An unrivaled overview of the history and philosophy of martial arts. Martial arts have become increasingly popular in North America over the past century. Yet few books for children present an overview of the history and philosophy of these ancient disciplines. The Martial Arts Book does just that. Learn about the samurai who preferred to use strategy over violence and who were trained to pay attention to the sound of breathing or the movement of joints to tell if someone was asleep or just pretending. Meet the female ninjas known as Deadly Flowers, and the last ninja, Seiko Fujita (1899-1966), who stuck needles in his skin and ate rat poison, lizards, and even a brick to learn to withstand pain and poison. A concluding chapter will help in choosing the right style and school of martial arts for you. Key Features - unique book on a popular subject - a comprehensive overview of the martial arts from their origin and philosophy to the evolution of styles, the use of weapons, and martial arts today - sidebars with interesting anecdotes - color illustrations - foreign names and terminology are followed by the phonetic pronunciation in parentheses