The Essence of Martial Arts: Making your Skills Work in Practice

by John Hennessy

In this guide, author John Hennessy presents a concise, to-the-point volume on martial arts written from the perspective of prospective students to help make sense of complicated routines that remained reserved for senior martial arts students. The Essence of Martial Arts is an easy-to-read instructional guide to mastering the more difficult maneuvers and then applying them to real-world scenarios. You may be new to martial arts, experienced, or somewhere in between. Perhaps you've never been to a dojo, dojang or kwoon, or perhaps you spend a large portion of your time at one of them. Whatever the case, you will be able to pick up the elements of martial arts quickly and put them to use. This guide covers the basics, but also addresses more specific approaches for fighting and self-defense. So jump right in. With good guidance, it's not difficult to achieve excellence in martial arts if you absolutely commit to doing so.

Genres: Martial Arts

164 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2011

About the author

John Hennessy is the British author of paranormal fantasy horror for YA, psychological horror and murder mysteries, plus his own unique take on vampire lore. He has also written ghost stories and delved into high epic fantasy with a hint of romance.

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John is an international best selling author. The Ghost of Normandy Road reached Number One for British Horror Fiction in July 2020 on Amazon.com, Children of the Dark Light also topped the charts for the same category in August 2020.

His 2015 YA Horror novel, The Ghost of Normandy Road: Haunted Minds I won the Silver Award for its category at the 2016 Readers Favourite International Book Contest.

His 2018 Non-fiction work, The Mastery of Martial Arts: End Fights in Seconds, had a featured review in the prestigious and highly respected Wing Chun Illustrated magazine (Issue 53 April 2020 edition)

A TALE OF VAMPIRES: SERIES - for anyone new to the author's series, this is the sugested reading order:-

Prequel: Dawn of the New Breed
I: Murderous Little Darlings
Murderous Little Christmas Darlings (2022)
II: The Blood and the Raven (Free to subscribers)
III: Innocent While She Sleeps
IV: Dream the Crow's Black Dream
V: Reunion of the Blood
VI: Our Hearts Go to Their Graves

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Reviews

[Max Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give this book five stars. Despite a brief encounter with Judo as a boy, I am or was ignorant of all things kicky-boxy-throwey-chopey. There that confirms it. John Hennessey has written such a well put together book, simple, great easy to follow structure, what I must assume is good advice and direction although without the expert knowledge I am bowing to the man as being correct in all he has written. Taking as a given that he is an expert, her certainly sounds like one. Such an odd book for me to read yet I completely enjoyed it. I think fundamentally the physical make up of the chapters, the short passages, clear instruction, advice, tips and general background to the various forms of martial arts just makes this a fantastic example of how such a book should be written. I may not engage in the arts but I appreciate a well written book when I read it. If you want to be informed on all things kickey-boxey- throwey-chopey and maybe even learn something.. I doubt you'll find better.

[Adriana Girolami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I have always being interested in "Martial Arts" I was attracted to this book, which proved to be very interesting. It is informative, easy to read and appropriate for people of all ages who are interested in physical fitness and how to become more adept in Martial Arts. The book will help the confidence of all those who aspire to train in the sport. John Hennessy appears to be a very skilled and knowledgeable instructor, and I would certainly recommend this book to Martial Art aficionados!

[Charlotte Marie Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for the kindle edition of the book. I think while we are waiting some time the long promised bigger book on martial arts by the author; it is great to have this updated version of the book from a few years ago.

I like that it retains the original content and sections, but adds more that real practitioners are gonna want to read.

I really like the extra chapters too, and it gives you a good kick up the butt if you wanna ex out of training for a day.

I don' think this is filler. It's a worthy martial arts book in its own right and the best text on martial arts philosophy out there, and i really mean that.

[Donna O'neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm liking the edits and enhancements you made on the original John, though it's not a patch on the special edition. I think I would say to readers to give this one a miss if they have the special version, but I do like this version too. You have really captured the 'Essence'. Martial artists and newbies can learn much from this and the price is a puller too.

[Charlotte Marie Henley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is as good as the original, with the extra bits not added before. I'll admit I'm waiting for the special edition, which is supposed to be the much extended version. But you can't go wrong with the advice here. Great book.

[Eric Lahti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent a large amount of time in the Japanese and Okinawan arts (Shodinji Do, Kenjutsu) and the Asian-American fused Kenpo, but don’t know a whole about the Chinese arts, so this was an interesting read to me. When you get right down to it, martial arts are martial arts and while they may look different, they all share certain similarities. A punch is just a punch, a kick is just a kick as Bruce Lee would say.

John Hennessy has spent decades studying and teaching martial arts and I found his insights fascinating, especially the parts about training. The Essence of Martial Arts is, in some ways, Hennessy’s notebook about his travels. Even if you’re not interested in the martial arts (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be), this is just a good book to read to understand why people study fighting even when they’re not really interested in fighting. There are stories of how and why he started studying, where it’s come in handy in real-life situations, and some of the things he’s found as he’s traveled the path.

If you’re thinking about studying martial arts, this is a good place to start; Hennessy knows his material and presents it in an understandable way without resorting to nonsense. He’s also one of the few martial artists I’ve read who is smart enough to draw a distinction between what we do in sparring and what we do in real life. If you’re more advanced, The Essence of Martial Arts is still a good read because no matter how much experience you’ve got, you’ll still find something useful in here.

[Katerina Sestakova novotna · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book the author tries to extract the essence of martial arts, which often eludes both beginners and experts. That is why it is suitable for all kinds of readers. It may help an experienced fighter to pause and reflect on his methodology, but there is a lot in it for the novices as well -- e.g. a chapter about Self-Defense Principles for Women.

I am not a martial artist, but my son has been doing many kinds of martial arts for 9 years (since he was five). He has been training with adult men since he was 11, so I do know many martial artists and am not totally unfamiliar with the basics.

Nonetheless, it takes a special talent to identify and describe the essence of martial arts. I think that John Hennessy has done a great job. He tells us how to recognize a good coach or choose a martial arts class. He also lists many specific tips regarding exercise and techniques. He gives us different tips on competition and on self-defense. He even discusses the ethics of martial arts.

I especially enjoyed the fascinating glimpses into the author’s own personal journey. Without them, the book could become too technical and dry. John Hennessy’s account of his own motivation, first attempts and later success in Kung Fu, Karate, Tai Chi and Jeet Kune Do illustrate well what he means by passion and dedication, which are necessary ingredients of any serious martial arts endeavor.

The powerful picture on the cover reflects the spirit of the whole book: it’s deeply personal yet applicable and interesting to other people.

[Joseph Machney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of martial arts and have practiced it in my youth and now again have picked it up the past couple years, studying Jeet Kune Do. Having taken a spiritual path in my life and juxtaposed what I have embodied through the spiritual experiences as well as understanding the importance of martial arts in one's life, I have found that John's understanding of martial arts and the overall importance that it can play in the growth of a spirit having a human experience to be essential to one's self-confidence and self-understanding. There is so much more to martial arts then just the technique and I feel that John brings that through very well. He covers all the areas that I felt are important, from my understanding, and has also broadened my awareness of other methodologies and helped me to revisit my past experiences with karate and to see why such practices were instructed onto me. I would recommend this book to anyone who follows martial arts and to those seeking an enlightening perspective from a compassionate instructor. Well done John!