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Legends of the Martial Arts Masters
Whether you're an inspiring black belt or just a fan of martial arts action, you'll enjoy this collection of twenty exciting stories about the great heroes of the martial arts.
The stories include dramatic victories, wily strategies, and triumphs over long odds--from the great Tsukahara Bokuden's cunning defeat of a troublemaking samurai to Wing Chun's brave self-defense against a brutish warlord. Children can read about Robert Trias, known as the "father of American karate" and Miyamoto Musashi, known as the "greatest sword fighter in history" and the author of the bestselling Book of Five Rings .
Filled with action and amazing feats of martial arts wizardry, Legends of the Martial Arts Masters will inspire readers with stories of courage, combat, and self-discovery. Stories include:
The stories include dramatic victories, wily strategies, and triumphs over long odds--from the great Tsukahara Bokuden's cunning defeat of a troublemaking samurai to Wing Chun's brave self-defense against a brutish warlord. Children can read about Robert Trias, known as the "father of American karate" and Miyamoto Musashi, known as the "greatest sword fighter in history" and the author of the bestselling Book of Five Rings .
Filled with action and amazing feats of martial arts wizardry, Legends of the Martial Arts Masters will inspire readers with stories of courage, combat, and self-discovery. Stories include:
- GenresMartial Arts
120 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2003
About the author
Susan Lynn Peterson
16 books10 followersMy name is Susan Lynn Peterson. On most days you'll find me behind my computer writing or out in the garden growing vegetables. I love a good carrot, a good day at the lake, and a good dvd (preferably with horseradish potato chips and homemade hard apple cider). I enjoy Tai Chi and karate, am hugely impressed by the way regular acupuncture and Chinese herbs have improved my life, and have never met a cat I couldn't enjoy a conversation with. I tend to make sense of my life in terms of lagom (a Swedish word, which when fleshed out a bit means something like "the art of moderation"). And I was green long before it was trendy.
As for my writing, I'm working on a new edition of "Legends of the Martial Arts Masters" and a novel tentatively titled "How I became a Middle-Aged Warrior on my Summer Vacation".
As for my writing, I'm working on a new edition of "Legends of the Martial Arts Masters" and a novel tentatively titled "How I became a Middle-Aged Warrior on my Summer Vacation".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 3, 2015
This book consists of 21 short stories from the lives of martial arts masters: some modern, some historical, and some anonymous folktales with unknown origins. The majority of the stories are about Japanese or Okinawan martial artists, but Chinese, Thai, American, and Koreans are also represented.
These stories can be roughly grouped by theme (though they aren’t organized in that way in the book and some stories cut across more than one of the themes.) The first theme is peacefulness, non-violence, or minimization of violence. This idea is central to the stories featuring Tsukahara Bokuden and his school of “no sword,” Yasutsune Itosu who invites an attacker for tea, Hisamori Takenouchi who is taught the folly of war by an old man, and Gichin Funokoshi who gives robbers cake.
The second theme is the power of an immovable mindset. This can be seen in the story of the sumo wrestler Onami who had to overcome a stint of choking, the parable of the tea master who is challenged to a duel and is advised by a swordsmanship teacher to take up the sword with the mindset with which he takes up his tea utensils, and the tale of the unbreakable prisoner Gogen Yamaguchi. There are also stories about the ability to win by preventing the opponent from achieving this mindset. This was most famously achieved by Miyamoto Musashi (on several occasions,) but it’s also seen in the story about an archer who is unable to make a shot from a perilous position even though the shot wouldn’t be a hard one for him from stable ground.
The third theme is the importance of the student/teacher relationship and the value of a teacher’s wisdom. This can be seen in the stories about American Karate founder Robert Trias and his experience with the master who wanted to trade him Hsing-I lessons for his own boxing lessons, about Morihei Ueshiba’s demystification of mysteries that perplexed his students, and about Chatan Yara’s reversal of a would-be student’s tactic.
The final story theme deals with the virtue of being diligent in one’s training. These include the amazing feats of the likes of Sokon Matsumura (an Okinawan fighter who fought a bull), Nai Khanom Tom (a Muay Thai legend who defeated twelve of Burma’s best fighters in rapid succession), and Mas Oyama who sentenced himself to training exile for what most would consider a minute infraction. There are other tales in this category such as how Duk Ki Song and other Korean students practiced secretly under a martial arts prohibition or how Yim Wing Chun got out of an arranged marriage to a cad through her diligent training.
