Imagine trying to learn an art that has been dead for over 500 years and all the is left of it is books left behind by fencing masters. That’s what happened in the early days of HEMA. The art of historical European fencing probably looks a bit different than it did when morozzo, Meyer and lichtenhour were teaching it, but we’ve probably gotten pretty close
Before youtube, I read and still possess many books on the martial arts. I was really interested in Jeet Kune Do, yes Bruce Lee's fighting method A series of books, and then read Tao of JKD, and they were a pretty great guide to how to study JKD.
I’ve been doing the RUclips Machida sessions in my garage and my club has done Zoom sessions as well. I also have a nice book by Nishiyama called “KARATE The Art Of The Empty Hand”. I haven’t got the space to work on my katas, but I’m in no rush with those. Nothing like proper live instruction though!
I remember only having books and magazines to train outside the dojo. Sure there were VHS tapes, but back then, few people had VCRs. RUclips makes it so much easier these days. But still nothing like live classes.
Obviously you can learn the external aspect of Karate with a book. Don't forget that ,in old times , martial schools used to record their techniques with illustrated books ( I'm thinking of Bubishi for exemple ) they kept hidden from non close students. Secret language was also used to preserve the deepest secrets from an unauthorised reader. That's the proof you can teach yourself the art with a close study of a book. What you can't really understand by reading is the rythme of Kata. Nowdays, what you can learn in an average dojo or in a book, including books for beginners is really an advanced stuff compared to what the old practicionners could get from their instructors. Many of them only learned few techniques and known only a couple of kata. If you're dedicated enough, and can experience your techniques with a partner, you can learn all the basis and more, then discover your proper way to do Karate.
Back in the day (pre RUclips and Internet), I would read tons of books and magazines, which gave me lots of history and different modes of thought. Bruce Lee's books were a favorite and I used his principles in my own training. Now that I am an author myself (martial arts sci-fi fiction - CYBER FIGHTER) I wonder how many martial artists still read books now that there are RUclips channels, blogs and other video resources where you can see different styles in action? One of my favorite channels (besides Art of One Dojo) is Scott Adkins' RUclips. He's got lots of great tutorials and interviews with martial arts movie legends. As I'm also in the entertainment industry, those really appeal to me a lot.
my 2 worth. I learned boxing from a book. Am I a professional? no... Am I golden gloves? no... but I do have a certain grounding in the techniques. How do I know? well, my brother and I used to box in the back yard so there was some trial to make sure the techniques did perform in action. Later, I did train some at an MMA training class and the instructor was impressed... another time, I was using a boxing trainer for a boxing work out and he said I have a really good jab add in the fact that he was totally impressed when sparring, he threw a jab at me which I slipped (remember totally self taught with a double end bag as a training tool) and countered.
I personally already have almost 20 years of aiki jitsu and Shotokan karate under my belt so all I do is go over my Basics and my kata again and again and again. In my opinion you can only learn the basics probably from a book they may have great detail in but sometimes some people will just put it inside I think they can get to it at any time. Physical fitness is one thing but a actual martial art hold over centuries of time, highly unlikely self-taught Fighters usually aren't the best because they have no training or endurance to take the punishment that a trained martial artist would be able to take. Is it a way to pass the time of course it is, is it practical or even tactical I say hell no. Pardon my language sir.
I remember when I got book on karate from school library but was not the same but I did practice the moves from the book it did help out in self defense
Yes you can! I feel one can learn the basics from books, but to have a true concept and grasp of the art one has to be with an instructor. I learned some from books while out at sea with the Navy, but was also training with my instructor while in port. The books gave me a basic understanding, and the instructor helped me perfect the movement. Oss. Master K, MA
To paraphrase Funakoshi, Kata are like battlefield exercises to a soldier, or textbooks to a student. If you study somewhere which only takes you through the form of kata, you might as well only look at photos with no description, as so much comes out of the space between the pauses in a kata. In contrast, as you say, a decent book which goes into the whys and wherefores is at least as valid as a class for the initial stages of learning. And I think that's the key - the earlier stages of learning a skill can benefit hugely from additional and different presentations of the material. I've picked up bits of catch wrestling from old books, which I've then taken into live training to discover the bits I've missed.
Maybe it's just me, but I found learning kata from books by masters to be so much better than trying to learn from memory (while I wait for my dojo to re-open). In fact, I learned more about kata embusen and footwork from reading Nakayama Sensei's Best Karate books than I ever did simply performing them repeatedly. Now I have started compiling them into videos (with animations etc.) on my channel so that the information stays on a different, more popular medium for future reference. Edit: I train Shotokan Karate
I have been doing karate for over two years now and I wondered about the history of the martial art, how was it that it came to be. I remember learning some history in karate class, and after class I remembered the Bubishi Jesse Enkamp shared in one of his videos. Well, I bought it and it's such a good read. Still yet to finish it, but I started seeing more in depth of the roots of karate and it opened my eyes to what it was like back in the early times of the martial art. It is very important that we not only work out at the dojo or gym to master technique, but also exercise our minds through study. Thanks for sharing the video!
Thank you. Your comment about "writing your own" struck true. Years ago, I attended a clinic, and learned a new form. I did just that. I was fortunate that years later, I was able to read through it and make sense and even repeat, albeit shakily, the form.
Books, books, books, books, books. Over the years I have studied various martial arts styles, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, European etc. Some of my instructors were fairly insistent on us learning the names of the techniques in their original language, some, not so much and some only gave us the English names of the techniques. So on ongoing project of mine is writing down the descriptions of all the techniques and forms I have learned in various marital arts and filling in those gaps linguistically by tracking down the names of the various punches, stances, kicks and blocks in the original language of the style. Books have been very useful for this with one notable exception...I have not been able to find the Korean name of the Cat stance...not in the books on Hwa Rang Do (the first Korean art that I studied back in the late 80's), not in any books on any other Korean arts. It has been frustrating. It may be out there and I just haven't found it yet...as an aside if anyone here happens to know the proper term in Korean for Cat stance please let me know. Other than that the books have been a great help in filling in those gaps, especially with the Chinese and Japanese arts. As far as learning actual techniques, I can say that I have used some printed materials to learn a few techniques, but then I went and found either clips on RUclips or DVD's to get a better sense of what it was supposed to look like. I would say that between books and video, IF a person has someone to train with and IF they have a sufficient existing background that they could gain a rudimentary understanding of technique from printed material, but it would have to be supplemented by video and partner training and if you are trying to learn techniques from a style that you are already familiar with but haven't learned yet you would have a better chance of learning it than trying to learn from material on a style that you are unfamiliar with. You mentioned your fascination with the sai and adapting it's techniques into Kempo. I'll tell you a little story. One of the Chinese styles I trained in was Choy Lay Fut under the late Fred Spence here in Fresno. One of the forms we learned was the Plumb Blossom form. Now many Chinese martial arts have a form with that name, although they are all different. The Plumb Blossom is an important symbol in China so many styles use that. Anyway one of the Japanese weapons I have always been fascinated with was the Kama and while I am no where near being a master of the weapon, I could hold my own if I had to. So one night I was sitting around and the though came to me, "I wonder what would happen if I combined the Kama with the Plumb Blossom form? So I grabbed my Kama's and spend an hour or so just playing around with doing the form and using the Kama's instead of the empty hand techniques of the form. It actually melded together fairly well. I could probably do the same with other weapons, but I haven't really tried any others except for...the sai. The idea for this actually came from the works of a man named Ron Van Clief. He was a professional fighter at one point, an actor and later an author of several books and appeared in series of instructional DVD's on the style he founded called Chinese Goju, which is a combination of Chinese martial arts, Japanese Karate, Aikido and Jiu Jitsu, and western Boxing. In one of his DVD's he does a kata called Senchin, which in his system is a Brown belt kata. He then repeats the kata, but using sai's. It was there that I got the idea of combine the Kama with the Plumb Flower form from Choy Lay Fut. Sometimes one can get ideas from these supplemental materials that they might not otherwise have.
There are books at the Hammond,Indiana library main branch and Calumet City public library on Hapkido (there wer books) which mention Hwrangdo as meaning "The way of flowering manhood" in the translation. I thought that was interesting.
One thing I would add is if you already have formal training in a similar art. For example if you have training in one or two traditional karate arts, can you learn a third from a book? I’d say in this exceptional case, probably. Also what are your goals? If you’re a MMA fighter or kickboxer looking to add TKD kicks to your arsenal you don’t necessarily want to begin TKD training from square one.
Enjoyed the video and definitely the end. “Teaching” ANYTHING helps your path of learning that craft! A master of anything is only achieved after you’ve instructed many students behind you. We are all following a successive line of learning. From birth to death. Some we learn ‘from’. Others we instruct, or pass on ‘to’. This is the theory of paying it forward. Or simply ‘life’, or even our life’s career. In our beginning we can learn from many, and as we progress our teachers become fewer. The deepest knowledge that we can obtain after we have learned the core, is by learning to become the instructor or eventually the master. This can only be obtained by “teaching”.
Loved those brief photo shots from the old Ed Parker classic, Kenpo Karate - Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand. It may be pretty antiquated, instruction-wise, but it's such a keepsake, academically. I have a copy of it, along with his other classic book, Secrets of Chinese Karate. They hold places of honor in my martial arts library, right next to Bubishi - The Bible of Karate, on my shelf. Again, very limited when it comes to practical instruction, but they are definitely classic martial arts books, and are an important part of my library.
