Book Review: A Brief History of the Martial Arts

A Brief History of the Martial Arts
A Brief History of the Martial Arts

Title: A Brief History of the Martial Arts

A Brief History of the Martial Arts
A Brief History of the Martial Arts

Author: Dr. Jonathan Clements

Publisher: Robinson, an imprint of Hachette UK Limited

Publication Date: 2016

Format: Kindle / Paperback

Pages: 304, 6 in x 9.25 in

Cover Price: $3.99 (Kindle) / £13.99 (paperback, publisher’s Web site)

ISBN: 978-1472136466

Content

Dr. Jonathan Clements is the author of many books on China and Japan, including A Brief History of the Samurai, An Armchair Traveller’s History of the Silk Road, Christ’s Samurai: The True Story of the Shimabara Rebellion, profiles of Khubilai Khan and Chairman Mao, The Art of War: A New Translation, and both Modern China and Modern Japan in the All That Matters series. He wrote his PhD thesis at the University of Wales on the industrial history of Japanese animation, later published by the British Film Institute as Anime: A History. He speaks both Chinese and Japanese.

In A Brief History of the Martial Arts, Dr. Clements provides the most accessible, accurate, and reasonable resource for the general reader. In the first half of the book he mostly discusses China and related topics like the Shaolin temple and its myths. In the second half of the book he addresses Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the west, and recent cultural developments in the martial arts. 

Dr. Clements is clear about his bias: “As befits a history of the martial arts, I approach the materials here not as a believer or practitioner, but as a historian… [T]here is no smoke without fire. But it does not matter what I believe, or want to believe, it only matters what I can prove, and what I can prove with historical documentation does not go back past the 1560s.” (emphasis added)

This may shock many readers, but it’s reality when one takes a hard look at available sources on East Asian martial arts history.

Pros

This book is a wonderful antidote to the myriad myths associated with martial arts history. When addressing China, for example, Dr. Clements writes the following:

“For Stanley Henning, most accounts of martial arts are ruined by the assumption of… two widely accepted, deeply ingrained and hard to quash myths: one attributing the origins of Chinese boxing to the Indian monk, Bodhidharma, who, according to tradition is said to have resided in the famous Shaolin Monastery around 525 AD; the other attributing the origins of taiji-quan, or Chinese shadow boxing as it is sometimes called in the West, to the mythical Taoist hermit, Zhang Sanfeng, whose dates have never been confirmed… Henning stresses that martial arts have their origin in the brutal and sadly universal matter of killing people. It is only later that they become ingrained in political or moral philosophies.” 

This citation shows that Dr. Clements sought out the best resources on various topics, like Stanley Henning. It also shows that he addresses the hot topics and sacred cows found in martial arts history conversations. By staying with material that he can attribute to documentation, Dr. Clements sheds light on many myths and invented traditions that continue to haunt martial arts history discussions.

Cons

I have two concerns with this book. 

First, A Brief History of East Asian Martial Arts might be a more accurate title. “Martial arts” are not strictly an East Asian phenomenon, yet the casual reader would not know that from this book. Warriors in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania also practiced martial arts, yet they are generally ignored here. For example, Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) practitioners rely on manuals that are at least 100 years older than the 1560s date mentioned earlier by Dr. Clements. They could claim older traditions based on available documentation. Yes, East Asian is in the subtitle, but I would have liked to have seen that in the main title.

Second, I disagree with some of Dr. Clements’ interpretations of the evidence he chose to analyze. For example, I agree with Wayne Muromoto’s analysis of the influence of Chin Gempin upon Japanese arts. Still, these are minor problems compared to the overall benefit offered by the book.

Conclusion

I give this book 5 out of 5 ninja stars.5 Ninja Stars

This is the book I recommend if you want a single volume on martial arts history based on sound evidence and sourced research. I highlighted so many sentences in my Kindle edition that I ran over Amazon’s limit! At $3.99 for the Kindle version, it’s an absolute steal and would make a great gift for any martial artist. At 304 pages the book is still a fast read, thanks to Dr. Clements’ clear and engaging writing style.

At the beginning of the book, Dr. Clements notes that “fiction has become an immensely influential element within the community of martial artists, sometimes accepted as a form of shared delusion.” This book is one of the answers to this problem.

Be sure to check out more of my book reviews here on Martial Journal.

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About Richard Bejtlich 35 Articles
Richard took his first martial arts classes in judo, karate, boxing, and combatives as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy in 1990, and continued practicing several styles until 2001. He resumed training in 2016 by practicing within the Krav Maga Global system, earning Graduate 1 rank. Richard now studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Team Pedro Sauer. Richard is married and has two daughters, and as a cybersecurity professional he helps organizations find and remove computer hackers. Richard is co-author, with Anna Wonsley, of the book Reach Your Goal: Stretching and Mobility Exercises for Fitness, Personal Training, and Martial Arts.

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