Part of this editorial was inspired by a chapter from my 2020 book, Aikido Comes to America, and my 2024 book, Takahiko Ishikawa, bringing two related ideas together and pairing them with a third. Authority is something people look for, whether it is to wield it or to seek those who are in similar positions. … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Who Really has Authority in the Martial Arts?
Sword fighting was something Peter Concannon always wanted to do, ever since his youth. He gravitated towards Society for Creative Anachronism and stage combat, but they were not the stuff he was looking for. Later – two and a half decades later – Concannon received a Groupon for German longsword lessons and was hooked, training … Continue reading Interview with Montgomery County Historical Fencing Founder Peter Concannon: The Historical Fencing Community
George Rego first began training in Jukido Jujitsu when he was eight years old under the system’s founder Paul Arel. After soaking in his training, Rego volunteered to establish his Jukido Academy in Florida in 1999. Undeterred, Rego expanded and solidified Jukido Jujitsu in Florida and currently serves on a number of boards in the … Continue reading Interview with Jukido Jujitsu Academy Founder and Author George Rego: Jukido, Kokondo, Self-Defense, and Adapting
Anthony Fiore first started aikido in 1982 with Yukio Utada in Philadelphia, then moved away from the city, continuing his training with Jim Walsh. Under Walsh, Fiore met and trained with Donovan Waite for the rest of his life. Fiore reflects on the life, legacy, and enduring influence of Waite, sharing his deep connection with … Continue reading Interview with Aikido of Chester County Chief Instructor Tony Fiore: Remembering a Friend, Donovan Waite
Jessica Ye began training kendo at the Cornell Kendo Club and teaching at the Yale Kendo Club when she went to pursue her Master’s and Doctorate. Today, Ye took some time to talk about her experiences in both clubs, how university clubs approach training compared to traditional kendo dojos, and the future of the art … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Kenshi Jessica Ye: Training and Teaching Kendo at University
Larry Camejo gravitated towards martial arts while he was growing up in Trinidad, experiencing the prevalence of gangs. After gaining a background in Tomiki Aikido, Camejo happened to stumble onto Akayama-ryu with Mark Barlow through online chatrooms. From there, Camejo began to combine his Tomiki Aikido and Akayama-ryu training to help his students in self-defense, … Continue reading Interview with Akayama-ryu Instructor Larry Camejo: Approaching Self-Defense From Experience
Peter Haas began training historical fencing in 2015 at Sword Class NYC in the middle of some life changes. Additionally, he studies Toyama-ryu, which has expanded his understanding of swordsmanship. In the year that followed 2015, Haas created Kollektiv des Messerfechtens and Squinting Rabbit Productions, and teaches at Gotham Swords, striving to be a mentor … Continue reading Interview with Historical Fencing Mentor Peter Haas: Involvement in the HEMA Community
Amanda Ambrosio first studied Taekwondo. When she relocated for an internship in Oklahoma, she could not find any Taekwondo schools that she liked and found an aikido dojo that welcomed her. Over the years she learned from Jiyushinkai founder Chuck Clark and his son and current head, Aaron. Ambrosio has since moved to Washington State … Continue reading Interview with Bothell Aikido Founder Amanda Ambrosio: Jiyushinkai’s Uniqueness
First starting in Tang Soo Do and enjoying the weapon forms, Patrick Bratton gravitated towards more weapons work, joining Olympic foil and Society for Creative Anachronism heavy fencing, and later HEMA in 2013. From there, Bratton established Sala Della Spada, teaching both Olympic and historical fencing, where he implements modern training methods to keep students … Continue reading Interview with Sala Della Spada Founder Patrick Bratton: Blending the Historical and Modern in Fencing
Introduction With over 100,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans spread across the ten relocation centers, many communities were fractured, forcing many to either isolate or function in a new environment with new people. According to martial arts historian Joseph Svinth in 2003, “The ties stayed broken” while in the relocation centers, much like their destroyed kendo … Continue reading Kendo During Japanese American Internment
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 