Within my library recently read Noel Perrin’s Giving Up the Gun. The book itself is quite dated in writing, sources, and historiography; however, it is still cited to certain extent within the modern English scholarship of Japanese history. The book is an overview of Japan’s reasons as to why the samurai of old willingly abandoned … Continue reading Form Over Function: A Slave to Aesthetics
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
Cummins, Antony. How to be a Modern Samurai: 10 Steps of Finding Your Power & Achieving Success. Watkins; London. 2020 I am always interested in what Antony Cummins produces, whether it pertains to the ninja, to Natori-ryu, or anything in between. His perspective on these topics is different, refreshing, and, at times, enlightening to consider … Continue reading Reflecting on How to be a Modern Samurai
I recently finished a biography of an instructor who may have created a training atmosphere that may have bordered on the side of toxic and abusive. Such actions were under the guise of hard training and/or attempting to push students to their limit and achieve something greater. In finishing that biography, I realized that I … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Blind Loyalty Within the Martial Arts
Juan Hernandez first heard of naginata in a local newspaper and planned to find a local dojo. Unfortunately, he was offered a job and had to relocate. Years later, he moved back to Long Beach, California and finally searched for a naginata class and found one under Helen Nakano. Hernandez has studied diligently under Nakano, … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Naginata Practitioner Juan Hernandez: Learning and Growth Under Helen Nakano
Masayuki Koyama began training in kendo during high school while growing up in Japan. Afterwards, he found himself in the United States and began teaching kendo to his son in 1999. Because he was teaching at a community center, other people started coming in, looking for kendo lessons. From then on, he established his Houston … Continue reading Interview with Houston Heights Kendo Club Founder Masayuki Koyama: Accepting the Future Flow of Kendo
This is the third installment in an ongoing series of "A Layman's Observations" where I discuss my observations on martial arts and combat sports. Read the prior installment here. Since the early 2010s, there has been a movement that attempts to make aikido functional in a combat situation. The question of aikido’s effectiveness as a … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Aikido’s Aiki and Its Foundational Benefits
By her own admission, Michelle Manu found Lua and ‘Ōlohe Solomon Kaihewalu under the Martial Arts section of the phone book. When she arrived, Manu spent the better part of two and a half years of intensive training under ‘Ōlohe Kaihewalu before she was able to join his Black Belt class. Since then, Manu has … Continue reading Interview with Lua Instructor Michelle Manu: The Hidden History of Lua
The ninja struck a chord with many Western admirers and Antony Cummins was no exception. When he got his chance, he enrolled in the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo in Noda, Japan, but some things were not adding up correctly. This skepticism ultimately led him to finding his research team and researching deeply into the historical ninja, … Continue reading Interview with Ninja Historian Antony Cummins: The Ninja, Samurai, and Japanese Swordsmanship
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
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 