Review of Jonathan Bluestein's "Research of Martial Arts"
I occasionally receive books for review and I can privately say that in many cases they turn out to be disappointing. Others are, however, the complete opposite. This is the case with Jonathan Bluestein's Research of Martial Arts. To call this work "epic" would be understated. What Jonathan has done is really quite unique - and that is put down what appears to be his life's study into external and internal martial arts styles into book form. If anything, it shows the depth and breadth of Jonathan's knowledge. In Part 1 Jonathan does a comprehensive dissection of the fundamental differences between the "external" and "internal" traditions of the Chinese (and related Okinawan and Japanese) martial arts. While I have my own ideas on this topic and they vary from Jonathan's here and there, I couldn't fault his thorough and thoughtful treatment of this topic within his own paradigm. I'm fairly sure that there will be legions ...