My next note is, I agree, "Some understanding." Hwang Kee was only able to adopt the Tang Soo Do Hyung because he was already advanced. Won Kuk Lee (Chung Do Kwan), Ro Byung Jik (Song Moo Kwan), Chun Sang Sup (Ji Do Kwan), and Yoon Byung-In (Chang Moo Kwan) all taught what can be recognized as "Tang Soo Do", more or less. It was certainly Korean kicking that distinguished "Tae Kwon Do" a couple decades later.
I agree that you can learn from books, better from videos and absolutely best from qualified instructor(s). Also I am good with my students learning from other instructors as well as myself, just remember also that there may be instructors who don’t believe that something(s) won’t work, but that should be a decision for you to make. A great example of this is ki, chi, prana, etc... depending on the language, is not excepted by many instructors but I can guarantee that if you find an instructor who can teach you it will make you better at any martial art you train in. But this is very hard to learn without an instructor.
I think you can. The basics I believe can e learned anywhere, but the advanced stuff is more complex, which require more in depth teaching. Like with judo, some stuff, they give an okay explaination, but it requires physical contact to really understand. They can help with some things you don't get the positioning of
Omg, yes! What you said about writing basic forms down. A couple of years ago I started writing down some basics of our weapon work (I practice aikido). My intend was to give it to beginners, since we used to train weapons infrequently. That way they at least had an extra tool (since weapons are asked during exams). But the result was me learning a lot about weapons and slowly developping a sytem of how to effeciently and precisely put actions in written word. I never expected it to be that difficult. But the kata's I wrote down that way, still are the one's I can perform best.
I have old martial art books that I use for reference far as how different things are from the early days to now but definitely I think in person will always be the best. Btw karate-do kyohan is what a majority of us in shotokan look to for reference points.
I'll make some notes as I watch along. Most of the books I had in the 1970s are not available today. However, some of the books published earlier now are. In the Funakoshi lines one can look through archived versions of To-te Ryukyu Kenpo (1922), Karate Jutsu (1925), and Karate-Do Kyohan (1935) on Wikipedia links. One can view those versions much before Ohshima's 1973 version of Karate-Do Kyohan (which I still have). The upside is one can view Hironori Otsuka, for example, doing kata on RUclips, although now in old age.
I remember back then when i was in Shotokan. My friend and i were 4th kyu and we learned the following Katas from our curriculum using the "Best Karate" series from Masatoshi Nakayama, Best books ever to learn Shotokan Katas that i have ever seen. They have step by step pic (even photos of the transitions from technique to technique), explications in japanese and spanish (my native tongue but also have edition in english), and photos of the lines of the kata in the floor. We used to put black tape on the floor to have a mark of the steps and everything. We were able to learn the Katas and Sensei only corrected a few things, not too much. So i can say for sure, you can learn Shotokan Katas from the Nakayama books lol. I noticed Japanese have the best martial arts books, today they even include a companion DVD with the book. Now, im not too much interest in the techniques books, im looking more into history, theory and stuff. Im hunting down the books from Funakoshi, Mas Oyama, Mabuni, etc.
My ninjutsu handbook has arrows and full descriptions on how to execute them and has a mask on pages that show dangerous techniques. What also inspired me to ask the question was the clip from The Karate Kid where Mr. Miyagi asks "learn from book."
Great video topic Dan 👍 Well done. Learning to use the Sai/Sais... they are one of the most difficult weapons to learn to weild (not to mention to carry). I find most of them don't fit my hands, the outer tongs are usually too close to the middle shaft for my hand size. The Jutte, and the Shobo were two weapons that were much easier to wield since they had nice large finger rings to hook into. Some of the Shobos I have used had very sharp diamond shaped tips which would cut the wrists if you weren't adequately dextrous. If you can get/make/weld a nice Jutte with a properly sized finger hole, I think you would really enjoy training with that. 😊👍
I especially liked the story about the one page of notes. I started to keep some notes on karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu. I find it really has helped me to retain information, especially if we only did a technique a few times in class. If I have a chance to review before the next time that technique is covered, I am much more confident on the mat and can get to the fine tuning faster too.
Im mostly read books on martial arts for history and language such as learning the kanji for techniques. Japanese martial arts most lead me to try to learn the language and culture which enhances the experience when going back to the dojo. Learning the language can help you understand the meaning of purpose of a kata or a move. So it's more of a supplement
Totally dig this. One of my favorite martial arts books is Hapkido by Mark Tedeschi. A very indepth book that I think is a great reference for the serious Hapkido student. But not something a total beginner could learn from
I,ve studied Kung Fu both in school and from a book,The Art Of Kung Fu; now I,m studying Krav Maga from a book. My advice is: Learn Visualization techniques so you can visualize the motion of the pictured sequence before and after practicing it; then walk through it again. In doing this,I,ve made Kung Fu stance training into a kind of dance. It helps.
Overlapping engineering type geometry type angles ,and "xray "views of bones and muscles with pinpoints of nerve clusters could help you learn a lot. Checking anatomical diagrams and linguistics in transliterated words into your original language would help. There's a lot to be learned.
I learned a lot from books. I was also eventually assistant instructor to Ki Hyung Kim and was teaching five days a week. Kim taught the last class (of three) four days a week. I stayed for Gary Pugh's "self-defense" class Friday evenings. Saturdays always varied except for Kim's children's class. So, yeah, if you've been in about 5,000 karate classes you can learn a whole lot from looking at books over that time.
I feel like learning martial arts from a book is effective to a point. I agree with a a large amount of what you say. It's a difference between studying theory and practice of theory. Great video as always. 🥋👍
I recently bought a martial arts manual called "Fighter's Codex" (by D. Amerland from Darebee). It is a 30-day program that emphasize the more athletic aspect of basic martial arts. I want to follow the program once I have thoroughly read the book first...
It's a great tool if you don't always have the time in a busy schedule to attend class on certain days. It's great to supplement training especially, if you have a freind to work with you. It depends heavily on your ability to work at it, as it takes greater concentration but it should never replace live training.
Dan, to your point, I get a lot better understanding of any technique from watching it displayed on a video, than I do looking at the move in photos. Looking at images of "Monkey Steals Peach" just isn't the same for me as watching it performed by a qualified practitioner.
Thank you Sensei Dan for this video. I believe it’s good learning from Many different information, from books , video or even trying it with certain types of equipment of the given art you’re studying or learning a different form of combat. That you would like to learn. Especially in these times we live in. My background before I became a pro wrestler ( I’m a Luchador training and wrestling in Lucha Libre ) I studied the Jun Fan/JKD , Judo, Muy Thai, and Filipino Kali. Then I was an amateur wrestler. And used what I’ve learned in Judo like some of the throws and sweeps and from books for wrestling. And also even studying Bruce Lee’s art in person and from book and watching videos . The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, for me was a more exploration and getting into the mind of Bruce. And his is discovery of what he was learning from material and from others. Since I’m a wrestler looking at the different grappling arts from Sambo, to Judo, to Chinese wrestling of Shui Jao, BJJ and Judo Gene Lebell. From books to video and with a grappling dummy or even take a couple of GI Joes on a move and show the other guys what I want to try in a new move or finisher. From watching Japanese pro wrestling. I believe the info we can gather from any different medium can help and trying it on equipment and even reading and taking notes or writing down what was right for you and how you approached that technique and how you can alter it for you. And or draw a diagram or pictures In your notes on a move or technique. Really helps. But nothing works unless you apply it and put it in action with some equipment or a live person who’s willing to take the punishment 😆 seriously this is great and we all are open to never stop learning. Even if it’s a slight move or posture a foot placement or even a finger position may make a whole lot of difference 👍🏼
Also what I've found, was that if you studying the martial arts of your choice it's always good to use a book on the discipline as a supplement to the art! Who knows you may pick up extra knowledge about kata or technique and why it's done that way? Or in-depth history that was not shared in the dojo!
I think we all have the ability (if you can read) to learn from a book; however, learning something and being able to apply/ use it is completely different. I do agree that more details is better when explaining and trying to learn through reading. Many times I had to review/learn techniques through old manuals, and like you stated "type-os" are everywhere... For Kenpoist, I highly recommend "The official EPAKS Guide to... Form..." books. They are very detailed and informative. Let's just say that "Short Form One" (8 moves) was 3 pages short of being a 200 page book. Thanks for the video. Going to patreon to see the Sai form. I two have "learned" Sai from that book... Lol
Ya, you CAN, especially after you have 2-3 months in a real martial arts class, or play football-wrestiling or other impact sports, or get into enough fights to understand body movement in full contact mode. Book learning works, from my EXPERIENCE (Not theory.) But being accepted as a propagator of the art is another matter. The author giving you a standing in his method and organization is another matter.
