The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts

Author: Dr. Guy Windsor
Publisher: Spada Press
ISBN: 9527157315
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
"Benefit from the experience of one of the most accomplished experts in the field. A must-read for beginners and advanced practitioners alike." - Roland Warzecha, DIMICATOR The warriors, knights and duellists of old depended on their skill at arms for their lives. You can learn their techniques and tactics too. From renowned swordsman and teacher Guy Windsor comes an indispensable resource for anyone interested in martial arts, swordsmanship, and history. Through this book Guy will teach you how to train your mind and body to become an expert in historical martial arts. It includes the seven principles of mastery, considers the ethics of martial arts, and goes into detail about the process of recreating historical martial arts from written sources. On the practical side, Guy explains how to develop your skills, and lays out the path for students to become teachers, covering the basics of safe training, looking after your body, and even starting your own training group and teaching basic classes. An accessible, motivating read that includes many suggestions for further study, including courses, books and other resources, this book sets out to answer every question about historical martial arts you may have. Note that this is not a training manual for a specific style: it provides the foundations for every style. Your journey starts here. You decide where it ends.

The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts

Author: Guy Windsor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789527157299
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
From renowned instructor and best-selling author Guy Windsor comes a comprehensive guide to the fascinating world of historical martial arts. Learn how to research, plan, and practice any historical martial art, train for tournaments, teach classes, even sleep better.

Arnis

Author: Mark Wiley
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462907423
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Book Description
Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts is an intriguing collection of essays on Filipino martial arts. Featured are insightful essays by Filipino martial artists: Krishna K. Godhania Antonio E. Somera Abner G. Pasa Dr. Jopet Laraya Felipe P. beano, Jr. Rene J. Navarro For centuries, Filipino martial arts have played integral and often momentous roles in the history of the Philippines and in the survival of the Filipino people. But what are these arts? Where do they come from? How have they developed? Where are they headed? And what inner dimensions do they offer their practitioners? These questions, among others, form the basis of Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts.

Armed Martial Arts of Japan

Author: G Hurst I
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300116748
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
This unique history of Japanese armed martial arts--the only comprehensive treatment of the subject in English--focuses on traditions of swordsmanship and archery from ancient times to the present. G. Cameron Hurst III provides an overview of martial arts in Japanese history and culture, then closely examines the transformation of these fighting skills into sports. He discusses the influence of the Western athletic tradition on the armed martial arts as well as the ways the martial arts have remained distinctly Japanese. During the Tokugawa era (1600-1867), swordsmanship and archery developed from fighting systems into martial arts, transformed by the powerful social forces of peace, urbanization, literacy, and professionalized instruction in art forms. Hurst investigates the changes that occurred as military skills that were no longer necessary took on new purposes: physical fitness, spiritual composure, character development, and sport. He also considers Western misperceptions of Japanese traditional martial arts and argues that, contrary to common views in the West, Zen Buddhism is associated with the martial arts in only a limited way. The author concludes by exploring the modern organization, teaching, ritual, and philosophy of archery and swordsmanship; relating these martial arts to other art forms and placing them in the broader context of Japanese culture.

Martial Arts and the Body Politic in Meiji Japan

Author: Denis Gainty
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135069905
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 206

Book Description
In 1895, the newly formed Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association (Dainippon Butokukai) held its first annual Martial Virtue Festival (butokusai) in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Festival marked the arrival of a new iteration of modern Japan, as the Butokukai’s efforts to define and popularise Japanese martial arts became an important medium through which the bodies of millions of Japanese citizens would experience, draw on, and even shape the Japanese nation and state. This book shows how the notion and practice of Japanese martial arts in the late Meiji period brought Japanese bodies, Japanese nationalisms, and the Japanese state into sustained contact and dynamic engagement with one another. Using a range of disciplinary approaches, Denis Gainty shows how the metaphor of a national body and the cultural and historical meanings of martial arts were celebrated and appropriated by modern Japanese at all levels of society, allowing them to participate powerfully in shaping the modern Japanese nation and state. While recent works have cast modern Japanese and their bodies as subject to state domination and elite control, this book argues that having a body – being a body, and through that body experiencing and shaping social, political, and even cosmic realities – is an important and underexamined aspect of the late Meiji period. Martial Arts and the Body Politic in Meiji Japan is an important contribution to debates in Japanese and Asian social sciences, theories of the body and its role in modern historiography, and related questions of power and agency by suggesting a new and dramatic role for human bodies in the shaping of modern states and societies. As such, it will be valuable to students and scholars of Japanese studies, Japanese history, modern nations and nationalisms, and sport and leisure studies, as well as those interested in the body more broadly.

