A.A. Kadochnikov. Some of you may remember the old Western cowboy television series with a masked man and his Indian sidekick where at the end of a show someone would ask as the pair rode-off, “Who is that masked man?” The answer was, “Well, he’s the Lone Ranger!” Many of us had the same question … Continue reading Hand-to-Hand Combat Training in Krasnodar, Russia with A.A. Kadochnikov by Michael Martin
After training in karate for the better part of two decades, Garry Howard came across Steven Seagal’s film Above the Law. Through a series of events stemming from a complimentary phone call, Howard found himself in front of the man himself and secured consistent instruction from Haruo Matsuoka, who made an annual trip to the … Continue reading Interview with American Aikido Institute Founder Garry Howard: Growing with Haruo Matsuoka Part II
After training in karate for the better part of two decades, Garry Howard came across Steven Seagal’s film Above the Law. Through a series of events stemming from a complimentary phone call, Howard found himself in front of the man himself and secured consistent instruction from Haruo Matsuoka, who made an annual trip to the … Continue reading Interview with American Aikido Institute Founder Garry Howard: Growing with Haruo Matsuoka Part I
Connor Wood first started learning to sword fight when he was a child and that ultimately led him to join the Society for Creative Anachronism. In pursuing the historical sources, he soon crossed over in Historical European Martial Arts and saw a myriad of overlaps between the two movements. Today, Wood discusses the evolution of … Continue reading Interview with Historical Fencer Connor Wood: Between HEMA and the SCA Part II
Connor Wood first started learning to sword fight when he was a child and that ultimately led him to join the Society for Creative Anachronism. In pursuing the historical sources, he soon crossed over in Historical European Martial Arts and saw a myriad of overlaps between the two movements. Today, Wood discusses the evolution of … Continue reading Interview with Historical Fencer Connor Wood: Between HEMA and the SCA Part I
Joe Condello began training judo in Philadelphia with Takahiko Ishikawa. During his summer break from college, he and his then-girlfriend Becky visited Ishikawa and Helen Foos in Virginia Beach. The latter asked the couple to relocate to the southern state to assist Ishikawa and Foos. The couple accepted and spent the 1970s in Virginia Beach … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Judoka Joe and Becky Condello: Takahiko Ishikawa in Virginia Beach, Part II
Joe Condello began training judo in Philadelphia with Takahiko Ishikawa. During his summer break from college, he and his then-girlfriend Becky visited Ishikawa and Helen Foos in Virginia Beach. The latter asked the couple to relocate to the southern state to assist Ishikawa and Foos. The couple accepted and spent the 1970s in Virginia Beach … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Judoka Joe and Becky Condello: Takahiko Ishikawa in Virginia Beach, Part I
I recently read and finished the book about Canadian Kendo entitled, The Resilient Shinai, from Hirokazu Okusa. Reading Okusa’s book was in an effort to understand Kendo as it exists and how it is organized outside of Japan, as Japan has much of the focus for kendo history and discussion. To be fair, Kendo originated … Continue reading Reflecting on The Resilient Shinai: Past and Future
What BJJ Really Is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is commonly described as a martial art defined by leverage, technique, and positional control. While these descriptions accurately capture its mechanics, they remain incomplete. They explain how BJJ operates, but not what it fundamentally represents. At a deeper level, BJJ can be understood as a system of creative … Continue reading Solve or Submit: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as Real-Time Problem Solving by Michael Martin
Combined with the recent move of Chicago Aikikai and a former student finding dojo boxes in his storage, Dwight Sora found a window into Chicago’s Aikido past. Some were archival footage of the school’s early days as Illinois Aikido Club with Koichi Tohei, others were newsletters and seminar posters of years and decades past. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Chicago Aikikai’s Historian Dwight Sora: Culture, Archives, and Aikido, Part III
