Todd Jones, founder of American Butokukan, began his martial arts journey in 1971 with taekwondo, moving to aikido two years later. This is a transcript of an interview conducted the fall of 2018 for research of my upcoming American aikido history book. Here, we discuss his time under Thomas “Doc” Walker, the early days of … Continue reading Interview with Todd Jones: Thomas “Doc” Walker and Growing Aikido in Florida
Kirby, George. Jujitsu: Advanced Techniques for Redirecting an Opponent’s Energy. California: Black Belt Books, 2015. From the title, it sounds like George Kirby and his jujitsu borrowed some pointers from aikido. Aikido techniques are derived from jujitsu, so are some of its concepts. Aikido may be characterized as soft and jujitsu as hard, but these … Continue reading Reflecting on Jujitsu Pioneer George Kirby’s Advanced Techniques for Redirecting an Opponent’s Energy
Starting judo at a young age, Kathy Hubble quickly jumped into competitions, and by 1985, she was a member of the Judo Canada Team. She soon quit judo and spent twenty-five years as a stunt performer in Hollywood North. In 2013, she returned to judo, winning gold in the Masters World Championships in Abu Dhabi, … Continue reading Interview with Canadian Judo Champion Kathy Hubble: From Judo to Stunt Work and Back Again
Russo, Charles. Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America. London: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. This is not your typical Bruce Lee biography. It does not address his child acting career nor does it discuss his time in Hollywood and Hong Kong as a film star. It does, however, look … Continue reading Reflecting on Charles Russo’s Striking Distance
In watching the newest Bruce Lee documentary by Bao Nguyen on ESPN’s 30 For 30 episode, “Be Water,” there was a reoccurring theme throughout Lee’s life – bridging the gap. For those knowledgeable about Lee’s philosophies, concepts, and principles of Jeet Kune Do, the phrase means to get closer to one’s opponent to execute a … Continue reading Reflecting on ESPN’s Bruce Lee Documentary, “Be Water”
This is a transcript of an interview with Secretary of Technical Committee of the International Shotokan Karate Federation in the spring of 2019. Here, we discuss the current state of karate in the United States, her early years of training, and her thoughts and feelings on being the first woman in Shotokan Karate to earn … Continue reading Interview with Secretary of Technical Committee Cathy Cline: Her Karate Journey
Robert Stroud has been commuting between many kendo schools in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain regions of the United States since 1979, becoming one of the first non-Asian US kenshi to receive the rank of seventh dan. In this second part of the interview, Stroud discusses his kendo journey, his time as head instructor of … Continue reading Interview with Robert Stroud: Kendo in Pacific Northwest and Mountain Regions of the United States Part II
Robert Stroud has been commuting between many kendo schools in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain regions of the United States since 1979, becoming one of the first non-Asian US kenshi to receive the rank of seventh dan. In this first part of the interview, Stroud discusses his kendo journey, his time at Noma Dojo in … Continue reading Interview with Robert Stroud: Kendo in Pacific Northwest and Mountain Regions of the United States Part I
Janice Taitel began her aikido journey in 1992, first training under Mitsunari Kanai then Greg O’Connor, before establishing her Aikido Center of Dover. In the summer of 2019, she and others formed the Independent Coalition of USAF Women in an effort to bring awareness and discuss a solution to the gender equity in the organization. … Continue reading Interview with Independent Coalition of USAF Women Founder Janice Taitel
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 