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A Brief History of the Martial Arts: East Asian Fighting Styles, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu
Jonathan Clements
€ 19.99
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Description for A Brief History of the Martial Arts: East Asian Fighting Styles, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu
Paperback. From Shaolin warrior monks to the movies of Bruce Lee, a new history of the evolution of East Asian styles of unarmed combat, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu. Series: Brief Histories. Num Pages: 304 pages, No illustrations. BIC Classification: 1F; HBJF; HBTB; WSTM. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 155 x 318 x 21. Weight in Grams: 350.
Folk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings. This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies. Centre stage is given to the stories that martial artists tell themselves about themselves, with accounts (both factual and ... Read more
Folk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings. This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies. Centre stage is given to the stories that martial artists tell themselves about themselves, with accounts (both factual and ... Read more
Product Details
Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2016
Series
Brief Histories
Condition
New
Weight
350g
Number of Pages
304
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9781472136466
SKU
V9781472136466
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
Ref
99-50
About Jonathan Clements
Jonathan Clements is the author of many books on East Asian history, including biographies of Empress Wu, Admiral Togo, the statesman Prince Saionji and Coxinga, the Japanese-born 'pirate king'. He divides his time between London, England and Jyvaskyla, Finland. His website is schoolgirlmilkycrisis.com
Reviews for A Brief History of the Martial Arts: East Asian Fighting Styles, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu
A detailed study of the interaction between folklore, nationalism, religion and politics in the east Asian martial arts . . . refreshingly frank.
NEO magazine
[Clements'] final conclusions surprise . . . leaving the reader satisfied as well as educated.
Hugh David
MyM magazine
I defy anyone to come away from this book without a ... Read more
NEO magazine
[Clements'] final conclusions surprise . . . leaving the reader satisfied as well as educated.
Hugh David
MyM magazine
I defy anyone to come away from this book without a ... Read more