This is a short book (about 120 pages) and most stories are only 4 to 6 pages. If you are a long-time practitioner of martial arts, you’ll probably have heard some of these stories, but you’re also likely to come across something new. There are obscure tales intertwined with one so popular it’s been made into multiple movies (e.g. Mu-lan.)
It should be noted that this is more of a collection of morality tales than historical accounts. One shouldn’t take these stories as established history as opposed to mythology or folktales. To her credit, Peterson leaves tales like the parable of the tea master and the tale of the three sons anonymous. Famous martial artists, like Miyamoto Musashi, are often cast into these stories either because people read a fictional account that borrowed from folktales, to lend more power to the story, or because the facts have become muddled in retelling. However, for example, the chapter on the Bodhidharma is most likely wrong. (The consensus view among historians is that Bodhidharma didn’t introduce martial arts to the Shaolin temple as is popularly thought, and that the popular myth is the result of revisionist history.) That doesn’t mean the story doesn’t have virtue—it’s got great hang time for some reason.
I’d recommend this book for martial artists who are interested in the philosophy and ethos of the martial arts. It’s a quick and easy read.
These stories can be roughly grouped by theme (though they aren’t organized in that way in the book and some stories cut across more than one of the themes.) The first theme is peacefulness, non-violence, or minimization of violence. This idea is central to the stories featuring Tsukahara Bokuden and his school of “no sword,” Yasutsune Itosu who invites an attacker for tea, Hisamori Takenouchi who is taught the folly of war by an old man, and Gichin Funokoshi who gives robbers cake.
The second theme is the power of an immovable mindset. This can be seen in the story of the sumo wrestler Onami who had to overcome a stint of choking, the parable of the tea master who is challenged to a duel and is advised by a swordsmanship teacher to take up the sword with the mindset with which he takes up his tea utensils, and the tale of the unbreakable prisoner Gogen Yamaguchi. There are also stories about the ability to win by preventing the opponent from achieving this mindset. This was most famously achieved by Miyamoto Musashi (on several occasions,) but it’s also seen in the story about an archer who is unable to make a shot from a perilous position even though the shot wouldn’t be a hard one for him from stable ground.
The third theme is the importance of the student/teacher relationship and the value of a teacher’s wisdom. This can be seen in the stories about American Karate founder Robert Trias and his experience with the master who wanted to trade him Hsing-I lessons for his own boxing lessons, about Morihei Ueshiba’s demystification of mysteries that perplexed his students, and about Chatan Yara’s reversal of a would-be student’s tactic.
The final story theme deals with the virtue of being diligent in one’s training. These include the amazing feats of the likes of Sokon Matsumura (an Okinawan fighter who fought a bull), Nai Khanom Tom (a Muay Thai legend who defeated twelve of Burma’s best fighters in rapid succession), and Mas Oyama who sentenced himself to training exile for what most would consider a minute infraction. There are other tales in this category such as how Duk Ki Song and other Korean students practiced secretly under a martial arts prohibition or how Yim Wing Chun got out of an arranged marriage to a cad through her diligent training.
This is a short book (about 120 pages) and most stories are only 4 to 6 pages. If you are a long-time practitioner of martial arts, you’ll probably have heard some of these stories, but you’re also likely to come across something new. There are obscure tales intertwined with one so popular it’s been made into multiple movies (e.g. Mu-lan.)
It should be noted that this is more of a collection of morality tales than historical accounts. One shouldn’t take these stories as established history as opposed to mythology or folktales. To her credit, Peterson leaves tales like the parable of the tea master and the tale of the three sons anonymous. Famous martial artists, like Miyamoto Musashi, are often cast into these stories either because people read a fictional account that borrowed from folktales, to lend more power to the story, or because the facts have become muddled in retelling. However, for example, the chapter on the Bodhidharma is most likely wrong. (The consensus view among historians is that Bodhidharma didn’t introduce martial arts to the Shaolin temple as is popularly thought, and that the popular myth is the result of revisionist history.) That doesn’t mean the story doesn’t have virtue—it’s got great hang time for some reason.
