Kodo Ancient Ways

A compilation of columns that appeared between 1988 and 1995 in Martial Arts Training magazine. In this ever-changing world, traditions are often being cast aside as people search for novelty and progress. The 41 essays in this book are inspired by the teachings and wisdom of the ancients who devoted their lives to instruct others. Their ideas are preserved in this volume to inspire and guide readers in training and in life for years to come.

By adding more advanced tools and concepts to the modern ninja’s training regimen, this book continues where volume one left off. In the second book of the series, Hayes introduces combat principles, such as dealing with and avoiding danger, rolls and ground rebounds, training for modern altercations, and the power-generating hand symbols of kuji-in.

A personal, philosophical, and historical exploration of Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate written by an experienced master. In Wandering Along the Way of Okinawan Karate, Giles Hopkins draws on his fifty years of martial arts experience to take the reader on a journey through the meaning of kata (form) and bunkai (application) in Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate. Hopkins offers his personal reflections on the enigma of karate kata while explaining many of its little-understood applications. With skill and insight into kata's connection to nature, the book addresses key topics such as why some movements are done slowly while others are fast, the significance of steps and turns, and the role of tradition in karate. The purpose of kata solo patterns is to solidify specific self-defense techniques. Contrary to the commonly held belief that kata techniques can have multiple interpretations, Hopkins argues that kata embodies specific martial principles that must be followed rigorously for it to be truly effective. He also reveals the spiritual dimensions of martial arts by explaining its deep connection to nature. Providing new understanding of kata structure, themes, and martial art principles, Hopkins sheds light on the practitioner's journey.

In Martial Maneuvers, Phillip Starr demonstrates that while the internal martial arts—Taijiquan, Bagua Zhang, and Xingyi Quan—might be considered ineffective for practical self-defense, they in fact have a long history of combat use. Starr argues that most teachers and practitioners of the internal arts have forgotten their rich martial heritage, focusing instead on their applicability for health or spiritual practices. Starr returns to the roots of the three major internal arts, demonstrating the combative principles upon which they were originally based. Martial Maneuvers often takes a lighthearted and humorous approach to what can often be challenging material, and provides training routines in easy-to-understand language. Numerous photos demonstrate the step-by-step implementation of fighting techniques, teaching readers how to apply them to their own chosen martial disciplines. While designed primarily for the internal martial artist, the techniques demonstrated in Martial Maneuvers can also benefit and enrich the training of a student of any discipline, including karate and kung fu.

This is the first substantial academic book to lay out the philosophical terrain within the study of the martial arts and to explore the significance of this fascinating subject for contemporary philosophy. The book is divided into three sections. The first section concerns what philosophical reflection can teach us about the martial arts, and especially the nature and value of its practice. The second section deals with the other direction of the dialectical interplay between philosophy and the martial arts: how the martial arts can inform philosophical issues important in their own right. Finally, because many of the notable martial arts are of Asian origin, there are particularly close links between the arts and Asian philosophies – and Buddhism in particular – and therefore the last section is devoted to this topic. The essays in this collection deal with a wide range of philosophical issues: normative ethics, meta-ethics, aesthetics, phenomenology, the philosophy of mind, Ancient Greek and Buddhist thought. By demonstrating the very real nature of the engagement between the martial arts and philosophy, this book is essential reading for any serious student or scholar with an interest in the martial arts, Eastern philosophy, the philosophy of sport, or the study of physical culture.

Covering the full spectrum of political, economic, diplomatic as well as cultural and intellectual history, this classroom resource offers insight not only into the past but also into Japan's contemporary civilisation. This is a combination of volumes one and two.

Shows how Bruce Lee's life, his art, and his untimely death affected and influenced his worldwide legion of fans. This book helps in learning about his art, jeet kune do, through his personal replies to letters he received in 1967.

The elegant incense ceremony Kodo has a long, colorful history in traditional Japanese life -- but remains little known in the West. This beautiful and informative book comes with several different kinds of incense and two incense holders. Kodo includes all the tools a reader needs to understand and experience first hand the exquisite pleasure and calmness of a ceremony that continues to have a powerful resonance in Japanese culture and history. Kodo -- or The Way of Incense -- takes readers step-by-step through performing your own Kodo ceremony and offers an overview not only to the different incenses and incense materials used in the ceremony but what it means to listen to the incense. The book also outlines the highly formalized games -- tests of the senses -- associated with the ceremony. The only book of its kind available today, Kodo explores the history, development and influences upon this ceremony as it brings the remarkable Kodo ritual into Western homes for the first time.