As the author of several books on martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it is definitely worth owning. One such book is Jay Gluck’s “Zen Combat.”
This is a very well written book and I think it is no longer in print. The copy I have I ended up finding in an old bookstore several years ago. This book gives you outstanding information about the history of Japanese martial arts and its philosophy, mainly.
1. The history of the bull; Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama and Kyokushin-kai Karate:
This section covers much, albeit brief, biography of Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama and how he came to learn the art of Karate. Included in this biography are stories about his training style or technique, his first tour of the United States in the early 1950s, which was also the first time the art of Karate was demonstrated in the United States. story about how Mas and the author visited another famous Karate master, Gogen “Cat” Yamaguchi.
This section of the book concludes with basic information from Mas on techniques and training methods, etiquette and principles of karate, descriptions of various strikes, blocks and kicks, kata or forms with Heian or Pinan Nidan being described and illustrated. There is also a very good section on belt range and the importance of it.
Of particular interest, there is an excellent section on how to form a proper Shuto or Knife Stroke, and on how to condition your hands for powerful blows.
2. Why the Zen of Zen combat; Philosophy of martial arts:
This section is mainly devoted to the early history of martial arts and its philosophy, and how Zen complements them. This is actually a very good, if brief, section on the history of martial arts.
3. Kendo; The way of the sword:
In this section, the author talks briefly about Miyamoto Musashi, who was the best samurai swordsman in Japan. In addition to Musashi, he also talks about the art of Kendo and the samurai sword, and the basic techniques used to yield a samurai sword. These techniques include; the right grip, en-garde, touché and the I-ai or “quick extraction”.
The rest of this particular section is dedicated to various weapons used by samurai such as; the naginata, the bo staff, the spears, etc.
4. Kyudo; The archery path:
This section begins with a brief history of bow in Japanese history and then quickly dives into how Zen was incorporated into Japanese archery and why it is still practiced that way even today.
The author gives a very detailed explanation of the equipment, ritual, and techniques associated with Japanese archery. This is a very comprehensive and well-presented, yet basic, analysis of this impressive art form.
5. Dance; Dervishes of Strength:
We begin this section with a trip to Iran and its traditional dance at its Casa de la Fuerza. This was very informative and totally new to me, although the ideas expressed were not. The author also discusses the importance of dance and music for martial arts if one really wants to master them.
Here is an excellent section on how to breathe and train your body using certain breathing techniques. It also has a section dedicated to purifying the body through the use of “cold training”. This section ends with a brief history of the art of ninjitsu.
6. Aiki; Luke: 4-28:
This is perhaps the best section of this book and covers the art of Aikido and its teacher, Morihei Ueshiba. This section is quite detailed and recounts various feats of the Aikido master. It also briefly explains some of the techniques and principles associated with this amazing art form.
This book was originally written and printed in the early 1960s and therefore I don’t know if it is still available or not. You may have to go online or search your local used bookstores to find it, but if you do, definitely pick it up. You will not regret.
