Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia

Editor Green (anthropology, Texas A&M Univ.) and 41 contributors have put together an introduction to nearly 100 martial arts from all over the world. The result is not a comprehensive overview, but it does give the reader a glimpse into martial arts beyond the familiar karate and kung fu. Some articles present a nation's or region's martial arts (Philippines and Africa, for example); others focus on specific martial arts, ranging from the well-known (karate, judo, fencing) to the not-so-known (silat, capoeira, kali, naginata-do) to the historical (dueling, medieval swordsmanship) to philosophical topics (religion and spiritual development, social uses of martial arts). The articles are an uneven mix of scholarly research and popular topics, and many are dryly academic. Martial arts experts will notice some errors and evidence of bias in several articles, but overall this is a useful introduction for martial arts practitioners and general readers. Libraries with a martial arts collection and larger public libraries should acquire this.

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