He was the author behind A Historical Outline of Chinese Martial Arts[3] and a manga called Kenji (supposedly based on his life story).
His work has unearthed obscure martial arts concepts, such as Aiki and Fa jin, to the Japanese public.
[6] In Japan, when it was common to recognize Shorinji Kempo as a martial art or tai chi as a health method when it came to Chinese physical skills, Matsuda, through his books, introduced Chinese martial arts such as Chen-style tai chi, Mantis Fist, and bajiquan to public consciousness.
[7] At the time[1], there was almost no information on martial arts from mainland China and it was Matsuda's knowledge he acquired in his travels was considered the primary source in the matter.
Furthermore, differences between Japanese karate's and Chinese martial arts' power generation became topic of discussion for first time in Japan.
Matsuda cited that he was not interested in idea of money-making or spreading an organizational entity, saying that he was more focused on his personal improvement via martial arts.
[citation needed] Matsuda wrote in his early book, "In Search of Mysterious Fist," because there are few records of actual battles with bare hands in Japanese karate.
As a person who could literally embody the word "one-shot deadly" that had become famous and innocent, he honestly wrote the impression that he learned about bajiquan's Li Shuwen and xingyiquan's Guo Yunshen.
Originally, judo, kendo, and karate were easily accessible at school clubs, local dojos, police stations, etc., but Kobudo was often neglected for not having any personal and regional ties.
A Historical Outline of Chinese Martial Arts was originally written in 1979 and later revised when Matsuda lived in Taipei.
It has appeared in a number of different editions in Chinese and Japanese and is one of eight books he has written on the martial arts.