I’d recommend this book for martial artists who are interested in the philosophy and ethos of the martial arts. It’s a quick and easy read.
December 8, 2012
"Legends of the Martial Arts Masters" by Susan Lynn Peterson is a quiet breeze on a gorgeous day in the early Spring. Refreshing it brings hints, whispers, seeds of things to come. Susan Lynn Peterson collected a series of twenty-one legends. Each one concerned core ideals and deeper philosophies which are the "life blood" of true martial arts practice(s).
Though the tales and stories collected are clearly not "new" the collection of them in one place is somewhat uncommon. Richard Kim, Paul Reps, Susan Ribner, Peter Urban, John F. Gilby (aka Robert Smith), Pascal Fauliot, Peter Lewis, Shoshin Nagamine true all have written similar stories. But unlike Fauliot, Gilby (and others), Peterson does not interrupt these tales to comment upon the lessons offered. Such reflection is left to the reader, and the reader alone.
Deeper cultural context, a more thorough explanation of assorted ideas, terms used within such stories are often mandatory. Yet largely without them, Peterson's stories stand strongly on their own power, unbolstered. A paragraph at most is given, then the retelling of the legend begins anew. Peterson's style of writing does not hide behind foreign terminology. When used, a term or concept is weaved into the story and explained smoothly. Sadly this is a rare occurrence for too many contemporary martial authors.
One complaint, tales of female martial artists are too few. The 6th century poem and tales of "Mu-lan" and the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui's legendary creation of the Wing Chun art are the two stories commonly told. Peterson retells them as well. But far more should have been found! If a modern "legend" concerning Robert Trias's life was used surely others could have been located concerning modern/ancient female martial artists. Surely more than two stories exist.
Any tales of the Japanese "Onna bugeisha" (female warriors) could have been added easily. Legends of White Crane Boxing or any number of other chinese arts could have been explored for the addition of other legends of female practitioners.
However tales included in this book are of Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura , Sumo Wrestling, Robert Trias (Shurei-Ryu Karate), the Three Sons legend, Tsukahara Bokuden, Yasutsune "Ankoh" Itosu, the ballad of Mu-lan. Nai Khanom Tom (Muay Thai), Ng Mui (Wing Chun), Tamo (the Eighteen Hands), Miyamoto Musashi, Hisamori Takenouchi (Jujitsu), Gichen Funakoshi (Shotokan), Morihei Ueshiba (Aikido), Masutatsu Mas Oyama (Kyokushinkai), Chatan Yara, Gogen Yamaguchi (Japanese Gojuryu), Duk Ki Song (TaeKyon), Kyudo (Japanese Archery), and a final modern story extolling the virtue of persistence.
Such stories are told and varied in many books and publications. The inclusion of the final story "Fifty Thousand High Blocks" a modern story written by Peterson (?) is perhaps the weakest of the collection. Peterson seems to contend these legends are valuable not when they move us by the actions of its characters but instead when they drive us to reflect on our own greater capacities. If this is a fair assessment, the final story in her book just did not "reach" that bar. It was a fine story but just not excessively compelling to move a reader young or old.
Additional stories about Hwarang Do, Tang Soo Do, Krav Maga dozens of potential arts and their respective legends is an almost endless list. But others arts could surely have been added or substituted with impunity.
Peterson wrote a book with startling skill. Minor tweaks will make it superlative!
Though the tales and stories collected are clearly not "new" the collection of them in one place is somewhat uncommon. Richard Kim, Paul Reps, Susan Ribner, Peter Urban, John F. Gilby (aka Robert Smith), Pascal Fauliot, Peter Lewis, Shoshin Nagamine true all have written similar stories. But unlike Fauliot, Gilby (and others), Peterson does not interrupt these tales to comment upon the lessons offered. Such reflection is left to the reader, and the reader alone.
Deeper cultural context, a more thorough explanation of assorted ideas, terms used within such stories are often mandatory. Yet largely without them, Peterson's stories stand strongly on their own power, unbolstered. A paragraph at most is given, then the retelling of the legend begins anew. Peterson's style of writing does not hide behind foreign terminology. When used, a term or concept is weaved into the story and explained smoothly. Sadly this is a rare occurrence for too many contemporary martial authors.
