This year began with wide horizons: a plan to expand our jujutsu coverage, deepen our editorial and historical writing, and finish a new book. While not every target was fully met, the year proved foundational. The work we completed, and the work we set in motion, positions the chronicle for an even stronger year ahead. … Continue reading A Year in Review: 2025
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
John Lepore first entered aikido in Pittsburgh for graduate school. When he returned to Philadelphia, he found Donovan Waite. From the first moment learning from him, Lepore had found his teacher. Today, Lepore took some time to talk about what made Waite stand out from other instructors, what impacted him the most from Waite, and … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Aikidoka John Lepore: The Impact of Donovan Waite
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
Doug Bedsaul found Akayama-Ryu Jujutsu after training in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Judo. In 2024, Bedsaul assumed the mantle of Headmaster with the passing of Mark Barlow. Today, Bedsaul took some time to discuss his vision for expanding the reach of Akayama-Ryu, the importance of quality instruction, and how the system continues to evolve through rigorous … Continue reading Interview with Akayama Ryu Jujutsu Headmaster Doug Bedsaul: History, Application, and Future
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
Another year has arrived, perhaps too quickly from the previous year, but it is another year to take a few more steps closer to achieving our goals, milestones, and ambitions. Training, preserving the past, and analyzing it for the future consumption takes time, effort, discipline, and dedication – no matter how big or small. I … Continue reading Goals and Plans for 2025
Rego, George, and Abdul Rashid. The Founding of Jujutsu and Judo in America. Independently Published, 2022. I came across this book while I was conducting research for my recent book Takahiko Ishikawa: Judo's Quiet Master. Much of the beginning information I recall learning from John Stevens' Jigoro Kano biography, but it expands further than that, … Continue reading Reflecting on George Rego’s and Abdul Rashid’s The Founding of Jujutsu and Judo in America
Steven Wolf found himself in aikido by 1980, after training in judo and jujutsu as a child. By the next year, Wolf had joined Geroge Simcox’s dojo and attending summer camps with other Ki-Aikidoka. During that time, he learned much from Simcox until his death in 2000. Wolf assumed the role of head instructor of … Continue reading Interview with NOVA Ki-Aikido Instructor Steven Wolf: The Uniqueness of Ki-Aikido
Rodrigo Kong had experienced aiki-based arts before but nothing like he felt when he trained with Shogen Okabayashi during a seminar in New York City. Totally enamored, Kong traveled to Japan to learn more about Daito-ryu and its aiki. Since returning from Japan, he has established his Yushinkan NYC and continued to train and teach … Continue reading Interview with Yushikan NYC Founder Rodrigo Kong: Aiki, Kokyu, and Daito-ryu, Part II
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 