[.ca] Martial Arts Of Ancient Greece (ISBN 1594771928)

A Stellar Martial Art Historical Study and Technical Manual:
In a single word, this book is outstanding. It is well worth its price, being both more interesting and more comprehensive than similar volumes, while also being cheaper. Although I know the author and have read his previous works, this book was an unexpected surprise as I only realized that it was him as I was standing in the store and leafing through the books pages, suddenly recognizing the author in the various photos. Thus, I had no preconceived expectations or bias towards the book. Although my entire review can be summed up in the first sentence, below are the detailed strengths and weaknesses that I have found in this publication: Strengths: 1. Literary Style: The book is written in an easy to understand writing style that is accessible to both amateurs and professional martial artists regardless of their age (teens and above), which makes it a great introductory book for younger adults that should get a well-rounded understanding of the combat arts before committing themselves to any one style or skill type. 2. Illustrations: The photos and illustrations are clear and easy to follow. In addition, the photos of historical images are also very clear and the tying in of historical images (i.e. ancient paintings/sculptures of Greek warriors engaged in martial techniques) with photos depicting the techniques modern equivalent are one of the books greatest strengths. 3. Historical Detail: Tying into the above comment, the historical facts, figures and examples that the book brings forth are excellent. They give a real understanding of the background of ancient Greek martial sports and martial arts and how this is linked to the martial arts of the present day. 4. Technical Relevance: The publication contains numerous martial techniques that are clearly depicted, easily reproducible by any reader with a base level of skill and are relevant for both those interested in martial sports and/or actual personal combat, of which the book makes a clear and explained distinction. This is yet another one of its strengths, the fact that it easily shows the reader that those techniques that are effective in martial sports (i.e. MMA) are not necessarily applicable to actual combat and can be quite dangerous if applied to a life-and-death situation, thus helping to weaken the modern illusion that current Mixed Martial Art competitions are somehow the equivalent of actual combat. 5. Factual: Quite simply, the book uses various footnotes and academic backing to support its claims. This provides more credibility to the authors statements and deductions. 6. Unique: Although not the only book in existence that pertains to the martial arts of Ancient Greece and its surrounding Mediterranean neighbours, the way this book synthesizes historical facts with modern techniques provides it with a unique flavour that is a welcome change to the many martial art books that are focused on only one specific aspect of their art. Weaknesses: 1. Length: I found the book to be slightly too short and certain sections could have used further detail, but there are two factors that mitigate this as a weakness. The first is that for individuals that are only interested in certain areas of knowledge, be it martial techniques or martial history or religious-martial links, the condensed aspect of each section helps to ensure that the entire book does not get bogged down by any specific section. The second mitigating factor is that the authors already stated that a second book is in the works, so anyone craving more should keep their eyes out for that volume and will be able to get more details from there. Covering historical facts, spiritual ideas and ethical theories that link to the martial arts, while also being filled with highly effective and applicable techniques, this is a book that sets a standard for other modern martial arts publications to follow. I highly recommend it for anyone from the amateur martial artist to the professional to those simply interested in the historical and non-technical aspects of personal combat. If you have any questions before purchasing it that have not been answered above, please let me know and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Rados D. Miksa Kingston, Ontario Canada miksard@hotmail.com