Favourite

[Saz]

Simple question, whats your favourite Martial arts and non martial arts book and why?

My favourite MA book is Mas Oyamas Complete Karate Course. Its relevant to my style, which is rare in books, and it goes through basic techniques, katas, breaking, conditioning and even tells you how to kick a cigarette out of someones mouth (don't try it at home kids)

My favourite non MA book is Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Its really creepy and atmospheric, plus its got a slow build up to a good end. Last time I read it was in a thunderstorm, it was scary as anything! :D

[YODA]

MA: The Making of a Martial Artist - S.K.Shim

Non MA: LOTR :D

[johndoch]

My favourite MA would be - The Tao of JKD by B. Lee

Non MA - Jackal by John Follain/Dune by James Herbert

[WhiteWizard]

havent read any MA books but i love Lord of the Rings i've read it 9 times in two years before that i had only read about 4 books.

people say its too big but by the end of it all you want is more

[Fergie Boy]

Haven't read MA books, flicked through the tao of JKD and a couple of books on escrima

non ma: 8million ways to die by Lawrence Block

[Knight_Errant]

MA- SAS self defense by Barry Davies (though I am open to education)
non MA- LOTR. I'm currently reading it for the 9th time. Approaching my first LOTR decade!

[Grifter]

MA book- Tao of JKD-Bruce Lee(only other MA book i read was on Judo and that was a long time ago)

Non-MA- The Hobbit.

[Brad Ellin]

Favorite MA book: Was the Tao of JKD, but now it's Understand? Good. Play! by Masaaki Hatsumi.
Favorite non-MA: Strangers by Dean Koontz and Shibumi by Trevanian.

[Peaceful_John]

Don't read alot of martial arts books.

Probably "The Wheel of Time" series. "Breakfast of Champions" was good too.

[booksie_girl]

I've gotten a few MA books from the library, but nothing too good, so I can't really answer that.

As for non-MA, It's hard to pick, I've read so many :D "Regina's Song" by David Eddings was fantastic. I love Eddings, although some of his books weren't too good, the ones that were more than made up for it. :D

[booksie_girl]

Originally posted by Peaceful_John
Don't read alot of martial arts books.

Probably "The Wheel of Time" series. "Breakfast of Champions" was good too.

Have you read the 10th Wheel of time? I read the first 9, and that was all there were at the time. I haven't gotten around to reading the 10th, mainly because the plots are so complicated, and I can't for the life of me remember what happened, so I'd be pretty lost. Is it worth reading?

[Tosh]

MA BOOK: Easy...... Jackie Chan's auotbiography!

FAVE BOOK: Possibly REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchet but usually my favorite book is the one I'm reading!!!!

READING: Carter beats the Devil

[booksie_girl]

Originally posted by tosh_spice
FAVE BOOK: Possibly REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchet but usually my favorite book is the one I'm reading!!!!


Quite right, it's so hard to pick one, and the ones that are fresher in you mind is usually at the top of the pick. Reaper man was one of my favourite Pratchett books, but the best was IMO the last continenent, but I'm a bit biast in that :D.

[Knight_Errant]

I love the last continent :) It rocks!

[booksie_girl]

But you probably didn't get as many of the more subtle jokes as I did. :D. You have to live here to get them :D.

PS love the sig

[Knight_Errant]

I might come to australia just to get the jokes. It'd be well worth it :)Do some surfing while I'm there :)
At last, I've finally got a realistic sig. I was thinking of changing my status to 'mindless scum' or 'MAP's very own man in the steel plate' :D

[booksie_girl]

Stick with what you've got, it's much better :D

[SoKKlab]

Balisong-Iron Butterfly by Cacoy Boy Hernandez is a good one. Sort of his life story, mixed in with a how-to-do manual.

Non MA Book 'Kiss your Ass Goodbye' by Charles Williford
He was a great Hard-Boiled Crime writer.
Also anything by Harry Crews

[Red Dragon 1961]

Favourite non MA book - Shibumi by Trevanian. I first read it as a teenager (I'm now 42) and make a point of reading it at least once a year. It had a profound impact on my life.

Favourite MA book - I haven't read one worthy of that title, yet.

[quartermaster]

havent had a MA book yet, getting my first one soon


lord of the rings is still my favourite

[pocketwarrior]

MA book- havn't read that many but 'Animal Day' by geoff thompson was good, at least that didn't cost 27 quid...

Non Ma book- Toss up between 'Dawnthief' by James Barclay. A superb fantasy book that is really gritty and fascinating at the same time. - or- The assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb, all of these books are brilliant fantasy novels and the depth of character development is excellent.

