martin3
18-10-2014, 23:27
This big book (418 pages) got my attention straight away. First I know Jonathan from his many publications in the internet and second because of the word 'research' in the title. So I was curious what I would find.
What I got is a comprehensive, exploratory, educational tour of the field of martial arts.
- In the first part 'From the Inside Out - External and Internal Gong Fu' Jonathan examines martial arts theory and practices. He looks into old and new - western and eastern concepts. For sure a chapter which will lead to a lot of discussions in the martial arts world.
- The second part 'Contemplations on Controlled Violence' concentrates on personal thoughts and guest-articles. This is a very special chapter - what a interesting topic. The approach - to present own articles and let other people own articles and let other people in short articles - is a clever and inspiring idea.
- Interviews of masters and teachers are the core of the third part called 'The wisdom of Martial Spirits'. As in chapter two not the author is speaking. The partner of the interviews are experts from the martial art world. What a great luck, that the reader can get a deep lock into the thinking of these people.
Yup, that is a big research book. Jonathan presents loads of material. He distinguish between facts, material/opinions of other authors and his own ideas (the book has 11 pages of bibliographical references). Thus the reader has the freedom to find his own point of view. That is, what I call 'presenting results of a research'.
And yup, this a great research book of Jonathan's personal martial arts history. Luckily he let us participate in his travel and so everyone can profit from the wealth of material.
In the end only one question remains: Who will not profit from a martial arts book like that?
What I got is a comprehensive, exploratory, educational tour of the field of martial arts.
- In the first part 'From the Inside Out - External and Internal Gong Fu' Jonathan examines martial arts theory and practices. He looks into old and new - western and eastern concepts. For sure a chapter which will lead to a lot of discussions in the martial arts world.
- The second part 'Contemplations on Controlled Violence' concentrates on personal thoughts and guest-articles. This is a very special chapter - what a interesting topic. The approach - to present own articles and let other people own articles and let other people in short articles - is a clever and inspiring idea.
- Interviews of masters and teachers are the core of the third part called 'The wisdom of Martial Spirits'. As in chapter two not the author is speaking. The partner of the interviews are experts from the martial art world. What a great luck, that the reader can get a deep lock into the thinking of these people.
Yup, that is a big research book. Jonathan presents loads of material. He distinguish between facts, material/opinions of other authors and his own ideas (the book has 11 pages of bibliographical references). Thus the reader has the freedom to find his own point of view. That is, what I call 'presenting results of a research'.
And yup, this a great research book of Jonathan's personal martial arts history. Luckily he let us participate in his travel and so everyone can profit from the wealth of material.
In the end only one question remains: Who will not profit from a martial arts book like that?