I learned primarily from videos and books. Back in the early 2000's we still didn't have much for BJJ schools or any Jiu-Jitsu schools really in my city and country and province, so it was long-distance study or nothing at all. So, I decided to take a long-distance study course on martial arts. I had previously studied martial arts since I was a kid, and before I studied at a real martial arts school, I studied from books. When I joined my first Karate school they asked if I had taken martial arts before. I said no, because although I had studied karate from books (I was afraid that the instructor would get angry that I learned karate from a book and that he would kick me out of the school or do something to punish me for being successful without his help and his school), and I did a good enough job of it as a 12 year old boy that the head instructor of the karate school believed that I had studied martial arts at another martial arts school. I don't know if everybody can do that to the degree that I did it. That being said, before I took the long distance course I had studied karate, judo and ju-jutsu at local martial arts schools, so I think this did help me in my long distance study course...and I would not have done as well without this basic training I received at martial arts schools -- so actual instruction, especially in the very beginning stages I think is helpful or perhaps even crucial to my ability to successfully complete the long distance course and get my black belt. I now hold the rank of Rokudan in Jiu-Jitsu, and am the Founder of my own martial arts school which I named Kudo Ryu Bujutsu (the Way of Voidness or Emptiness School of Martial Arts). In my school we use a combination of video instruction and books (which I create for every lesson and every technique that we have on video), and also of course personal instruction at our local school for those who have the opportunity to attend actual lessons at our physical dojo. And that is what I think works best...a combination of video instruction, printed instruction and actual physical instruction. I also am a big believer in visualization training, and scientific studies seem to back up it's effectiveness. Once again, I believe in combining different training methodologies, and the scientific data also seems to back this up, it is most effective when actual training and visualization are used together in one's martial arts training program. So yes, I think (no, I know) that some at least some people can learn martial arts from books, but am not sure if just anybody and everybody can learn from books, and I've had a student of mine tell me that he thinks not everybody can learn from books and videos as I have. I just want to say that I think that videos are easiest to learn from but books are easiest to review from...in my opinion and in my experience anyway...and that is why I like to use both video and books for the instruction of my students in my martial arts school. I also have an Online school, and would continue to build this Online school and the instructional manuals for my school and the instructional videos for my school even if I was just teaching locally and personally to students, as the videos and manuals help my students progress even faster and review without needing to bother me so often and unnecessarily wasting my time (I don't mind helping students if they have done everything they can to correct the problem or difficulty on their own first and have made a genuine effort to help themselves first...I like my students to be resourceful and independent and not to rely on me too much to solve their problems). I mean...even the military has released knife-fighting manuals for their soldiers to study and ancient historical European martial artists left instructional manuals behind that have been dug up centuries later...and if they didn't think you could learn from a book why would the military or these ancient historical European martial artists have wasted their time writing instructional manuals, right!!!??? Also, Bruce Lee had a library of around 2000 books, and he valued them greatly!!! Then again...Bruce Lee was special and I don't know if just everybody can learn from books and videos like Bruce Lee could...without help from an expert. Also remember that your training partners can help you work out your faults, and with video cameras you can watch your sparring and training and see your mistakes, correcting them yourself; not to mention that you can also send video to your long-distance instructor(s) when you are having a problem so that they can have a look at the video and see if they can help you work out what the problem is, and you can also go visit your long-distance martial arts school's headquarters dojo or even a more local dojo or gym where they train that same or a similar skill set to the one that you are learning from your long-distance training program where they might be able to help you work through your technical problems in your long-distance martial arts training. Use all these methods and tools (including personal instruction from expert instructors) and this will be your best method for learning martial arts...where you will make the most, best and quickest progress possible in your martial arts career!!! Remember always what Bruce Lee taught: "Emptiness -- the end. I have to leave now my friend. You have a long journey ahead of you and you must travel light. From now on, 'open' yourself to everything and everyone ahead. Remember my friend, the usefulness of a cup is in it's emptiness." So yes then, according to even Bruce Lee we must 'open' ourselves to everyone and everything we come into contact with, including: expert martial instructors, martial arts instructional videos, printed martial arts instructional books as well as the guy standing on the street corner for that matter (because although he might have no training or experience, he might have an insight nonetheless...an insight that could save your life or somebody's life) if we want to make the utmost progress in our martial arts training. And whether or not you have access to an expert instructor you will need good training partners to reach your fullest potential...so I feel that this is something that needs to be said too...but that being said never, ever, ever let any difficulties (including not having local schools or difficulties finding consistent training partners) to ever discourage you and stop you from pursuing martial arts training, you will just have to work harder and it may take a little longer to get there but NEVER GIVE UP...NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!!! And...also remember that it is also important that the quality of the instructional book or video is high enough to be worth studying from, and it would be best to find a series of books and/or videos to learn a complete and comprehensive training program from (not just a single book or video) and that even a single library of books or videos is not enough to learn from nor is any one instructor, learning is boundless and comes at us from all directions at all times from the moment that we are born and never stops until the DAY THAT WE DIE!!!
Mr Dan, Manuals help me a tremendous amount... Notice I said help... the manuals help remember a technique you haven’t visited in a while to jog my memory... Kenpo manuals I think are tremendously helpful and you possibly could learn a technique because of the vocabulary used to describe each movement... but when the technique becomes more complex or “Sophisticated “ there lies the pitfall.... Books are good for “Reference” to confirm or reaffirm a movement that may rusty to jar your memory... GOOD VIDEO
Absolutely. I find Kenpo manuals better than many others, and for the couple of years I was on my own, that's how I learned. I read them and practiced them and when my instructor came back I was able to show him and then he worked with me to make adjustments. I had a lot wrong and he had to correct my timing and positioning, but the manuals gave me a great place to start. Like you said, they are a great reference. I know people trying to LEARN Kenpo by text/video only and I keep warning that it can only take them so far.
Thank you for pointing out something I have tried to teach to my students for years about learning from printed material. As a 6th Dan in Shotokan (and several other styles) being over 47 years of Martial arts training, I have pointed out many things as you describe learning from the images and descriptions of the books. I had to do that in the '70's and 80's with very little audio and visual interpretation at that time. Just in looking at the Shotokan Bible there are so many errors in technique that it presents to the reader because they don't have a base. In the video, at 4:50's it shows an inside block being done and besides the minor errors in footwork pattern and directions, incorrect posture, and several other parts that are shown in the picture it is shot from a downward angle not giving a true picture of the technique, as you said very little depth. Its something if you don't have a good base understanding or someone pointing it out the bad techniques will be missed and could become an awful habit too train. Even when they show the incorrect and correct picture at 5:32 the correct pictures have about 3 things that are incorrect in and of itself, but you would know that because you might think that picture is the authority instead of the theory. BTW I one the book and do like some of its references, again the old adage of the grain of salt. Now with that being said it could be a good starting point if someone has a good base understanding, as you said because many people just throw the pictures together when they are editing it without knowing the style and just going off notes and descriptions. Over the years I have learned a lot from books and still continue to do so, and with the advent of the internet and its vast array of info about the martial arts is a veritable smorgasbord of information. Like the videos out there one has to be careful. Your breaking down into two categories is spot on. Keep up the great work, I enjoy watching them and sometimes gleaning a little more knowledge for myself even at my age.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your experience and feedback and I agree with what you said. I have not formally trained in Shotokan so I don't see what you see, however I know I can only use this book as a reference and eventually I'd like to seek out a live dojo.
I would say that learning from a book alone, is not ideal as even with pictures and written descriptions, there is no one there qualified such as a senior, a teacher or master, to give direct feedback on how to correct a technique. Also learning alone from a book, there is no expert to show the person, precisely how to perform a technique correctly. However if one has been learning a martial arts system, then wishes to revise something recently learned, then a book is an excellent, refreshing, quick technique revision, to assist an individual to memorise and fine tune, what was already taught to them at the dojo. Excellent discussion topic discussion Sensei Dan🥋🤟✌👍🇲🇽🇦🇺Osu!
Exactly! If you already have a martial arts base, then learning from a book opens much more opportunity! Thank you and I hope that you are yours are all doing well and staying safe!
I think get to blue belt or a comparative rank and then start learning from books that way u have practical experience to help ur mind body connection to apply the material
Heard you use the phrase "exotic weapon" and guess where my mind went? 🐉🎲 Funny enough, I find that visualizing a 5 foot square is and excellent and simple spacial reference for describing foot movement and body orientation when going through one step sparring sequences. Maybe I should not down a blurb about that somewhere.
I've learned many techniques through books and even found easier ways to teach and learn specific techniques ,that being said if I had never had a live teacher I would not have known if I was doing them correctly
the art of dojo I got a question taijutsu vs karate which wins I've heard on the Internet. Taijutsu is similar to karate but is more focused on the body techniques so which wins
@M TOne more thing can you tell me how many Taekwondo styles are there 6 or 3 WTF ITF ATA I saw on the internet the ATA is a mix a blend of the other two so a uses both punches and kicks right
YES! THIS! I often use this example when I explain to people...it doesn't matter how many driving manuals you read...you can learn the rules of the road and even teach them...but you'll never be able to handle an actual live car without stick time behind the wheel.
One thing off the top of my head is that if the photographer for martial arts books isn't a martial artist, then some important information can be lossed. Like important small details in between the bigger movements. I can imagine especially decades ago, that photography per image was much more costly. So you would be limited by money, physical space in the book, and capacity of the roll film. Add ontop a photographer who doesn't know all the key points for a technique, and there's a fairly big margin for error.
@@ArtofOneDojo except for one thing... look at all the okinawan arts... they ALL have differences in them... it is basically one art and they share katas but they are done a bit differently... so based on that, how much does the "smaller" stuff really amount to? most sports activities depend on the basics, not some hail mary jumping axe kick that you can easily perform in a dojo but in practice in a parking lot would get you hurt.
@@ArtofOneDojo I couldn't help but notice you used Mr. Parker's first book, "Kenpo Karate" published in 1961by Iron Man Industries in your presentation. Sneaky.:)
Learning from books, well in the best case you end up with something like HEMA and the worst case you can end up with something like.... Well have you ever seen Anthony Cummins and the Natori Ryu?
