The jo; the short staff; a long stick. Not sharp but blunt. It can’t cut a limb off, but it can bludgeon and injure one, rendering the limb useless. However, several direct blows to the head could have a grave outcome as well. The jo is a weapon wielded in aikido training. But what do … Continue reading The Jo and Aikido by Antonio Aloia and Michael Aloia
Alex Meloi first started aikido after getting the wind knocked out of him by a karate friend. After that, it opened him up to the world of martial arts, eventually coming the Historical European Martial Arts in 2015. Over the years, he has honed and refined his knowledge of Fiore dei Librei’s manuscript, later establishing … Continue reading Interview with Tri-State Historical Fencing founder Alex Meloi: Mounted Combat Within Fiore dei Librei’s Manuscript
Cohen, Richard. By the Sword: Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai Warriors, Swashbucklers, and Olympians. London: Pocket, 2003. I recall starting this book when I was much younger, driven by my desire to take and ingest all things sword and samurai. I remember my younger self being disappointed that though in the subtitle mentioned samurai, the book wasn’t … Continue reading Reflecting on By the Sword
Robert Dziubla entered the martial arts out of necessity, studying both aikido and karate as a teenager. In an effort to earn his black belt, he traveled to Japan in the early 1970s, training directly under Tomiki aikido founder Kenji Tomiki. Later, Tomiki tasked Dziubla with spreading Tomiki Aikido and the ensuing interview is his … Continue reading Interview with Tomiki Aikido of the Americas Cofounder Robert Dziubla: Tomiki Aikido on the International Stage, Part III
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 