MARTIAL ARTS OF THE ORIENT

Bruce Lee and his successors may be good box office, but true lovers of the martial arts have been less than enthusiastic. Violence and flashy acrobatics have no part in the traditional fighting arts.

True most of the forms examined in this book derive from the battle skills of the samurai, but the modern follower of kendo, the way of the sword, or kyudo, the way of the bow, believes that he or she is embarked on a journey of enlightenment and self-realization.

It is the historical background to some of today's most popular martial arts and their differing basic skills and techniques which concern the contributors to this book. Take ju-jutsu, for instance: a hard-contact fighting system still very closely allied to practical hand-to-hand combat situations. Or judo and aikido: both in their different ways descended from it, each adapting and refining its throws, locks and holds. Then, in complete contrast, there is the Chinese art of tai chi, so subtle a skill that few now practice its fighting form, although as an attempt to harmonize with Nature it gains more and more adherents each year.

Add sumo, the sport of Japan'’s mountainous wrestlers, karate, kendo, kyudo, and the inevitable kung fu and you get some idea of the range of this excitingly illustrated book, with 262 black and white illustrations.