At one point, I wanted to create a video curriculum. But it turns out that what I lack in video editing skills I make up for in lack of video editing skills. I do better with text. I've been writing and self-publishing some of my theological perspectives. Now this makes me wonder if it's worth taking a year to get my curriculum written down. I feel bad because I put a bunch of work into organizing my curriculum and now that I'm not teaching any more it's not going anywhere. What do y'all think?
You've talked about learning from video and from books... But how do you feel about learning from zoom? Live feedback and instructions, but no partner.
I have touched on this before in the Online Martial Arts episode. If you have live feedback then yes that's a major difference, but there is still a limitation on what can be adjusted and seen, and you still need hands on a person for the full experience.
Prof. Florendo M. Visitacion of FMA learned his stuff from books, and did well enough to teach people and cops in NY. Ya. Books work. But YOU have to work.
I'm unfortunately not too familiar with literature on Muay Thai. I would start by doing a search of best Muay Thai books on Google and see which book is the most common on all the lists. Chances are that is a good one to take a closer look at.
One more thing the art of dojo how many Taekwondo styles are there 6 or 3 WTF ITF ATA I saw on the internet the ATA is a mix a blend of the other two so a uses both punches and kicks right
To be honest...you could try but if you find a school that will pass you on that alone then chances are they are not a reputable school. You still need in person application.
@@ArtofOneDojo as a martial artist of 25 years. Could it still be possible. One can from previous experience interpret the positions etc. For example if I did Shotokan or Wado Ryu etc
@@blacktigermartialarts7329 If you already have a lot of prior martial arts experience...then maybe. Chances are though they'll still want to correct things as each school teaches and grades slightly different.
@@ArtofOneDojo reason why I asked was,I started training in ITF TKD, a style I've wanted to train in for many years. I found a 2nd Degree Teacher a few minutes away. I began to train, wearing a white belt enjoyed being a student again. He asked me if I practiced beforehand so I confirmed my current grade etc. He called me up before the next class saying that his teacher. I think he was 5th Degree said he can't teach me as I'm a higher grade. Although I'm still beginning as a white belt. This was upsetting as the instructor was bound by the politics of his organisation. He actually was sad too. A few emails to his instructor but he would not budge. Shame about this. Hence why I asked. I still want a 1st Degree certificate in ITF TKD but no schools close enough with the times I'm available too
Yes and no. It is my experience, (Iaijutsu, jujutsu, karate) a beginner absolutely cannot learn from a manual. Manuals are technically sufficient for someone who already knows how to improve his abilities and learn new waza. However, most are written in a fashion that leaves put basic, but vital information which is required to perform the art properly. I have learned the techniques of two styles other than my own iai style, though reading and research. Am I as informed and proficient as someone who learned from a proper school? No, but when I practice, explain or discuss techniques the broader understanding shines through. Beginners trying the same approach will encounter stumbling blocks whether in comprehension or physical performance. This is something that is unavoidable without a teacher to communicate the subtleties. Books are a wonderful resource, and we reference them constantly for training. Without the written record, the original intent and meaning are lost. I have learned Kasumi from several different Sensei in the same style, and even from a related style. They each perform it differently, and have a reason why. I have a preference as well, and will teach it as such. We need the record for this reason.
Very true. Many years ago when l first started taekwon do I bought a couple of books. The books were of limited use to me. Later when l achieved black belt l could go back to the books and make a lot more sense out of them.
@pat mat I have read that book, and I have met Craig Sensei on more than one occasion. His book is poorly written, and glosses over many details. It is widely regarded as being a poor work amongst members of the AUSKF. It is nice to hear you learned something, but if you know nothing and rely on a book (and that book in particular) you haven't gained the proficiency required for a child's rank. I have also seen not one, but two Iai promotionals for a high ranking Kendo sensei, 8th Dan, who wanted Iai rank too. He learned purely from youtube videos and was absolutely terrible. His form was crude, his handling of the saya was atrocious, and his sense of what was going on... just not there. This is from someone who is ALREADY a skilled swordsman. It should be noted that he currently holds a shodan at Iai, purely due to internal corruption within the AUSKF. He even admitted that he was ashamed to test and didn't want to accept the rank, but was expected to.
@pat mat It is nice to hear you still practice. If you are ever in Tennessee, you are welcome to train with us. My dojo is quite small, but I am confident we can sharpen your skills.
I came across with this problem that is the simple fact that you have to keep the book open, and some were really big and heavy so i could not use a book stand, this was back in 2007 so no tablets or smartphones so i copy the pages by hand, wich i used as a drawing exercise but later i surrender because i was losing time for school. In any case there are some books you will need to copy, scan or basically destroy... Now im working as a drawing artist hehehe (please check my game, Dimensions.vip in steam, pleaaaaaseee) Btw sorry if my english is bad hehehe
before the video starts, ima say no, generally. though when i started i used manuals to "learnish" new moves to try out and work on in class and with buddies.
EVERY life critical or mission critical occupation requires book learning. martial arts should no exception. youre just a scrapper if you dont go to class, and have no book learning..by book, or by person. at least by book you have an education in the matter. and its up to you what to do with it.
In "All in Fighting" and it's American re-printing "Get Tough" Fairbairn and in "Unarmed Combat" Hipkiss as well as Underwood in "Combato" all recommend working with partners and groups in the forwards, they fail to explain why, but as you read and work through the body of the Text it is clear to anyone with a lick of sense and a little bit of proper training it's to get experience against many types of opponents, resistance and to have others outside your engagement to check your form. All the best books I've read and worked with also advocate partners and groups the more modern ones explain why. also look for Texts with accompanying Media, Read the Books, Watch the Films and practice with Friends. If you pick up a reprint of All in Fighting/Get Tough check out this film on You tube ruclips.net/video/yn6kR1jfgik/видео.html it is a fair to good companion piece to his pre-war books "Defendu" & "Scientific Self Defense" and "Hands Off"/"Self Defense for Women and Girls" Hipkiss also has a companion film for his book Unarmed Combat hear on You Tube ruclips.net/video/WcjFXcvLYdg/видео.html the first five and a half minutes goes on about Physical Fitness, Self Discipline and Teamwork these films are of a bygone age some of the techniques demonstrated are not suitable for modern self-defense , if you are Gen-X or younger from these books and films is how your grandparents and great grandparents likely learned martial arts in a time of much grater peril than we face today in the first world. as one American film contemporary to these would say "...The rules of Sportsmanship are suspend for the Duration." so if you are in formal training or have access to a qualified instructor talk with them before you unpack this Vintage Woop-Ass in the Dojo. heck even modern texts and other Media should be discussed with someone qualified, whats justifiable force where and when a book is written may not be in your hear and now. on a related note I'd like to see Mr Dan review some of this vintage materials, but that's just me from my more Scholarly prospective.
@@ArtofOneDojo I forget where but there is a free PDF copy of "Get Tough" out there on the internet, unfortunately many of the illustrations don't line up properly with the text, but there are scans of varying quality out there that do.
I think you can learn from a book or video (up to some point)... can you learn a new technique? sure... can you learn a new martial art or a new style from a book? not at all
Yes I studyed books and learn a bit before I dun shotokkan I was about 7 to 10 years old don't know actually how hold bt bwt between then. Yes learn the fundamentals brain food. You learn kata off a peace of paper one wat I can't learn properly because my brain doesnt work like that bt moves like kicks and stuff not in a kata type thing.I learn basics and dun karate for a year and just learn to sharpen the basics then dun a bit of taekwondo not much bt it's simular Sept the base and modified kicks off the base.yes I had sparring as white belt this was the 90s I beat a yellow belt ans a orange belt. And I've dun Thai recently with in the last 10 years with a knew acl and dun okay spared a lot within the half ayear doing that. I'm not saying I'm fucking good that will b boesting bt I'm not guna say I'm not any good you no I be lieing yeah my acl left has never heald had four ops and today I'm left with it possible snapped and can't get it fixed cos of asshole doc won't do nuthing I've been in a battle for 4 years to get some thing dun in UK English live in UK
Imagine trying to learn an art that has been dead for over 500 years and all the is left of it is books left behind by fencing masters. That’s what happened in the early days of HEMA. The art of historical European fencing probably looks a bit different than it did when morozzo, Meyer and lichtenhour were teaching it, but we’ve probably gotten pretty close
Glad someone brought up HEMA
I have used the skotokan karate bible for reference points.
Before youtube, I read and still possess many books on the martial arts. I was really interested in Jeet Kune Do, yes Bruce Lee's fighting method A series of books, and then read Tao of JKD, and they were a pretty great guide to how to study JKD.
The typos in Mr. Parker's texts led to some quite bizarre techniques. Great video as always.
I’ve been doing the RUclips Machida sessions in my garage and my club has done Zoom sessions as well. I also have a nice book by Nishiyama called “KARATE The Art Of The Empty Hand”. I haven’t got the space to work on my katas, but I’m in no rush with those. Nothing like proper live instruction though!
I remember only having books and magazines to train outside the dojo. Sure there were VHS tapes, but back then, few people had VCRs. RUclips makes it so much easier these days. But still nothing like live classes.
Back then for me everyone had VCRs lol that's how blockbuster video became a thing !
Obviously you can learn the external aspect of Karate with a book. Don't forget that ,in old times , martial schools used to record their techniques with illustrated books ( I'm thinking of Bubishi for exemple ) they kept hidden from non close students. Secret language was also used to preserve the deepest secrets from an unauthorised reader. That's the proof you can teach yourself the art with a close study of a book. What you can't really understand by reading is the rythme of Kata. Nowdays, what you can learn in an average dojo or in a book, including books for beginners is really an advanced stuff compared to what the old practicionners could get from their instructors. Many of them only learned few techniques and known only a couple of kata. If you're dedicated enough, and can experience your techniques with a partner, you can learn all the basis and more, then discover your proper way to do Karate.
