KORYU 古流

Aikido is a modern art founded in the 1920s but its techniques are derivative from older material. With a penchant for hierarchy, Japan classifies its arts as Gendai (new) and Koryu (old) with the Meiji Restoration (1868) as the demarcation line. A great resource to begin researching Koryu martial arts is >here< and Don Draeger‘s worksContinue reading “KORYU 古流”

KUBOTAN

Kubotan Techniques for your library: download the PDF. Who is Takayuki Kubota? >here< What is a kubotan?  A small hand-held impact weapon that is used as a “force multiplier” in order to facilitate locks and nerve plexus strikes.  There are numerous historical and cultural precedents – yawara, kongou (vajra), tessen, shobo, pasak, etc. The techniques illustratedContinue reading “KUBOTAN”