Books written by non-MAists

I've been finding it refreshing to read non-MAist historical material, mainly due to my growing annoyance of discovering ulterior motives and self-supporting agendas.

when it comes to history...I want well researched, very detailed referencing of sources, honest and accurate translation and as unbiased a writing as possible.

Big warning sign: An MAist creates their own ryu and bases the philosophy upon their 'discovered' theories of combat. Then they write a book. In the book they give an intricate history that supports their 'discovered theories'. A critical reading of the logic and sources reveils jumps of conclusion, opinion marked as fact, selective regurgitation sometimes even taking references to other material out of context.

ummm...can we honestly take that historic 'research' as research at all seriously when we know that particular version of it 'happens' to promote their theories, their ryu and their seminar enrollment?
lol

I'm not buying it.

but finding historical research works pertinent to our interests as MAists without it containing the MAist's spin is more work for us. ...but it's worth it. (if interested...it's certainly not needed to know the history of Okinawa in order to take someone down to the ground.)

here are a couple non-MAist authored sources of interest...it'd be cool if people added more to the thread.

Okinawa: The History of an Island People
George H. Kerr, Mitsugu Sakihara
http://www.amazon.com/Okinawa-History-Ge...TF8&s=books

- excellent and perhaps only English outline of Okinawan/Ryukyu history. this work was written in the 50's - a post-war US government sponsored research project.

Marrow of the Nation: A History of Sport and Physical Culture in Republican China
Andrew Morris (no relation)
http://www.amazon.com/Marrow-Nation-Hist...TF8&s=books

-Want to read about what the Chinese national culture and attitude towards MA and sports really was during the 19th and 20th century? Kindof blows all the romantic tales from this time period out of the water to give you a different perspective.

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey
Brian Kennedy, Elizabeth Guo
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Ar...TF8&s=books

- ok, granted, the author has ties/background in Martial Arts ...but he is one of the few that doesn't seem to accept things at face value or regurgitate just to fill up pages. This manual summary is a wealth of links for further research - and the commentary is direct and hard in cutting thru some of the martial hoopla we are usually bombarded with.


The Journal of Japanese Studies
http://depts.washington.edu/jjs/

-A wealth of little known articles and research papers. The articles come in soft-cover but binded book form for durability.
my favorite article is this one:
http://depts.washington.edu/jjs/nelson.htm
and this:
http://depts.washington.edu/jjs/conlan.htm
but there are a host of others ranging from historical, cultural and contemporary.


The 33 Strategies of War
Robert Greene
http://www.amazon.com/33-Strategies-War-Robert-Greene/dp/0670034576

-Tired of reading 'Book of 5 rings' or 'Art of war' ? try this. It's like a modern version of Sun Tzu...and no, this book doesn't have political spin.


The Complete History of China
J.A.G. Roberts
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-History-China-G-Roberts/dp/0750931922

-A wapping 500+ pages starting from prehistoric thru each dynasty to modern goings-on in that part of the world. A good sweeping overview to give you historical context of major events and turning points in her history.


Just those sources alone, when overlayed with the history I thought I knew from reading MAists versions, gave me a very different perspective of MA in a general historical sense ...and in some cases - some very specific points of interest that conflict with the prettier picture the current Martial Arts literary world wants to present.

You won't find 'secrets' or nuggets that you can point to and say "ah ha! you are wrong!" ...they aren't fact finding reads - it's more like a gradual "ah...I see..."

like I said, not reading for training - it won't do anything to improve technique. just, if interested.

Hi ed
Was wondering why you would think any historian might not have an ulterior motive or agenda to what they research and write about? martial artist or not. What is the criteria from seperating the reliable from the non reliable? How can you be sure something is well researched? what is your basis for knowing a peice of written history is better than any other? jumping to conclusions, answers to questions how can you be sure any of it is valid? as you are not buying some peoples work what is it and on what solid basis makes you buy someone elses work?

hmmm...I suppose I take an educated guess.

If I read 4 independant non-MAists research works that all point to the same evidence - THAT holds lots more weight than some hack trying to sell DVD's and seminars who is embellishing on the history.


here's the difference: MA materialists are specifically targeting MAists as customers. They might be tempted to change the contents to match the interests of that demographic.

non-MAists are not writing to gain MAist support...but it's true, they may have other more subtle agenda or slant.

it's just refreshing to get a new slant now and then.

The advantage of the 'academic' history books (that is, history written by professional academics) is that the reliability tends to be very high. This is because

1) If an academic misquotes, brings out of context, or distorts, research and sources, other historians in the field will destroy his/her career. It's happened before, and it'll happen again, and academics are forced therefore to make sure that they stand by what they've written and that it stands up to scrutiny, or else lose both respect and their jobs at institutions (because no institution wants a disgraced chair/fellow).

2) Academics are just plain cleverer than lay writers. They know more, they are more skilled in interpreting, finding and evaluating sources, and they dedicate their work/lives to these skills. Lay MAist writers just don't have anywhere near the same level of ability.

3) Academics read other academics' books - so you get a kind of peer review, in that if another academic doesn't think a book is rigorously researched, or that it is just plain lying, they'll kick up a fuss.

So, if you see a book without a blatant political agenda, written by an academic working at an institution of higher learning, you can generally be pretty sure that it's a (relatively) reliable source.

Tim

I think that holds true more for scientific research not historical. History is very much open to interpretation as it is observable. And after all we all know history is written not necessarily by what happens, but what those in power want us to believe happend.

An example would be that kids in high school believe that in Christopher's Columbus time it was general knowledge that the world was flat. Once you reach college you are told that it is not true. Only the uneducated believed the world was flat.

Besides it's not like history can be tested to be proven wrong.

Quote:

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Besides it's not like history can be tested to be proven wrong.

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It can and is all the time...constantly.
History or hersay