Norman: Fighting Man of Japan
Book Review
NORMAN F. J.; "The Fighting Man of Japan: The Training
and Exercises of the Samurai" (1905) Archibald Constable & Co
Ltd
Peter Clarke (2011)
The book is one of the early publications in English on Japanese
martial arts. The author was a former British Army cavalryman
who went to Japan in 1888. He taught at the Naval academy in
Etajima. Whilst in Japan he studied jujutsu and kenjutsu ;
possibly the first Englishman to do so. He is briefly
referred to in Harrison's book "the Fighting Spirit of Japan".[1]
The interesting thing about these early publications is often
how influential some of them have been in forming the accepted
wisdom about the history and development of such matters.
Once they get traction, even if new and more authoritative
information comes to light, many of the conceptions (whether right
or wrong) continue to stubbornly persist.
The book was first published in 1905. It is available to
read and download online, by going to any of the
following:
http://www.archive.org/details/fightingmanofjap00norm
openlibrary.org link
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34595788/1905-The-Fighting-Man-of-Japan-The-Japanese-School-oF-Ju-Jitsu
Unfortunately, the online versions are incomplete with omissions
in the section dealing with jujutsu. The second mentioned
online source has the most complete version. A recently
republished version is available for purchase at online
bookstores.
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