Kata and the Transmission of Knowledge : In Traditional Martial Arts

Rating:
Summary: Best One Yet!
Review: Mr. Rosenbaum,
I have enjoyed all your books but this is the Best One Yet. You keep getting better as a writer and the addition of the drawings adds another dimension.

I am hoping there is another one in the works.
-An Avid Reader

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary research; important insight
Review: This work is a thinking person's guide to martial erudition rather than a "how to" book about combat technique. Through Rosenbaum's words, we learn the power of kata (patterns of movements containing a series of logical and practical offensive and defensive techniques) to transmit proven methodologies from one generation to the next. This brilliantly researched tome provides important insight into the history and development of martial arts - both military and civilian. It is more of a textbook than a light afternoon read, yet it provides fantastic insight into the views and ethics of societies that created the fighting forms that many of us practice today. I learned a lot from it.

There is one flaw in this work which, though not significant, is pretty annoying: there are 43 illustrations, more than half of which are truly awful. It would have been better off without most of them. Now that I got that off my chest, the main theme of the book is that through understanding the evolution of an art form and how martial knowledge is transmitted via kata, practitioners build a greater appreciation of their art and what it truly means to practice it. The author leads us through a journey back in time, where we see consistent evidence of martial systems being influenced by those that came before and/or invaded. Rosenbaum demonstrates that katas in one form or another were used by ancient Greek, Egyptian, Asian, African, and European societies, and that poetry, dance, and song were also significant methods of preserving and transmitting battle-tested fighting strategies and tactics across the ages.

Michael Rosenbaum really knows his stuff. He began his martial arts training at the age of five. Along with Isshin Ryu karate, which he has been practicing for 25 years, he has studied Bando, Judo, and Boxing. Rosenbaum is former member of the elite 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, and has completed Infantry, Airborne, and Jungle Warfare Schools. I found his work extremely well researched and informative.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory and Communication Techniques in the Dojo

...by the way, if you do want a "how to" book to add to this one, check out 'Bunkai-Jutsu' by Iain Abernethy. It's absolutely outstanding!