The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts

The Way of the Warrior is a good overview of the martial arts. It is a beautiful book with some interesting photographs. This book gives you an introduction the the martial arts throughout the world. It covers the history of the martial arts focusing mainly on the Asian arts, although it does have one small chapter on martial systems in other parts of the world. It contains a pretty complete glossary of martial arts terms and overall is an interesting book. The Way of the Warrior is well done and would be a good addition to the martial arts library. The photographs alone would make it an interesting coffee table book in the home of the martial artist. It is worth reading. Bohdi Sanders, author of Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

I would have liked to see the BBC documentary this was apparently based on. It consists of a nice historical overview of martial arts history in general, a review of some of the Indian martial arts (which are too little studied, IMO), Chinese martial arts, a very obscure and beautiful Japanese sword art (Katori Shinto Ryu), Karate and modern Japanese martial arts. There are excellent photos and dramatic illustrations of all of these martial arts, along with a lot of nice history and background. It isn't "the" comprehensive martial arts book, but is a very nice introduction to some of them, and a great way to learn a bit about some of the more obscure fighting arts out there.

Although "The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" was first published in 1987, it continues to be an important contribution to the martial arts and vital reading for all serious practitioners of the fighting arts. It belongs on the shelf with the best of the best of martial art books. Historical information on the origin of martial arts is all too scarce and suspect, but the authors succeed in shedding light onto this elusive subject. Howard Reid and Michael Croucher committed themselves to exhaustive research and extensive travels in order to observe and interview both students and masters of numerous martial arts systems. They provide readers with valuable insights into the origin of martial arts and where these arts stand at the present time. It is to their credit that they were able to accomplish this task and present the reader with a wealth of knowledge; all condensed into a mere 223, very readable, pages. Their writing is clear and intelligent and follows the historical timeline of the oriental fighting arts, such as the ancient art of Kalaripayit, Shaolin Temple boxing, kung fu, karate, Jujutsu/Jujitsu, Filipino arts and the many forms that derived from them. The authors also cover some of the weapons used in the fighting arts, especially the cultural significance and utility of the Japanese samurai. They write of the importance of Buddhism, philosophy, meditation, kata (formal exercise), tradition, culture and much, much more. The book is well-presented and profusely illustrated with drawings, paintings, and photographs. "The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" can also serve as a reference book. "The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts" is not a how-to book of self-defense. The reader will not acquire fighting skills by reading it; its goal is to pass on to the reader a firm understanding of the basic history of the numerous Asian martial arts, their founders, masters, philosophies, their gradual evolution, and where they stand in today's world. Buy it, read it, and keep it for the future.

The Way of The Warrior series was first shown on BBC2 in the UK. This is the book of the series, a very good accompanyment is more of a synopsis that an in depth study of each art.If you are interested in Martial Arts the book gives you a broad picture of what arts there are and how they became what they are today.A must for the bookshelf.

I believe this work to be informitive, yet the essence of masters was not detailed. The book is a good overview of the time line though and does give insight in the overall reasons that the martial arts developed. I would recommend this book to any serious student of the arts who is looking for the tidbits to fill in the gaps. I must admit that many times I was taking notes to share with others.