriors. I only wish the book had more stories. It's not a book about a particular martial art, or a particular person, so if you're looking for a history of the legends of martial arts, you won't find it here. Buy the book anyway. It's well worth it.

Myths and Legends of the Martial Arts
As the title suggest this book contains a selection of myths and legends from martial arts. They are not exclusively Japanese (although Japan does feature heavily) and covers Malaysian, Thai and Brazilian arts to name but a few. Some of these stories are well known Japanese stories and make for delightful repeated reading and others were new to me and have quickly become firm favourites. Each story is fairly short, usually 2-3 pages, and this makes for a fast read, as once you start you can't help but keep reading on and on. This isn't an in-depth analysis of martial stories, nor does it intend to be, but it is a wonderful selection that can't help but inspire you in your training and is great to dip into at odd moments here and there. Recommended if you're into martial arts or Japanese culture in general.

You don't know what your mything!!
this is indeed a great book which very insightful and very easy to read. Before reading this i had little idea of the rich pats that lay under martial arts and so on reading this was greatly enthrouled by it. A must for all interested in the topic!