Back in the day (pre RUclips and Internet), I would read tons of books and magazines, which gave me lots of history and different modes of thought. Bruce Lee's books were a favorite and I used his principles in my own training. Now that I am an author myself (martial arts sci-fi fiction - CYBER FIGHTER) I wonder how many martial artists still read books now that there are RUclips channels, blogs and other video resources where you can see different styles in action? One of my favorite channels (besides Art of One Dojo) is Scott Adkins' RUclips. He's got lots of great tutorials and interviews with martial arts movie legends. As I'm also in the entertainment industry, those really appeal to me a lot.
I have done Kenpo for five years and stopped so trying to get back in and having the fundamentals help when I read and watch videos on RUclips
my 2 worth. I learned boxing from a book. Am I a professional? no... Am I golden gloves? no... but I do have a certain grounding in the techniques. How do I know? well, my brother and I used to box in the back yard so there was some trial to make sure the techniques did perform in action. Later, I did train some at an MMA training class and the instructor was impressed... another time, I was using a boxing trainer for a boxing work out and he said I have a really good jab add in the fact that he was totally impressed when sparring, he threw a jab at me which I slipped (remember totally self taught with a double end bag as a training tool) and countered.
I like the clock reference. I’m actually learning about this in my classes I go to.
I personally already have almost 20 years of aiki jitsu and Shotokan karate under my belt so all I do is go over my Basics and my kata again and again and again. In my opinion you can only learn the basics probably from a book they may have great detail in but sometimes some people will just put it inside I think they can get to it at any time. Physical fitness is one thing but a actual martial art hold over centuries of time, highly unlikely self-taught Fighters usually aren't the best because they have no training or endurance to take the punishment that a trained martial artist would be able to take. Is it a way to pass the time of course it is, is it practical or even tactical I say hell no. Pardon my language sir.
I remember when I got book on karate from school library but was not the same but I did practice the moves from the book it did help out in self defense
Yes you can! I feel one can learn the basics from books, but to have a true concept and grasp of the art one has to be with an instructor. I learned some from books while out at sea with the Navy, but was also training with my instructor while in port. The books gave me a basic understanding, and the instructor helped me perfect the movement. Oss. Master K, MA
To paraphrase Funakoshi, Kata are like battlefield exercises to a soldier, or textbooks to a student.
If you study somewhere which only takes you through the form of kata, you might as well only look at photos with no description, as so much comes out of the space between the pauses in a kata.
In contrast, as you say, a decent book which goes into the whys and wherefores is at least as valid as a class for the initial stages of learning.
And I think that's the key - the earlier stages of learning a skill can benefit hugely from additional and different presentations of the material. I've picked up bits of catch wrestling from old books, which I've then taken into live training to discover the bits I've missed.
Maybe it's just me, but I found learning kata from books by masters to be so much better than trying to learn from memory (while I wait for my dojo to re-open). In fact, I learned more about kata embusen and footwork from reading Nakayama Sensei's Best Karate books than I ever did simply performing them repeatedly. Now I have started compiling them into videos (with animations etc.) on my channel so that the information stays on a different, more popular medium for future reference.
Edit: I train Shotokan Karate
I have been doing karate for over two years now and I wondered about the history of the martial art, how was it that it came to be. I remember learning some history in karate class, and after class I remembered the Bubishi Jesse Enkamp shared in one of his videos. Well, I bought it and it's such a good read. Still yet to finish it, but I started seeing more in depth of the roots of karate and it opened my eyes to what it was like back in the early times of the martial art. It is very important that we not only work out at the dojo or gym to master technique, but also exercise our minds through study. Thanks for sharing the video!
Thank you. Your comment about "writing your own" struck true. Years ago, I attended a clinic, and learned a new form. I did just that. I was fortunate that years later, I was able to read through it and make sense and even repeat, albeit shakily, the form.
Books, books, books, books, books. Over the years I have studied various martial arts styles, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, European etc. Some of my instructors were fairly insistent on us learning the names of the techniques in their original language, some, not so much and some only gave us the English names of the techniques. So on ongoing project of mine is writing down the descriptions of all the techniques and forms I have learned in various marital arts and filling in those gaps linguistically by tracking down the names of the various punches, stances, kicks and blocks in the original language of the style. Books have been very useful for this with one notable exception...I have not been able to find the Korean name of the Cat stance...not in the books on Hwa Rang Do (the first Korean art that I studied back in the late 80's), not in any books on any other Korean arts. It has been frustrating. It may be out there and I just haven't found it yet...as an aside if anyone here happens to know the proper term in Korean for Cat stance please let me know. Other than that the books have been a great help in filling in those gaps, especially with the Chinese and Japanese arts. As far as learning actual techniques, I can say that I have used some printed materials to learn a few techniques, but then I went and found either clips on RUclips or DVD's to get a better sense of what it was supposed to look like. I would say that between books and video, IF a person has someone to train with and IF they have a sufficient existing background that they could gain a rudimentary understanding of technique from printed material, but it would have to be supplemented by video and partner training and if you are trying to learn techniques from a style that you are already familiar with but haven't learned yet you would have a better chance of learning it than trying to learn from material on a style that you are unfamiliar with.
You mentioned your fascination with the sai and adapting it's techniques into Kempo. I'll tell you a little story. One of the Chinese styles I trained in was Choy Lay Fut under the late Fred Spence here in Fresno. One of the forms we learned was the Plumb Blossom form. Now many Chinese martial arts have a form with that name, although they are all different. The Plumb Blossom is an important symbol in China so many styles use that. Anyway one of the Japanese weapons I have always been fascinated with was the Kama and while I am no where near being a master of the weapon, I could hold my own if I had to. So one night I was sitting around and the though came to me, "I wonder what would happen if I combined the Kama with the Plumb Blossom form? So I grabbed my Kama's and spend an hour or so just playing around with doing the form and using the Kama's instead of the empty hand techniques of the form. It actually melded together fairly well. I could probably do the same with other weapons, but I haven't really tried any others except for...the sai. The idea for this actually came from the works of a man named Ron Van Clief. He was a professional fighter at one point, an actor and later an author of several books and appeared in series of instructional DVD's on the style he founded called Chinese Goju, which is a combination of Chinese martial arts, Japanese Karate, Aikido and Jiu Jitsu, and western Boxing. In one of his DVD's he does a kata called Senchin, which in his system is a Brown belt kata. He then repeats the kata, but using sai's. It was there that I got the idea of combine the Kama with the Plumb Flower form from Choy Lay Fut. Sometimes one can get ideas from these supplemental materials that they might not otherwise have.
There are books at the Hammond,Indiana library main branch and Calumet City public library on Hapkido (there wer books) which mention Hwrangdo as meaning "The way of flowering manhood" in the translation. I thought that was interesting.
One thing I would add is if you already have formal training in a similar art. For example if you have training in one or two traditional karate arts, can you learn a third from a book? I’d say in this exceptional case, probably. Also what are your goals? If you’re a MMA fighter or kickboxer looking to add TKD kicks to your arsenal you don’t necessarily want to begin TKD training from square one.
Enjoyed the video and definitely the end.
“Teaching” ANYTHING helps your path of learning that craft! A master of anything is only achieved after you’ve instructed many students behind you.
We are all following a successive line of learning. From birth to death. Some we learn ‘from’. Others we instruct, or pass on ‘to’. This is the theory of paying it forward. Or simply ‘life’, or even our life’s career. In our beginning we can learn from many, and as we progress our teachers become fewer. The deepest knowledge that we can obtain after we have learned the core, is by learning to become the instructor or eventually the master.
This can only be obtained by “teaching”.
Loved those brief photo shots from the old Ed Parker classic, Kenpo Karate - Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand. It may be pretty antiquated, instruction-wise, but it's such a keepsake, academically. I have a copy of it, along with his other classic book, Secrets of Chinese Karate. They hold places of honor in my martial arts library, right next to Bubishi - The Bible of Karate, on my shelf. Again, very limited when it comes to practical instruction, but they are definitely classic martial arts books, and are an important part of my library.
My next note is, I agree, "Some understanding." Hwang Kee was only able to adopt the Tang Soo Do Hyung because he was already advanced. Won Kuk Lee (Chung Do Kwan), Ro Byung Jik (Song Moo Kwan), Chun Sang Sup (Ji Do Kwan), and Yoon Byung-In (Chang Moo Kwan) all taught what can be recognized as "Tang Soo Do", more or less. It was certainly Korean kicking that distinguished "Tae Kwon Do" a couple decades later.
I agree that you can learn from books, better from videos and absolutely best from qualified instructor(s). Also I am good with my students learning from other instructors as well as myself, just remember also that there may be instructors who don’t believe that something(s) won’t work, but that should be a decision for you to make. A great example of this is ki, chi, prana, etc... depending on the language, is not excepted by many instructors but I can guarantee that if you find an instructor who can teach you it will make you better at any martial art you train in. But this is very hard to learn without an instructor.
I think you can. The basics I believe can e learned anywhere, but the advanced stuff is more complex, which require more in depth teaching. Like with judo, some stuff, they give an okay explaination, but it requires physical contact to really understand. They can help with some things you don't get the positioning of
Omg, yes! What you said about writing basic forms down. A couple of years ago I started writing down some basics of our weapon work (I practice aikido). My intend was to give it to beginners, since we used to train weapons infrequently. That way they at least had an extra tool (since weapons are asked during exams). But the result was me learning a lot about weapons and slowly developping a sytem of how to effeciently and precisely put actions in written word. I never expected it to be that difficult. But the kata's I wrote down that way, still are the one's I can perform best.
