Tag: Iaido

Interview with Longtime UK Kenshi and Historian Paul Budden: Kendo’s Varied History and its International Future, Part I

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Growing up close to Hadrian’s Wall – erected during Rome’s reign of the British Isles – Paul Budden found his interest in history. His interest of Japanese sword – born out of his love of history – led him into a kendo dojo and has not looked back since. Throughout his time in kendo, he … Continue reading Interview with Longtime UK Kenshi and Historian Paul Budden: Kendo’s Varied History and its International Future, Part I

Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part I

~ Antonio Aloia ~ 1 Comment

Prince Gharios began aikido in Brazil in 1986 and during the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he was forced to look to other sources for a more direct aikido. By the mid-1990s, Prince Gharios found Steven Seagal and Tenshin Aikido, which gave him the tools and foundations to establish his own Shinken-ryu Aiki-Budo. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part I

Creative Anachronism in Japanese Martial Arts: Preserving the Past Through Practice by Michael Martin

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Creative anachronism is more than nostalgia; it’s the pointed revival of historical practices in the modern world, imbued with symbolic resonance, ritual, and performance. Like costumed historical reenactors staging battles for educational or cultural impact, practitioners of budō, or traditional Japanese martial arts, engage in reenactment through their uniforms, weapons, customs, and values. In the … Continue reading Creative Anachronism in Japanese Martial Arts: Preserving the Past Through Practice by Michael Martin

Interview with Kakuto-Ryu Pioneer Ron Breines: Ryukyute, Jujutsu, and Combatives, Part I

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Ron Breines began learning Kakuto-ryu, a strip down and straightforward martial art, from his uncle and his friend Bob in 1970. Stressing combat readiness, Breines found that his training assisted him in acquiring and internalizing many different martial arts and military combatives. Framing Kakuto-ryu in the similar fashion of Ryukyute, Breines emphasizes the combative elements … Continue reading Interview with Kakuto-Ryu Pioneer Ron Breines: Ryukyute, Jujutsu, and Combatives, Part I

Interview with Longtime Hawaiian Kenshi Braxton Fukutomi: Rebuilding Hawaiian Kendo After Covid

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Hailing from a multigenerational kendo family, Braxton Fukutomi began training in the art at the age of four. As he progressed through kendo, Fukutomi became the head instructor of the Aiea Taiheiji Kendo Club, while his mother continues to run the Waipahu Seibukan Kendo Club. At the Aiea Taiheiji kendo Club, Fukutomi tries to develop … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Hawaiian Kenshi Braxton Fukutomi: Rebuilding Hawaiian Kendo After Covid

Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part II

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Zorie Barber was first introduced to Shotokan Karate with Ski, or Gerald Evans. While in college, Barber felt he needed to go to Japan and train with some of Ski’s contemporaries. He arrived in Tokyo and endured a hostile training environment until he moved out to see Kyoto, stumbling onto the Tenshin Dojo under the … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part II

Interview with Enshinkan Founder Morgan Hooper: New York Kendo Community

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For twenty-five years, Morgan Hooper has been a student of Japanese sword arts. Originally from Long Island, New York, he began training in kendo, Japanese fencing, when he was a teenager. Many years later, he established his own martial arts school Enshinkan Dojo in Long Island City. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Enshinkan offers … Continue reading Interview with Enshinkan Founder Morgan Hooper: New York Kendo Community

Interview with Athen Ohio Ki-Aikido Founder Stan Haehl: Changing for the Future

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Stan Haehl heard of aikido before, but it was not until 1978 that he found a class in his small town in Kansas. He first learned the art under Barbra Bloom, then traveled to Boulder, Colorado to train under the Midland Ki Federation head Koichi Kashiwaya, and lastly, under Andrew T. Tsubaki. In 2008, his … Continue reading Interview with Athen Ohio Ki-Aikido Founder Stan Haehl: Changing for the Future

Interview with North County Aikikai Founder Coryl Crane: Kazuo Chiba and Changes in Aikido

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Coryl Crane was first introduced to aikido through Tai Chi, beginning her training with Ki Society. By 1981, she heard of Kazuo Chiba’s arrival in San Diego and decided to see what the commotion was all about. She never looked back afterwards. Ten years later, she opened her own dojo, North County Aikikai and has … Continue reading Interview with North County Aikikai Founder Coryl Crane: Kazuo Chiba and Changes in Aikido