[Anth]

MA book: only read one - karate-do, my way of life by master funakoshi which was canny good.

non MA book: band of brothers by stephen ambrose

currently reading: in a company of heroes. cant remember who its by but its about black hawk down.

[kobudo_tob]

Fav. book: American Psycho American Psycho American Psycho

Planning on reading a Will Self book this holiday, so the above might change (but I doubt it :D)

[Azrael]

Martial Arts Book: The Unfettered Mind, by Takuan Soho. That book really changed by life, and my approach to the martial arts.

Non Martial arts: Any of the written work by J Krishnamurti.

[Topher]

MA: Not read that many but Fighters Facts is good as is The Martial Arts: Origins, Phylosophy & Practice.

NON-MA: Hobbit, LotR, Rebecca, Of Mice And Men, Goosebumps[and one that's on the tip of my tounge and is bloddy bugging me...rant over.]

[shipto]

I dunno if it counts as a MA book but it has some silat and capoeira in it Cybernation by tom clancy.

decision's decision's
Has to be lord of the rings I spose but the hobbit and good omens by pratchet and gaiman have to get mentions.

[David]

MA: -
The new Chow gar book I get next Thursday :).

Non-Fiction: -
Meditations on the Tarot: a journey into Christian Hermeticism. 600,000 words of intense, precise and beautiful prose. Written anonymously and posthumously by a French hermetic hermit.
A Course in Miracles. I must get a copy!

Fiction: -
Riddley Walker by Russel Hoban.
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach.
LOTR by Tolkien.
Consider Phlebus by Ian M Banks.
Way fo the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.
+others

Rgds,
David

[ap Oweyn]

It'd be too difficult to choose one favourite book of either sort, but here are some I've dug:

Reading right now: If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. Autobiography of the star of the Evil Dead series and Bubba Hotep. Seriously gang, this guy is a good writer.

Martial arts: I usually skip technique books. So here goes.

In Search of the Warrior Spirit by Richard Strozzi Heckler - A psychologist and aikidoka gets recruited for a research project to determine whether awareness training, meditation, and martial arts could be beneficial to special forces soldiers. The book is a daily journal of that experience.

On Fencing by Aldo Nadi - First printed in 1943, this is one of the most famous treatises on Western fencing ever written.

Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman - True story of an American who goes to China to teach English and learns kungfu (wushu) from Pan Qingfu (the Iron Fist). Great study of Chinese culture through the eyes of a gwailo.

[Jointlock]

Originally posted by ap Oweyn

In Search of the Warrior Spirit by Richard Strozzi Heckler - A psychologist and aikidoka gets recruited for a research project to determine whether awareness training, meditation, and martial arts could be beneficial to special forces soldiers. The book is a daily journal of that experience.

Actually I just bought this book, since you suggested it to me in my journal. I haven't started reading it yet since I've got probably one more night left of reading "The Book of 5 rings" for the first time. But, just from perusing it, it looks like it's full of really good info.

My favorite martial arts book (Philoshophy): Living the Martial Way by Forrest Morgan.

martial arts book (techniques): Hapkido II by Dr. He-Young Kimm.

[Mordred]

Favourite MA book: Anything by Soke Hatsumi

Favourite non-MA book:

Too difficult to choose only one!

LOTR
Dune by Frank Herbert (or for that matter, any of his books)
Any book by Terri Pratchet
Stephen King (not only a horror author - ever read 'the Green Mile' or 'Shawshank redemption' ?)

Originally posted by Kgirl
My favourite non MA book is Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Its really creepy and atmospheric, plus its got a slow build up to a good end. Last time I read it was in a thunderstorm, it was scary as anything! :D

Thomas Harris is a great author - I loved Red Dragon. Must still read Silence of the lambs though.

[ap Oweyn]

Originally posted by Jointlock
Actually I just bought this book, since you suggested it to me in my journal. I haven't started reading it yet since I've got probably one more night left of reading "The Book of 5 rings" for the first time. But, just from perusing it, it looks like it's full of really good info.

My favorite martial arts book (Philoshophy): Living the Martial Way by Forrest Morgan.

martial arts book (techniques): Hapkido II by Dr. He-Young Kimm.

That's right. I did mention it in the journal didn't I. I'd forgotten about that.

I think you'll really dig it. Heckler has a couple of other books out that are well worth reading too.

The Forrest Morgan book is really good too. I'm just a little put off by how readily people bandy around the word 'warrior' now though. Not him specifically. But he's the inspiration for much of what I consider a mislabeling.

Pet peeve. The book itself is really good.

