Bøker av Mark D Bishop

Progression is a positive trait, as long as one keeps in touch with the past and has a staple backdrop to focus or fall back on. Although the Revised Expanded Third Edition contains all the wording and photographs that are reproduced in both the first edition, as well as this Revised and Expanded Second Edition, it comparatively represents a step into what was, for these latter two books, the future. The year 2019, in which I am writing this foreword, represents respectively 30 years and 20 years into the future since the publication of these two books, so I think this faithful reproduction of the Master Version by Q&I Publications is well timed. For some readers it might bring about nostalgia, for others it might be an eye-opener into a world that is not always truthfully represented, due to commercial or other reasons. For the teachers who I interviewed and have been embodied herein, I hope this Master Version will remain a testament into how they wished to be represented for time immemorial.

For hundreds of thousands of years, Stone Age lithics & the artefacts that the ancestors created with them were their survival, but the same stones also provided a means of artistic expression. Far, far longer than the Age of Metals has been with us, stone was the force to be reckoned with. Hard sarsen sandstone, granite, obsidian glass & flint were but some of the natural rock materials used for hunting, slicing meat, preparing skins & for everyday chores. These visceral stones, microliths & megaliths alike, provided the cold, hard facts of physical, temporal existence for the ancestors, yet the very same rocks, on an even broader scale, were sourced & modified to express their moods, feelings, loves & heart-felt beliefs, for time immemorial.Long ignored for far too long, Stone Age rock art needs to be recognised for its cultural & aesthetic value, to help remove the stigma of the Stone Age as being inhabited by club-wielding brutes without wit or fantasy. Our ancestors were artists who expressed themselves through the medium of stone. They used expressionism, cubism, art nouveau & art deco, long before it was reinvented & they used all these artforms & more to express their beliefs in a universal deity represented by reverence toward the mammoth & the giant forest elephant. While outlining Stone Age Rock art as a whole, this work delves into the lives, loves & fantasies of our forebears, lighting up the night sky in the world of mysteries as they interpreted the heavens.

FIND CONFIDENCE in SELF-DEFENCECulture is a transient beast; it is ever-changing and always evolving into new 'traditions'. Martial culture and values are no less so and are constantly being upgraded with the varying conditions of society. Likewise, personal self-defence needs to move with the times. Following suggestions from the publisher and interested readers, this work is the amalgamation of two previous books by the author in the "Karate, kobudo & Te" series "(Book One & Book Two)" on decoding self-defence for everyone. It puts the science thereof into dual perspective.Both former books are reproduced herein as Part One and Part Two, with some editing of the original text, the addition of a General Foreword and the revamping of the Epilogue Notes. It is believed that this two-in-one, united arrangement will be extremely helpful for those wishing to learn practical self-defence in an ever-changing and challenging world. The work is also an invaluable textbook for serious martial-arts' teachers, researchers and trainees, as well as for those who seek better personal protection in the street.

Ancestry is fascinating. Like fingerprints and DNA, each of our ancestors has individual traits and each has a unique story to tell within the interlinked webs they have created, or which have unavoidably been created by others at their expense. This work focuses on some of the closeted stories I uncovered on my journey through the ancestral mire. They are stories that, when shared, will expectantly become a therapy, not only for the ancestors, but for the reader as well. Please join me therefore in this voyage through the underworld of the past, via the present, to a more enlightened future, for there can be no shame, or dishonour, in uncovering truths in order to loosen the links of the karmic chains of the ancestors, so that they (and ultimately us) can become unfettered from the past.

Explosively direct: Always one to stand his ground for technical reality and historical fact, this work reflects the quality and sheer scale of information in the author's previous works. Poignant questions are asked, debates are raised and down-to-earth, enlightening answers are given. Much of what is considered to be tradition by many a karate-ka is shown to be not necessarily the case. If you think the closed-fist punch is standard fair, read the facts. If you have been taught that karate is an ancient Japanese art founded on violence, reconsider the fiction. If you think karate training is for self-development, absorb the wisdom. If you seek the truth about zen, enjoy the magic. Packed with until now undisclosed information, this book leads the way for the mature karate-ka to discover those hidden treasures that lie beneath the surface. Fifty years of training will give any teacher insights and Mark D Bishop has more than most to offer. Read, absorb, be enriched & uncover your true self, through karate

Zen Bodywork Dynamics is a natural, martial-arts-based, hands-on method of helping to restore health in a holistic way. It corresponds with other martial-arts training, which it is seen as complementing - whatever the style. Thumbs, hands, elbows and feet, etc. are used to apply pressure and relieve pent-up stress in the format of: Relax, Release & Let Go. Many trainees have benefitted from its wisdom, as have thousands of members of the public - the book is highly recommended.

In this work, the reader is directed to Claydon village in rural Suffolk. Here the Morgan family of the author's memory lived, worked and propagated. Life was generally good with some up-and-downs, as these Morgans were descended from the minor gentry of Suffolk who originally hailed from Ipswich. Yet the Morgan Bloodline in the 19th and 20th centuries was ruled by trades people; the butchers & blacksmiths of the village, each with his business at the other end of town. Butcher by trade, but not by temperament and sporting the name Winfred Edward Mosart Morgan, this great-grandfather had had much trauma in his early life, but was fun to be with. Even then, he would never admit that he and the Morgan blacksmith family down the lane were distant cousins. Musical flair was in the church-going family who were integral to village life, but tragedy was never far away, as attested by the Henry Moore sculpture that graced their local church before strangely being moved to nearby Barham. Oh yes, there was money, too!

Ancestry is a dual aspect entity, both private and public. It is private because it is personal. It is public because the stories of the ancestors need to be told. This work deals with both these aspects, while recording the facts for the family researcher and putting across the stories and lives that shaped the ancestors and how they saw and understood the world around them. One should never be ashamed of one's ancestors, for we have no more a right to judge them than they have to judge us. Yes, they really do live among us and they really do affect us from beyond the grave, not only with the material goods they leave us, but also with the karma that is passed down to us. It is our job, the living, to deal with this karma, to dig out the hidden aspects of our ancestors' lives that society and culture would not allow them to express. Seen through her eyes, Volume IV is the life & ancestry, the somewhat sad story, of that 19th-century matriarch of the Parr family, dear Florence -bless her tender heart.