The Historical Sociology of Japanese Martial Arts

Author: Raul Sanchez Garcia
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351333798
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
Winner of the Norbert Elias Book Prize 2020 This is the first long-term analysis of the development of Japanese martial arts, connecting ancient martial traditions with the martial arts practised today. The Historical Sociology of Japanese Martial Arts captures the complexity of the emergence and development of martial traditions within the broader Japanese Civilising Process. The book traces the structured process in which warriors’ practices became systematised and expanded to the Japanese population and the world. Using the theoretical framework of Norbert Elias’s process-sociology and drawing on rich empirical data, the book also compares the development of combat practices in Japan, England, France and Germany, making a new contribution to our understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of state formation. Throughout this analysis light is shed onto a gender blind spot, taking into account the neglected role of women in martial arts. The Historical Sociology of Japanese Martial Arts is important reading for students of Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Sport, Sociology of Physical Activity, Historical Development of Sport in Society, Asian Studies, Sociology and Philosophy of Sport, and Sports History and Culture. It is also a fascinating resource for scholars, researchers and practitioners interested in the historical and socio-cultural aspects of combat sport and martial arts.

Striking Beauty

Author: Barry Allen
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231539347
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
The first book to focus on the intersection of Western philosophy and the Asian martial arts, Striking Beauty comparatively studies the historical and philosophical traditions of martial arts practice and their ethical value in the modern world. Expanding Western philosophy's global outlook, the book forces a theoretical reckoning with the concerns of Chinese philosophy and the aesthetic and technical dimensions of martial arts practice. Striking Beauty explains the relationship between Asian martial arts and the Chinese philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, in addition to Sunzi's Art of War. It connects martial arts practice to the Western concepts of mind-body dualism and materialism, sports aesthetics, and the ethics of violence. The work ameliorates Western philosophy's hostility toward the body, emphasizing the pleasure of watching and engaging in martial arts, along with their beauty and the ethical problem of their violence.

The Medieval Longsword

Author: Dr. Guy Windsor
Publisher: The School of European Swordsmanship
ISBN: 9526819349
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
Ever wonder how good you’d be with a sword? This book is for you. Do love movie sword fights? Learn how real sword fights work. Are you into stage combat? Add depth with historically accurate technique. You’re a bad uncle looking for a present for your niece? Get her this book, though her parents might hate you. Or do you just like swords? If you’ve ever wanted to turn your sword dreams into reality, then this book is for you. Anyone can learn the medieval Art of the longsword. This book will give you a thorough grounding in the techniques and tactics from the 600-year-old manuscript Il Fior di Battaglia, and includes free access to additional resources such as videos and full-sized images, to help you translate the movements from page to real life. Sure, it’s a 600-year old manuscript, but you know what? People who studied this manuscript lived. Why not stick with something that works? The Medieval Longsword covers everything you need to know from tools of the trade, to footwork, strikes and defences, to how to exploit your adversary’s mistakes, and how to disarm your opponent. This complete and approachable guide to the Art of Arms provides a gateway to a world-wide community of likeminded people also practicing this historical martial art. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a competent fencer, this book by author and internationally renowned swordsman Guy Windsor will guide you towards mastery of this ancient Art.

The Swordsman's Companion

Author: Dr. Guy Windsor
Publisher: Swordschool Ltd
ISBN: 9526793420
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 181

Book Description
Celebrate two decades of historical martial arts development with the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Swordsman's Companion by Guy Windsor. This seminal guide has transformed the lives of thousands of swordsmanship enthusiasts worldwide, becoming a timeless classic in historical martial arts literature. This special edition retains the original's practical approach with detailed instructions, illustrations, and drills, which were state-of-the-art in 2004. The field has moved on considerably, so this book includes access to Guy's fully updated interpretation of Fiore's longsword techniques in The Medieval Longsword. Whether you're revisiting this influential text or discovering it for the first time, The Swordsman's Companion is a fascinating resource for both beginners and seasoned martial artists. Join the community of dedicated practitioners who have begun their martial arts journey through this book.

The Windsor Method

Author: Guy Windsor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789527157688
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Book Description
The secret behind all great artists is how they practice. The Windsor Method: The Principles of Solo Training is the self-help book for people who want to add years to their life and life to their years. In this refreshingly straight-forward and gentle guide, bestselling author and world-renowned historical swordsmanship instructor Dr. Guy Windsor lays out the fundamental principles behind personal development and excellence in any field. How? By establishing a solid foundation, and a step-by-step approach to mechanics and training. This is The Windsor Method: use it to guide your practice and elevate your skills.