[elMariachi]

Noboy here read The Phat of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
it's a great book .... If just finished it and will start again soon ...
I can just recommend it ;)

[shaolin_hendrix]

My favorite MA book is "There Are No Secrets." It is eye-opening. I'm not sure what my favorite non-MA book is. It depends on if I'm in a Marilyn Manson mood, a Cat Stevens mood, a Led Zeppelin mood, or a Pink Floyd mood.

[Alerten22]

One of my Favorite books is The Road Less Traveled By M. Scott Peck, M.D. as they explain on the front cover A new Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth. It have made me more aware of my problems in my life and made me a better person with less problems and made me understand many different things in life. It is a pertty easy read book i would say around 10th grade level i guess... it is pertty simple to understand in the way it is written i mean but the book has college level words in it so be next to the computer with dictionary.com up and look them up or have a dictionary handy. I have read about half of this book and it is rediculously great book IMHO.

I read a great great book one of the few books i actually read and finished! it is called The Way of the Peacful Warrior. Basically it teaches you about becoming a warrior in anything... how a warrior should act... in the book it applies to becoming a warrior in Gymnastics. It uses a good amount of eastern Philosophy but the way the book it written it is extremely easy to understand. They are going to make a movie from this book in about 3 or 4 months from now. although it might not be nearly as good as the book still i'm sure you will like the movie anyways if you see it. Just think the ability to live like a peacful warrior. I like the fact that it helps you become a Warrior, now you not going around killing people don't get me wrong like that although you are learning in a peacful way to become a warrior to help master whatever you choose i like the idea.

The other book i would recommend is Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu. it is the philosophy of Taoism put into words... i don't think i have the words to explain it but if your any good with Philosophy (VERY VERY HARD BOOK TO FULLY UNDERSTAND JUST A FEW SENTANCES OF THE BOOK) i completely recommend Tao Te Ching. I have yet to finish this book

Another book, that is worth reading weather you fully understand it or not is I AM THAT is conversations with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. Many believe he was a prophet. Although i don't believe he is a prophet. He is known as one of the greatest sages of Indea. This book is considered a "modern spiritual classic" I have yet to finish this book

[Yohan]

Non MA: The Dune Books (the ones by Frank Herbert) are incredible books.

MA book: The only one I've read (and not completely): my Wuzuquan book.

[Gary]

MA - Angry White Pyjamas by Robert Twigger. A great book, and especially eye opening for me as it was completely different to anything I had trained in.

Non MA - Either:
Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. Science Fiction, but fantastically well written and so different in style to so much that is out there.

or

Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon. I have never read anything else in sheer depth and width of conceptual vision like this book. If you want to try something completely different go and find this book.

[Doublejab]

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey was the last MA book I read. Very good and cuts through alot of the popular BS surrounding kung fu. Sid Hoare's The A to Z of Judo is one that I've found very useful to reference holds and throws with.

Gotta be Catch 22 for other books, simply amazing.

[baubin2]

Fav non-ma book... there are so many.

Dune and it's accompanying works, by Frank Herbert. Though sometimes those works can get very convoluted, political, and introspective. Everybody is always plotting, plotting, plotting.

The HP series. Those are fun to read. Especially the later ones, as they have more depth to them. That and Rowling just has a really good sense of humor. Plus she is really good at writing mysteries; her ability to slip in all the clues needed to solve the mystery as inconspicuously as she does is nothing short of amazing.

I have found Dean Koontz to be a good author. All of his works that I have seen so far are good, but I especially liked "Odd Thomas", "Forever Odd" and "Life Expectancy". The first two because of the main character, and the last because of the attitude the main characters take towards life.

Tamora Pierce is good. Her books are filed under the "young adult" section, but don't let that deter you.

Orson Scott Card. All of his books are good, but I think I like his "Ender's Shadow" series best. Ender is better with people, but Bean is smarter :)

Stephen Donaldson. He is one of the few writers I know whose books get better as he goes along, not worse. The first triilogy was okay, except for his hero's complete inability to accept what was happening to him, and him screwing up quite a bit as a result. The second series was immeasurably improved by this lack of dithering. The third series is in progress, and promises to be as good or better than the second series. You can read the serieses independently of each other but not without some difficulty, and the books within each series absolutely cannot stand alone.

Lois McMaster Bujold's "The Vorkosigan Saga". She is another one whose sense of humor I simply love. And the main character is great. A hperactive lunatic with a genius IQ and the mentality of a knight errant. His parents aren't bad either.

There are others of course, but putting them all down here would take all day. And it's 2am here. So I think I am off to bed.