One complaint, tales of female martial artists are too few. The 6th century poem and tales of "Mu-lan" and the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui's legendary creation of the Wing Chun art are the two stories commonly told. Peterson retells them as well. But far more should have been found! If a modern "legend" concerning Robert Trias's life was used surely others could have been located concerning modern/ancient female martial artists. Surely more than two stories exist.
Any tales of the Japanese "Onna bugeisha" (female warriors) could have been added easily. Legends of White Crane Boxing or any number of other chinese arts could have been explored for the addition of other legends of female practitioners.
However tales included in this book are of Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura , Sumo Wrestling, Robert Trias (Shurei-Ryu Karate), the Three Sons legend, Tsukahara Bokuden, Yasutsune "Ankoh" Itosu, the ballad of Mu-lan. Nai Khanom Tom (Muay Thai), Ng Mui (Wing Chun), Tamo (the Eighteen Hands), Miyamoto Musashi, Hisamori Takenouchi (Jujitsu), Gichen Funakoshi (Shotokan), Morihei Ueshiba (Aikido), Masutatsu Mas Oyama (Kyokushinkai), Chatan Yara, Gogen Yamaguchi (Japanese Gojuryu), Duk Ki Song (TaeKyon), Kyudo (Japanese Archery), and a final modern story extolling the virtue of persistence.
Such stories are told and varied in many books and publications. The inclusion of the final story "Fifty Thousand High Blocks" a modern story written by Peterson (?) is perhaps the weakest of the collection. Peterson seems to contend these legends are valuable not when they move us by the actions of its characters but instead when they drive us to reflect on our own greater capacities. If this is a fair assessment, the final story in her book just did not "reach" that bar. It was a fine story but just not excessively compelling to move a reader young or old.
Additional stories about Hwarang Do, Tang Soo Do, Krav Maga dozens of potential arts and their respective legends is an almost endless list. But others arts could surely have been added or substituted with impunity.
Peterson wrote a book with startling skill. Minor tweaks will make it superlative!
December 1, 2014
Peterson fleshes out some fairly popular legends of the martial arts, building the legends beyond their standard boundaries. She takes the view of an omniscient narrator and adds even more fictional events and dialogue.
This would make an interesting book for a kid who was in grades 5-9. The prose is unsophisticated and simple to read. The stories would pique the interests of a credulous teen. More skeptical martial artists like myself might use the accounts to call in to question the mystical martial arts skills presented in the stories.
This would make an interesting book for a kid who was in grades 5-9. The prose is unsophisticated and simple to read. The stories would pique the interests of a credulous teen. More skeptical martial artists like myself might use the accounts to call in to question the mystical martial arts skills presented in the stories.
July 26, 2015
The Asian martial arts teach much beyond fighting skill. These legends show discipline, respect, honor, friendship, and duty, among other attributes. They emphasize that ability and skill are to serve some higher purpose. We see warriors who exemplify those virtues and those who lack them. Some of these "legends" have a comical aspect and some are somber, but all lend themselves to discussion.
It should lend itself to discussion among student, master and parents. For older readers of these stories, there will be an awareness of their limitations in style and general satisfaction.
It should lend itself to discussion among student, master and parents. For older readers of these stories, there will be an awareness of their limitations in style and general satisfaction.
January 11, 2017
Legends of the Martial Arts Masters by Susan Lynn Peterson is a collection of short stories about famous martial artists. Some of the stories, particularly the ancient ones, are rather fantastic and no one really knows if they happened or not. The stories are very short and interesting. This is a great book for anyone studying martial arts.
November 17, 2010
some thoughts:
"The Style of No Sword" is a great story, but only works because they are in a boat!
Enjoyed "Fifty Thousand High Blocks" too! Unfortunate teaching style for those shools, but led to a great punch line and a valuable lesson.
"The Style of No Sword" is a great story, but only works because they are in a boat!
Enjoyed "Fifty Thousand High Blocks" too! Unfortunate teaching style for those shools, but led to a great punch line and a valuable lesson.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews