The following is a list of books I have read and would recommend to those seeking to improve their martial skills. They deal with a variety of areas and even some sport. Yes sport does have application from the standpoint of offering variety in training, keeping skills up and allowing for safe “testing” of some skill sets. But as always, sport in the end has one goal and that is to bring home the hardware. The list is in no particular order or rank:
The Book of Martial Power, Steven J. Pearlman
Street Stoppers, Mark Mireles & Loren W Christensen
Barefoot Zen, Nathan Johnson
Kodo Ancient Ways, Kensho Furuya
Equal or Greater Force, Kit Cessna
The Fighting Arts, Michael Rosenbaum
Comprehensive Karate, Michael Rosenbaum
Meditations on Violence, Rory Miller
Leadership and Training For The Fight, MSG Paul R. Howe
The Tactical Trainer, MSG Paul R. Howe
Martial Arts Instruction, Lawrence A Kane
Unleashing the Warrior Within, Richard J Machowicz
The Karate Way, Dave Lowry
A Professionals Guide to Ending Violence Quickly, Marc MacYoung
On Killing, Lt Col Dave Gossman
On Combat, Lt Col Dave Gossman with Loren W Christensen
Warrior Mindset, Michael J A Asken, PhD, Lt Col Dave Gossman with Loren W Christensen
Lessons From Armed America, Mark Walters & Kathy Jackson
Thinking Body, Dancing Mind, Chungliang Al Huang & Jerry Lynch
Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden
The Way of Kata, Lawrence A Kane & Kris Wilder
The Way to Black Belt, Lawrence A Kane & Kris Wilder
The Little Black Book of Violence, Lawrence A Kane & Kris Wilder
The Art of Fighting Without Fighting, Geoff Thompson
Living The Martial Way, Forrest E Morgan
Martial Arts America, Bob Orlando
The Gift Of Fear, Gavin De Becker
Martial Mechanics, Phillip Starr
Solo Training, Loren W Christensen
Solo Training 2, Loren W Christensen
Shotokan’s Secret: The Hidden Truth Behind Karate’s Fighting Origins, Bruce D Clayton, PhD
Timing in the Fighting Arts, Loren W Christensen & Wim Demeere
Speed Training, Loren W Christensen
The Martial Arts Book of Five Rings, Steve Kaufman
Moving Toward Stillness, Dave Lowry
Verbal Judo, George J Thompson
I Love A Cop, Ellen Kirshman
Deadly Force Encounters, Dr Alexiis Artwohl & Loren W Christensen
Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge, Bruce K Siddle
US Army Ranger Handbook
FM 3-05.301: Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
FM 3-21.75: The Warrior Ethos and Soldier Combat Skills |