I have old martial art books that I use for reference far as how different things are from the early days to now but definitely I think in person will always be the best. Btw karate-do kyohan is what a majority of us in shotokan look to for reference points.
I'll make some notes as I watch along. Most of the books I had in the 1970s are not available today. However, some of the books published earlier now are. In the Funakoshi lines one can look through archived versions of To-te Ryukyu Kenpo (1922), Karate Jutsu (1925), and Karate-Do Kyohan (1935) on Wikipedia links. One can view those versions much before Ohshima's 1973 version of Karate-Do Kyohan (which I still have). The upside is one can view Hironori Otsuka, for example, doing kata on RUclips, although now in old age.
I remember back then when i was in Shotokan. My friend and i were 4th kyu and we learned the following Katas from our curriculum using the "Best Karate" series from Masatoshi Nakayama, Best books ever to learn Shotokan Katas that i have ever seen. They have step by step pic (even photos of the transitions from technique to technique), explications in japanese and spanish (my native tongue but also have edition in english), and photos of the lines of the kata in the floor. We used to put black tape on the floor to have a mark of the steps and everything. We were able to learn the Katas and Sensei only corrected a few things, not too much. So i can say for sure, you can learn Shotokan Katas from the Nakayama books lol. I noticed Japanese have the best martial arts books, today they even include a companion DVD with the book.
Now, im not too much interest in the techniques books, im looking more into history, theory and stuff. Im hunting down the books from Funakoshi, Mas Oyama, Mabuni, etc.
My ninjutsu handbook has arrows and full descriptions on how to execute them and has a mask on pages that show dangerous techniques. What also inspired me to ask the question was the clip from The Karate Kid where Mr. Miyagi asks "learn from book."
I actually ALMOST included that clip into the video!
Great video topic Dan 👍 Well done.
Learning to use the Sai/Sais... they are one of the most difficult weapons to learn to weild (not to mention to carry). I find most of them don't fit my hands, the outer tongs are usually too close to the middle shaft for my hand size. The Jutte, and the Shobo were two weapons that were much easier to wield since they had nice large finger rings to hook into. Some of the Shobos I have used had very sharp diamond shaped tips which would cut the wrists if you weren't adequately dextrous.
If you can get/make/weld a nice Jutte with a properly sized finger hole, I think you would really enjoy training with that. 😊👍
I especially liked the story about the one page of notes. I started to keep some notes on karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu. I find it really has helped me to retain information, especially if we only did a technique a few times in class. If I have a chance to review before the next time that technique is covered, I am much more confident on the mat and can get to the fine tuning faster too.
Im mostly read books on martial arts for history and language such as learning the kanji for techniques. Japanese martial arts most lead me to try to learn the language and culture which enhances the experience when going back to the dojo. Learning the language can help you understand the meaning of purpose of a kata or a move. So it's more of a supplement
Totally dig this. One of my favorite martial arts books is Hapkido by Mark Tedeschi. A very indepth book that I think is a great reference for the serious Hapkido student. But not something a total beginner could learn from
I,ve studied Kung Fu both in school and from a book,The Art Of Kung Fu; now I,m studying Krav Maga from a book. My advice is: Learn Visualization techniques so you can visualize the motion of the pictured sequence before and after practicing it; then walk through it again. In doing this,I,ve made Kung Fu stance training into a kind of dance. It helps.
Videos are now pretty well put together
Thanks
Overlapping engineering type geometry type angles ,and "xray "views of bones and muscles with pinpoints of nerve clusters could help you learn a lot. Checking anatomical diagrams and linguistics in transliterated words into your original language would help. There's a lot to be learned.
I learned a lot from books. I was also eventually assistant instructor to Ki Hyung Kim and was teaching five days a week. Kim taught the last class (of three) four days a week. I stayed for Gary Pugh's "self-defense" class Friday evenings. Saturdays always varied except for Kim's children's class. So, yeah, if you've been in about 5,000 karate classes you can learn a whole lot from looking at books over that time.
I feel like learning martial arts from a book is effective to a point. I agree with a a large amount of what you say. It's a difference between studying theory and practice of theory.
Great video as always. 🥋👍
I recently bought a martial arts manual called "Fighter's Codex" (by D. Amerland from Darebee). It is a 30-day program that emphasize the more athletic aspect of basic martial arts. I want to follow the program once I have thoroughly read the book first...
books are good references for people who already know some martial arts
It's a great tool if you don't always have the time in a busy schedule to attend class on certain days. It's great to supplement training especially, if you have a freind to work with you. It depends heavily on your ability to work at it, as it takes greater concentration but it should never replace live training.
Dan, to your point, I get a lot better understanding of any technique from watching it displayed on a video, than I do looking at the move in photos. Looking at images of "Monkey Steals Peach" just isn't the same for me as watching it performed by a qualified practitioner.
Exactly. Books work to an extent but they don't get you all the way.
Thank you Sensei Dan for this video. I believe it’s good learning from
Many different information, from books , video or even trying it with certain types of equipment of the given art you’re studying or learning a different form of combat.
That you would like to learn. Especially in these times we live in. My background before I became a pro wrestler ( I’m a Luchador training and wrestling in Lucha Libre ) I studied the Jun Fan/JKD , Judo, Muy Thai, and Filipino Kali. Then I was an amateur wrestler. And used what I’ve learned in Judo like some of the throws and sweeps and from books for wrestling. And also even studying Bruce Lee’s art in person and from book and watching videos . The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, for me was a more exploration and getting into the mind of Bruce. And his is discovery of what he was learning from material and from others. Since I’m a wrestler looking at the different grappling arts from Sambo, to Judo, to Chinese wrestling of Shui Jao, BJJ and Judo Gene Lebell. From books to video and with a grappling dummy or even take a couple of GI Joes on a move and show the other guys what I want to try in a new move or finisher. From watching Japanese pro wrestling. I believe the info we can gather from any different medium can help and trying it on equipment and even reading and taking notes or writing down what was right for you and how you approached that technique and how you can alter it for you. And or draw a diagram or pictures In your notes on a move or technique. Really helps. But nothing works unless you apply it and put it in action with some equipment or a live person who’s willing to take the punishment 😆 seriously this is great and we all are open to never stop learning. Even if it’s a slight move or posture a foot placement or even a finger position may make a whole lot of difference 👍🏼
Also what I've found, was that if you studying the martial arts of your choice it's always good to use a book on the discipline as a supplement to the art! Who knows you may pick up extra knowledge about kata or technique and why it's done that way? Or in-depth history that was not shared in the dojo!
I think we all have the ability (if you can read) to learn from a book; however, learning something and being able to apply/ use it is completely different.
I do agree that more details is better when explaining and trying to learn through reading. Many times I had to review/learn techniques through old manuals, and like you stated "type-os" are everywhere...
For Kenpoist, I highly recommend "The official EPAKS Guide to... Form..." books. They are very detailed and informative. Let's just say that "Short Form One" (8 moves) was 3 pages short of being a 200 page book. Thanks for the video. Going to patreon to see the Sai form. I two have "learned" Sai from that book... Lol
I second this recommendation. I've learned TONS from these books.
Ya, you CAN, especially after you have 2-3 months in a real martial arts class, or play football-wrestiling or other impact sports, or get into enough fights to understand body movement in full contact mode.
Book learning works, from my EXPERIENCE (Not theory.)
But being accepted as a propagator of the art is another matter.
The author giving you a standing in his method and organization is another matter.
I learned primarily from videos and books. Back in the early 2000's we still didn't have much for BJJ schools or any Jiu-Jitsu schools really in my city and country and province, so it was long-distance study or nothing at all. So, I decided to take a long-distance study course on martial arts. I had previously studied martial arts since I was a kid, and before I studied at a real martial arts school, I studied from books. When I joined my first Karate school they asked if I had taken martial arts before. I said no, because although I had studied karate from books (I was afraid that the instructor would get angry that I learned karate from a book and that he would kick me out of the school or do something to punish me for being successful without his help and his school), and I did a good enough job of it as a 12 year old boy that the head instructor of the karate school believed that I had studied martial arts at another martial arts school. I don't know if everybody can do that to the degree that I did it. That being said, before I took the long distance course I had studied karate, judo and ju-jutsu at local martial arts schools, so I think this did help me in my long distance study course...and I would not have done as well without this basic training I received at martial arts schools -- so actual instruction, especially in the very beginning stages I think is helpful or perhaps even crucial to my ability to successfully complete the long distance course and get my black belt. I now hold the rank of Rokudan in Jiu-Jitsu, and am the Founder of my own martial arts school which I named Kudo Ryu Bujutsu (the Way of Voidness or Emptiness School of Martial Arts). In my school we use a combination of video instruction and books (which I create for every lesson and every technique that we have on video), and also of course personal instruction at our local school for those who have the opportunity to attend actual lessons at our physical dojo. And that is what I think works best...a combination of video instruction, printed instruction and actual physical instruction. I also am a big believer in visualization training, and scientific studies seem to back up it's effectiveness. Once again, I believe in combining different training methodologies, and the scientific data also seems to back this up, it is most effective when actual training and visualization are used together in one's martial arts training program. So yes, I think (no, I know) that some at least some people can learn martial arts from books, but am not sure if just anybody and everybody can learn from books, and I've had a student of mine tell me that he thinks not everybody can learn from books and videos as I have. I just want to say that I think that videos are easiest to learn from but books are easiest to review from...in my opinion and in my experience anyway...and that is why I like to use both video and books for the instruction of my students in my martial arts school. I also have an Online school, and would continue to build this Online school and the instructional manuals for my school and the instructional videos for my school even if I was just teaching locally and personally to students, as the videos and manuals help my students progress even faster and review without needing to bother me so often and unnecessarily wasting my time (I don't mind helping students if they have done everything they can to correct the problem or difficulty on their own first and have made a genuine effort to help themselves first...I like my students to be resourceful and independent and not to rely on me too much to solve their problems). I mean...even the military has released knife-fighting manuals for their soldiers to study and ancient historical European martial artists left instructional manuals behind that have been dug up centuries later...and if they didn't think you could learn from a book why would the military or these ancient historical European martial artists have wasted their time writing instructional manuals, right!!!??? Also, Bruce Lee had a library of around 2000 books, and he valued them greatly!!! Then again...Bruce Lee was special and I don't know if just everybody can learn from books and videos like Bruce Lee could...without help from an expert. Also remember that your training partners can help you work out your faults, and with video cameras you can watch your sparring and training and see your mistakes, correcting them yourself; not to mention that you can also send video to your long-distance instructor(s) when you are having a problem so that they can have a look at the video and see if they can help you work out what the problem is, and you can also go visit your long-distance martial arts school's headquarters dojo or even a more local dojo or gym where they train that same or a similar skill set to the one that you are learning from your long-distance training program where they might be able to help you work through your technical problems in your long-distance martial arts training. Use all these methods and tools (including personal instruction from expert instructors) and this will be your best method for learning martial arts...where you will make the most, best and quickest progress possible in your martial arts career!!! Remember always what Bruce Lee taught: "Emptiness -- the end. I have to leave now my friend. You have a long journey ahead of you and you must travel light. From now on, 'open' yourself to everything and everyone ahead. Remember my friend, the usefulness of a cup is in it's emptiness." So yes then, according to even Bruce Lee we must 'open' ourselves to everyone and everything we come into contact with, including: expert martial instructors, martial arts instructional videos, printed martial arts instructional books as well as the guy standing on the street corner for that matter (because although he might have no training or experience, he might have an insight nonetheless...an insight that could save your life or somebody's life) if we want to make the utmost progress in our martial arts training. And whether or not you have access to an expert instructor you will need good training partners to reach your fullest potential...so I feel that this is something that needs to be said too...but that being said never, ever, ever let any difficulties (including not having local schools or difficulties finding consistent training partners) to ever discourage you and stop you from pursuing martial arts training, you will just have to work harder and it may take a little longer to get there but NEVER GIVE UP...NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!!! And...also remember that it is also important that the quality of the instructional book or video is high enough to be worth studying from, and it would be best to find a series of books and/or videos to learn a complete and comprehensive training program from (not just a single book or video) and that even a single library of books or videos is not enough to learn from nor is any one instructor, learning is boundless and comes at us from all directions at all times from the moment that we are born and never stops until the DAY THAT WE DIE!!!
If he instructor didn't let you read books, then it's probably a good thing you aren't with them anymore.
Mr Dan,
Manuals help me a tremendous amount...
Notice I said help... the manuals help remember a technique you haven’t visited in a while to jog my memory...
Kenpo manuals I think are tremendously helpful and you possibly could learn a technique because of the vocabulary used to describe each movement...
but when the technique becomes more complex or “Sophisticated “ there lies the pitfall....
Books are good for “Reference” to confirm or reaffirm a movement that may rusty to jar your memory...
GOOD VIDEO
Absolutely. I find Kenpo manuals better than many others, and for the couple of years I was on my own, that's how I learned. I read them and practiced them and when my instructor came back I was able to show him and then he worked with me to make adjustments. I had a lot wrong and he had to correct my timing and positioning, but the manuals gave me a great place to start. Like you said, they are a great reference. I know people trying to LEARN Kenpo by text/video only and I keep warning that it can only take them so far.
Thank you for pointing out something I have tried to teach to my students for years about learning from printed material. As a 6th Dan in Shotokan (and several other styles) being over 47 years of Martial arts training, I have pointed out many things as you describe learning from the images and descriptions of the books. I had to do that in the '70's and 80's with very little audio and visual interpretation at that time. Just in looking at the Shotokan Bible there are so many errors in technique that it presents to the reader because they don't have a base. In the video, at 4:50's it shows an inside block being done and besides the minor errors in footwork pattern and directions, incorrect posture, and several other parts that are shown in the picture it is shot from a downward angle not giving a true picture of the technique, as you said very little depth. Its something if you don't have a good base understanding or someone pointing it out the bad techniques will be missed and could become an awful habit too train. Even when they show the incorrect and correct picture at 5:32 the correct pictures have about 3 things that are incorrect in and of itself, but you would know that because you might think that picture is the authority instead of the theory. BTW I one the book and do like some of its references, again the old adage of the grain of salt.
Now with that being said it could be a good starting point if someone has a good base understanding, as you said because many people just throw the pictures together when they are editing it without knowing the style and just going off notes and descriptions.
Over the years I have learned a lot from books and still continue to do so, and with the advent of the internet and its vast array of info about the martial arts is a veritable smorgasbord of information. Like the videos out there one has to be careful.
Your breaking down into two categories is spot on. Keep up the great work, I enjoy watching them and sometimes gleaning a little more knowledge for myself even at my age.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your experience and feedback and I agree with what you said. I have not formally trained in Shotokan so I don't see what you see, however I know I can only use this book as a reference and eventually I'd like to seek out a live dojo.
@@ArtofOneDojo You are welcome, and great format the way you handle your subjects and seeming to be very personable.
I would say that learning from a book alone, is not ideal as even with pictures and written descriptions, there is no one there qualified such as a senior, a teacher or master, to give direct feedback on how to correct a technique. Also learning alone from a book, there is no expert to show the person, precisely how to perform a technique correctly.
However if one has been learning a martial arts system, then wishes to revise something recently learned, then a book is an excellent, refreshing, quick technique revision, to assist an individual to memorise and fine tune, what was already taught to them at the dojo. Excellent discussion topic discussion Sensei Dan🥋🤟✌👍🇲🇽🇦🇺Osu!
Exactly! If you already have a martial arts base, then learning from a book opens much more opportunity! Thank you and I hope that you are yours are all doing well and staying safe!
You can but is limited to mostly movements and conditioning.
But it helps especially with the pandemic where many martial arts schools are closed.
I think get to blue belt or a comparative rank and then start learning from books that way u have practical experience to help ur mind body connection to apply the material
Heard you use the phrase "exotic weapon" and guess where my mind went? 🐉🎲 Funny enough, I find that visualizing a 5 foot square is and excellent and simple spacial reference for describing foot movement and body orientation when going through one step sparring sequences. Maybe I should not down a blurb about that somewhere.
I've learned many techniques through books and even found easier ways to teach and learn specific techniques ,that being said if I had never had a live teacher I would not have known if I was doing them correctly
the art of dojo I got a question taijutsu vs karate which wins I've heard on the Internet. Taijutsu is similar to karate but is more focused on the body techniques so which wins
@M TOne more thing can you tell me how many Taekwondo styles are there 6 or 3 WTF ITF ATA I saw on the internet the ATA is a mix a blend of the other two so a uses both punches and kicks right
Awsome video! Thank you
Agreed, think of Driver’s Education; books are essential, yet supplemental.
YES! THIS! I often use this example when I explain to people...it doesn't matter how many driving manuals you read...you can learn the rules of the road and even teach them...but you'll never be able to handle an actual live car without stick time behind the wheel.
One thing off the top of my head is that if the photographer for martial arts books isn't a martial artist, then some important information can be lossed.
Like important small details in between the bigger movements.
I can imagine especially decades ago, that photography per image was much more costly.
So you would be limited by money, physical space in the book, and capacity of the roll film.
Add ontop a photographer who doesn't know all the key points for a technique, and there's a fairly big margin for error.
That is an EXCELLENT point!
@@ArtofOneDojo except for one thing... look at all the okinawan arts... they ALL have differences in them... it is basically one art and they share katas but they are done a bit differently... so based on that, how much does the "smaller" stuff really amount to? most sports activities depend on the basics, not some hail mary jumping axe kick that you can easily perform in a dojo but in practice in a parking lot would get you hurt.
Could you review the enshin karate book?
I started with magazines and books and all different systems
Well said sir. Mr.Parker spoke of the guy who learned how to swim from a book, but when he got pushed in the water, he drowned.
That's an extremely wise way to look at it!
@@ArtofOneDojo I couldn't help but notice you used Mr. Parker's first book, "Kenpo Karate" published in 1961by Iron Man Industries in your presentation. Sneaky.:)
Learning from books, well in the best case you end up with something like HEMA and the worst case you can end up with something like.... Well have you ever seen Anthony Cummins and the Natori Ryu?
Yes...there are many worse case scenarios if you learn ONLY from books. They are great to supplement but never to replace.
Bro, you are going against the plot of every Kung Fu movie ever where they avenge their Father with some secret scroll techniques
LOL!
At one point, I wanted to create a video curriculum. But it turns out that what I lack in video editing skills I make up for in lack of video editing skills. I do better with text. I've been writing and self-publishing some of my theological perspectives. Now this makes me wonder if it's worth taking a year to get my curriculum written down. I feel bad because I put a bunch of work into organizing my curriculum and now that I'm not teaching any more it's not going anywhere. What do y'all think?
I think it's always worth getting down on paper/video for at least the reason of preservation.
You've talked about learning from video and from books... But how do you feel about learning from zoom? Live feedback and instructions, but no partner.
I have touched on this before in the Online Martial Arts episode. If you have live feedback then yes that's a major difference, but there is still a limitation on what can be adjusted and seen, and you still need hands on a person for the full experience.
Prof. Florendo M. Visitacion of FMA learned his stuff from books, and did well enough to teach people and cops in NY.
Ya. Books work.
But YOU have to work.
Another great video
Hi Art of One Dojo, God bless. Can you recommend a book of muay thai?
I'm unfortunately not too familiar with literature on Muay Thai. I would start by doing a search of best Muay Thai books on Google and see which book is the most common on all the lists. Chances are that is a good one to take a closer look at.
One more thing the art of dojo how many Taekwondo styles are there 6 or 3 WTF ITF ATA I saw on the internet the ATA is a mix a blend of the other two so a uses both punches and kicks right
Not is you are just starting. If you have training, it can enhance your understanding, however there is NO substitute for LIVE instruction.
Could you grade in front of a panel to black belt for a style you learned from a book
To be honest...you could try but if you find a school that will pass you on that alone then chances are they are not a reputable school. You still need in person application.
@@ArtofOneDojo as a martial artist of 25 years. Could it still be possible. One can from previous experience interpret the positions etc. For example if I did Shotokan or Wado Ryu etc
@@blacktigermartialarts7329 If you already have a lot of prior martial arts experience...then maybe. Chances are though they'll still want to correct things as each school teaches and grades slightly different.
@@ArtofOneDojo reason why I asked was,I started training in ITF TKD, a style I've wanted to train in for many years. I found a 2nd Degree Teacher a few minutes away. I began to train, wearing a white belt enjoyed being a student again. He asked me if I practiced beforehand so I confirmed my current grade etc. He called me up before the next class saying that his teacher. I think he was 5th Degree said he can't teach me as I'm a higher grade. Although I'm still beginning as a white belt. This was upsetting as the instructor was bound by the politics of his organisation. He actually was sad too. A few emails to his instructor but he would not budge. Shame about this. Hence why I asked. I still want a 1st Degree certificate in ITF TKD but no schools close enough with the times I'm available too
Thanks
Yes and no. It is my experience, (Iaijutsu, jujutsu, karate) a beginner absolutely cannot learn from a manual. Manuals are technically sufficient for someone who already knows how to improve his abilities and learn new waza. However, most are written in a fashion that leaves put basic, but vital information which is required to perform the art properly.
I have learned the techniques of two styles other than my own iai style, though reading and research. Am I as informed and proficient as someone who learned from a proper school? No, but when I practice, explain or discuss techniques the broader understanding shines through.
Beginners trying the same approach will encounter stumbling blocks whether in comprehension or physical performance. This is something that is unavoidable without a teacher to communicate the subtleties.
Books are a wonderful resource, and we reference them constantly for training. Without the written record, the original intent and meaning are lost. I have learned Kasumi from several different Sensei in the same style, and even from a related style. They each perform it differently, and have a reason why. I have a preference as well, and will teach it as such. We need the record for this reason.
Very true. Many years ago when l first started taekwon do I bought a couple of books. The books were of limited use to me. Later when l achieved black belt l could go back to the books and make a lot more sense out of them.
@pat mat I have read that book, and I have met Craig Sensei on more than one occasion. His book is poorly written, and glosses over many details. It is widely regarded as being a poor work amongst members of the AUSKF. It is nice to hear you learned something, but if you know nothing and rely on a book (and that book in particular) you haven't gained the proficiency required for a child's rank.
I have also seen not one, but two Iai promotionals for a high ranking Kendo sensei, 8th Dan, who wanted Iai rank too. He learned purely from youtube videos and was absolutely terrible. His form was crude, his handling of the saya was atrocious, and his sense of what was going on... just not there. This is from someone who is ALREADY a skilled swordsman. It should be noted that he currently holds a shodan at Iai, purely due to internal corruption within the AUSKF. He even admitted that he was ashamed to test and didn't want to accept the rank, but was expected to.
@pat mat It is nice to hear you still practice. If you are ever in Tennessee, you are welcome to train with us. My dojo is quite small, but I am confident we can sharpen your skills.
I came across with this problem that is the simple fact that you have to keep the book open, and some were really big and heavy so i could not use a book stand, this was back in 2007 so no tablets or smartphones so i copy the pages by hand, wich i used as a drawing exercise but later i surrender because i was losing time for school. In any case there are some books you will need to copy, scan or basically destroy...
Now im working as a drawing artist hehehe (please check my game, Dimensions.vip in steam, pleaaaaaseee)
Btw sorry if my english is bad hehehe
before the video starts, ima say no, generally. though when i started i used manuals to "learnish" new moves to try out and work on in class and with buddies.
I'm curious about what you say now after the video. :)
You could, but those who are successful at learning an art from a book are motivated and patient to do so.
I just brought a book for drunken fist. Because I love movie drunken master with Jackie Chan. And there not a dojo for that kong fu here.
For the very, very last time! You need live instruction from a good and knowledgeable instructor!!!
EVERY life critical or mission critical occupation requires book learning.
martial arts should no exception.
youre just a scrapper if you dont go to class, and have no book learning..by book, or by person.
at least by book you have an education in the matter.
and its up to you what to do with it.
In "All in Fighting" and it's American re-printing "Get Tough" Fairbairn and in "Unarmed Combat" Hipkiss as well as Underwood in "Combato" all recommend working with partners and groups in the forwards, they fail to explain why, but as you read and work through the body of the Text it is clear to anyone with a lick of sense and a little bit of proper training it's to get experience against many types of opponents, resistance and to have others outside your engagement to check your form. All the best books I've read and worked with also advocate partners and groups the more modern ones explain why.
also look for Texts with accompanying Media, Read the Books, Watch the Films and practice with Friends.
If you pick up a reprint of All in Fighting/Get Tough check out this film on You tube
ruclips.net/video/yn6kR1jfgik/видео.html
it is a fair to good companion piece to his pre-war books "Defendu" & "Scientific Self Defense" and "Hands Off"/"Self Defense for Women and Girls"
Hipkiss also has a companion film for his book Unarmed Combat hear on You Tube
ruclips.net/video/WcjFXcvLYdg/видео.html
the first five and a half minutes goes on about Physical Fitness, Self Discipline and Teamwork
these films are of a bygone age some of the techniques demonstrated are not suitable for modern self-defense , if you are Gen-X or younger from these books and films is how your grandparents and great grandparents likely learned martial arts in a time of much grater peril than we face today in the first world. as one American film contemporary to these would say "...The rules of Sportsmanship are suspend for the Duration." so if you are in formal training or have access to a qualified instructor talk with them before you unpack this Vintage Woop-Ass in the Dojo. heck even modern texts and other Media should be discussed with someone qualified, whats justifiable force where and when a book is written may not be in your hear and now.
on a related note I'd like to see Mr Dan review some of this vintage materials, but that's just me from my more Scholarly prospective.
Awesome information. I am going to bookmark these links, I'm curious to check them out, thank you for posting them :)
@@ArtofOneDojo I forget where but there is a free PDF copy of "Get Tough" out there on the internet, unfortunately many of the illustrations don't line up properly with the text, but there are scans of varying quality out there that do.
Reading and videos can also help review katas or techniques. It helped me review my Goju techniques
What books did you use?
Samlaren I didn’t do books but I did use videos
@@camiloiribarren1450 Ok, thanks!
first one to watch it and like it
People who are autodidact and athletic can learn martial arts from a book
I think you can learn from a book or video (up to some point)... can you learn a new technique? sure... can you learn a new martial art or a new style from a book? not at all
Isn't that where creativity comes in? Isn't that concept how many styles ended up formed in the first place?
It’s a supplement to real training. That’s it.
You can't learn body mechanics ics from the book.
Nice haircut
Yes i learn from a book then i switch from movies
Yes I studyed books and learn a bit before I dun shotokkan I was about 7 to 10 years old don't know actually how hold bt bwt between then. Yes learn the fundamentals brain food. You learn kata off a peace of paper one wat I can't learn properly because my brain doesnt work like that bt moves like kicks and stuff not in a kata type thing.I learn basics and dun karate for a year and just learn to sharpen the basics then dun a bit of taekwondo not much bt it's simular Sept the base and modified kicks off the base.yes I had sparring as white belt this was the 90s I beat a yellow belt ans a orange belt. And I've dun Thai recently with in the last 10 years with a knew acl and dun okay spared a lot within the half ayear doing that. I'm not saying I'm fucking good that will b boesting bt I'm not guna say I'm not any good you no I be lieing yeah my acl left has never heald had four ops and today I'm left with it possible snapped and can't get it fixed cos of asshole doc won't do nuthing I've been in a battle for 4 years to get some thing dun in UK English live in UK
Can you learn from a book? The answer is yes, look at HEMA and it’s popularity.
Danny boy thought that he could learn martial arts style techniques from a book he probably stole within the original karate kid film
Thank you for sharing about HEMA! I never knew this existed, and did watch it on RUclips. It's amazingly cool! Thank you!
Michael Jovan No problem, like any martial art we are trying to grow.
no
Yes, I can learn Karate from a book, rather easily, I might add. YOU, on the other hand, cannot.
Oh you're sassy!