Black Belt Mama was kind enough to host this month’s carnival and the theme she chose was Great Martial Arts Books.  While she says she chose this theme because she’s out of training with a busted knee, I say anytime is a good time for a good book thread, so here goes. (By the way, if you are a participating blogger and did not see a notice of the theme, that’s my fault, and I do apologize.)

Here’s the official carnival link: Carnival of Martial Arts #6 Great Books

My comments on this month’s carnival:

First, John Vesia’s review of Martial Arts Madness on his Martial Views blog caught my eye. Martial Arts Madness is a book which I had bought some time ago and never read after cracking it open and seeing what Morris was about. Glenn Morris passed away in 2006, so I’ll temper my comments, but suffice it to say he was pretty far out there with his talk of qi, psychic powers, etc., and that’s not really my thing.

OTOH, John points out that even if you don’t agree with it, Morris is an entertaining writer, and his book contains chapters like "The Jean-Claude-Killing-Machine Syndrome" and "Martial Master as Sex Stud" that do sound pretty interesting, so maybe I’ll give it a second chance.

In the same vein, Patrick Parker at Mokuren Dojo always has something interesting of his own to say, so I read his post discussing Richard Strozzi-Heckler’s Warrior Spirit. Looks like Dave at AikiThoughts reviewed the same book, along with Angry White Pyjamas. Warrior Spirit was yet another one I picked up based on some random recommendation and quickly realized that it was not going to be for me. Pat and Dave both hit a number of points, and both reinforce my conviction that I won’t be reading it unless it becomes relevant to some article I end up writing.

I better stop there while there’s still plenty left in the carnival for you to discover on your own. To see the rest, check out Black Belt Mama’s site. Also, don’t forget to submit an entry for next month’s carnival. It will be hosted by me and the theme is going to be "Spread the Love." Well, the title will actually be something that sounds less potentially pornographic, but the idea is that I would like everyone to tell their readers about a martial blog or three that they read and enjoy, especially if it’s someone we don’t normally see in the Carnival.

Lastly, as for my personal recommendations, I’m interested in the whole spectrum of martial arts and I find myself going back to these three works most often (click on the covers for more info and ordering):

Martial Arts in the Modern World (edited by Green & Svinth). This is a collection of well-researched essays that discuss the transmission of martial arts from the countries of origin to where they are practiced today. For example, it covers Taekwondo’s origins in Korea and its transplant to the U.S.; how judo proceeded to South America, became Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, then traveled to the U.S. with mixed martial arts; how African martial arts were carried through the Diaspora, and plenty of other topics. Highly recommended.

Martial Arts of the World: an Encyclopedia. Warning! This two volume set is insanely expensive. On the other hand, this and the encyclopedia listed below are the only martial arts encyclopedias worth a damn. If you have money to blow, pick it up, otherwise pester your library until they buy a copy. This is without a doubt the single best serious resource covering martial arts across the globe.

The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia (Corcoran & Farkas). This is an oldie but goodie. Some of the info is dated, but it is still the best source for the introduction of martial arts, particularly karate, to the U.S. over the last 40 years. Best part about it is you can usually get it for a song.