12 Best Martial Arts Books
We analyzed 5+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 12 best martial arts books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Martial Arts books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best martial arts books" and study the top 5+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
12 Best Martial Arts Books
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Tao of Jeet Kune Do
Also recommended by
1 person
Ed Latimore recommended this bookEd Latimore
"For your body." - Ed Latimore
Ed Latimore's recommendation of this book
The Book of Five Rings
Also recommended by
6 people
Joe Rogan recommended this bookJoe Rogan
"Increased my focus in all disciplines I pursue. It’s some undeniably inspiring shit, and I can’t recommend it enough." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book 
Jocko Willink recommended this bookJocko Willink
Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 80
Jocko Willink's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Holiday recommended this bookRyan Holiday
Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
Ryan Holiday's recommendation of this book 
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant tweeted about this book.
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
PewDiePie recommended this bookPewDiePie
"This is like the coolest book ever!" - PewDiePie
PewDiePie's recommendation of this book 
Lex Fridman recommended this bookLex Fridman
Lex Fridman mentioned this book on Instagram.
Lex Fridman's recommendation of this book
The Art Of War
Also recommended by
12 people- Jocko Willink recommended this book
Jocko Willink
Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 23
Jocko Willink's recommendation of this book 
Neil deGrasse Tyson recommended this bookNeil deGrasse Tyson
"To learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art." - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson's recommendation of this book 
Marc Benioff recommended this bookMarc Benioff
"Served me well. [...] Advocates keeping one’s cool at all times." - Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff's recommendation of this book 
Evan Spiegel recommended this bookEvan Spiegel
"After meeting Mark Zuckerberg, [Evan Spiegel] immediately bought every [Snapchat] employee a copy of 'The Art Of War'." - Business Insider
Evan Spiegel's recommendation of this book 
Dave Camarillo recommended this bookDave Camarillo
"Another [book] I have to mention." - Dave Camarillo
Dave Camarillo's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Petersen recommended this bookRyan Petersen
Ryan Petersen mentioned this book on Twitter.
Ryan Petersen's recommendation of this book +6
More recommendations
- Travis Kalanick
"It became [Travis Kalanick's bible]." - Mike Isaac
- Vlad Tenev
"I like the classics such as The Republic by Plato and The Art of War by Sun Tzu." - Vlad Tenev
- Fred Wilson
"Has to get onto my list." - Fred Wilson
- Lex Fridman
Lex Fridman mentioned this book on Instagram.
- Elon Musk
"I've read [this book] many times." - Elon Musk
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- Travis Kalanick
Zen in the Art of Archery
Also recommended by
4 people- Joe Rogan recommended this book
Joe Rogan
"A great book." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book 
Adam Robinson recommended this bookAdam Robinson
"[One of five books that confirm] there is far, far more in our unconscious mind than is dreamt of in our philosophy." - Adam Robinson
Adam Robinson's recommendation of this book 
Aubrey Marcus recommended this bookAubrey Marcus
"As an amateur archer myself, I found the archery analogy to fit me well." - Aubrey Marcus
Aubrey Marcus's recommendation of this book 
Dave Elitch recommended this bookDave Elitch
"[I give this book] to people all the time." - Dave Elitch
Dave Elitch's recommendation of this book
Bruce Lee's Fighting Method
The Complete Edition
Championship Fighting
Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense
Jiu Jitsu University
Kodokan Judo
The Essential Guide to Judo by Its Founder Jigoro Kano
Living the Martial Way
A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think
Mixed Martial Arts
The Book of Knowledge
Muay Thai Basics
Introductory Thai Boxing Techniques
Ultimate Flexibility
A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts
Sources
- 1
Best Martial Arts Books – Top 5 – The Modern Martial Artist
modernmartialartist.com
- 2
10 BOOKS EVERY MARTIAL ARTIST SHOULD READ | AWMA Blog
blog.awma.com
- 3
5 Books Martial Artists Need To Read | Evolve Daily
evolve-mma.com
- 4
The 100 Best Martial Arts Books, Films, and Fights - Listmuse.com
listmuse.com
- 5
Best Martial Arts Books - Karate, Taekwondo, Krav Maga, etc. - Black Belt Wiki
blackbeltwiki.com
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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