Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword (Literary Links to the Orient) (Paperback)

by Dave Lowry (Author), Mike Lee (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Dave Lowry frequently travels throughout Asia to research its culture and history, and has written several books about Japan and the budo. He started writing for Black Belt magazine more than 20 years ago and has shared his traditional take on the martial arts world in a monthly column called Karate Way since 1986.

In Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword, Lowry focuses his expertise on the techniques and history of the bokken--the wooden training sword used by both ancient samurai and today's swordsmen. According to Lowry, training with the bokken is important on two levels for the modern practitioner: "On one, he builds the physical stamina, rhythms, and adroit body movements of traditional swordsmanship. On the other, he achieves something of the animating spirit of the traditional swordsman. He is, through the refinement of his practice, linked in a very real way to his past, for it is from the principles of swordsmanship that the budo of today have based their teachings, no matter what their present form."

Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword couples Lowry's concise, eloquent writing style with more than 100 hundred technique photographs to provide the reader with the traditional and modern perspectives of this vital, historically rich practice tool.

About the Author
Since 1968, Dave Lowry has been an avid student and practitioner of several Japanese martial arts. He has trained in karate-do, judo and aikido, and he is an exponent of the Shindo Muso-ryu and the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, two classical schools of combat that date back to Japan's feudal era.

Lowry is a longtime contributor to Black Belt magazine and has written a monthly column since 1986. His articles have appeared in several publications in the United States, Japan and England, including Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Bottom Line and Winds. He is also the restaurant critic for St. Louis Magazine. Lowry is the author of nine books, and he lives and trains near St. Louis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Black Belt Communications (February 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897501047
• ISBN-13: 978-0897501040
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,468 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new way of thinking in Martial Arts training, March 8, 2000

By	Sanjeev Selvaraj (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This book can be taken two ways. First, it can serve as an introduction of safe, practical use of the bokken (patterned after Yagyu-Ryu) to the beginner swordsman. It offers selected waza taught in such a way as to emphasize perfection of sword technique and to maximize the excercise potential of the practitioner (it's a great workout!). The waza are thoroughly explained and are accompanied by many helpful photographs.

The second, and probably more significant, point of this book lies in the author's introduction of the term, suburi. Early in the book, he explains the historical ryu system: samurai were expected not only to master the sword, but also empty-handed Bugei, music, literature, and especially, poetry--it was an exhaustively prohibitive commitment to a Renaissance way of life. Even if one today had access to an authentic dojo representing a respected ryu, cultures and social norms worldwide have changed so much since the days of feudal Japan that such commitment to the truly authentic training of the samurai would be impossible, or at the very least, would wholly lack the practicality to make such a commitment worthwhile in today's complex world.

In order to preserve the spirit of Bugei, however, the author offers us an alternative. Suburi is actually a two-fold path of training applicable to all bushi (practitioners of ANY martial art): on one hand, there is the physical aspect of bokken training. The mere excercise offers patience, discipline, stamina, and especially, grace all with which to supplement the style of the reader (be it empty-handed, or otherwise). The second path is a spiritual one. It calls the bushi of today to make a commitment to the study and practice of the philosophical side of the martial arts. Specifically, for those to whom honor, duty, and self-sacrifice still truly mean something, this sort of spiritual (as well as physical) training may be the only appreciable way to preserve Bushido, the way of the warrior, in the modern world. In addition, it may serve as the only way to offer this teaching and way of life to today's warriors around the world who have no practical access to authentic dojo training.

Of course, traditionalists will argue that this is merely another modern perversion of the Bugei, and admittedly there may be truth to this. But it cannot be denied that Bushido may soon be lost to the world if steps are not taken for the preservation of its spirit. Also, such teachings and ways of life could benefit so many worldwide who hold so dear personal integrity, honor, and other characteristics of the spiritual warrior. Thus, it is my belief that the author's conception of suburi is an invaluable one. I humbly suggest to any who are really capable of relating and sympathizing with this review any of the many books available on the subject of Bushido, or other martial arts-based philosophies.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction..., May 29, 2000

By A Customer

As an Aikido student I was looking for a reference guide for katas and exercises so that I could practise outside the dojo. This book does not provide complex single katas ( it only has two very basic ones )so I was disappointed in that respect, however I did find the various introductory articles very educational and certianly relevant to any martial art whether you are trainig with a sword, a staff, or are doing empty handed techniques. My advice is: buy the book ad keep in mind Mr. Lowry's advice at all times but don't expect a visual feast of amazing pictures ( they are just plain black and white ). If you take this book as an introduction you will like it and hopefully it will push you to train harder and find out more about Japanese swordsmanship.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for fundamentals-and attitude., May 11, 2006

By	R. A. Martinek "Triarius" (A very strange place…) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was prepared to be disappointed-but was pleasantly surprised. I have studied the sword for years, and yet learned something from this book. For a beginner, too, its clear, concise explanations, coupled with well thought out photographs, will prove an excellent study guide or workbook. There are minor deficiencies, occasionally, but they will provide the student an incentive to put down the book and physically explore what Lowry is trying to demonstrate.

There are few like Musashi, who need little personal instruction. This book is not a substitute for a good teacher, but an excellent adjunct to one. The Way is not a set of rules. It is only the Way.