Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan (Paperback)

~ Diane Skoss (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

After Donn Draeger's books, there have been very few publications that I would recommend to the English-speaking martial arts public in terms of authentic martial arts culture, history, and lore, especially concerning classical budo. This new book is a rarity, something that flabbergasted me. It's a winner; it encapsulates and brings into focus all the striving we and others like us have been doing all these years... This is probably the best book on martial arts this year, if not for several years past and hence... -- Wayne Muromoto, Furyu: The Budo Journal of Classical Japanese Martial Arts and Culture, #8 Fall 1997

I can summarize my review of this book in two words: BUY IT. This is the only English language general book on koryu bujutsu that I am aware of that has come out since Donn Draeger's day... If your only exposure to the bujutsu comes from reading Draeger's work, this book provides perspectives that are both similar to and different from his. -- Jay Swan, WWW Martial Arts Resource Page, July 1997

Koryu Bujutsu takes readers into the cabalistic world of Japan's classical bugei traditions through eight thought-provoking essays and interviews by authors with more than a century of collective experience in these arts. Editor Diane Skoss has pulled together the talents of six of the world's most distinguished Western students of the bugei to produce a stimulating and informative volume. This is a must-read for scholars, students and aficionados of Japanese martial culture! -- Dr. Karl Friday, Dept. of History, University of Georgia

Ninjas are out; aikido is pas; the Gracie brothers are old hat. Some instructors predict that the next big martial arts boom will be the ancient sword arts of the Japanese samurai. Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions Of Japan is the first book to be published on this topic in more than twenty years. Written by the foremost Western practitioner/writers, these eight essays are based on experiences with authentic Japanese traditions and teachers gained during decades spent living, researching, and training in Japan. Compiled and edited by former managing editor of Aikido Journal (who also holds an MLS from Indiana University, as well as a license in Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutsu, an ancient warrior tradition), the book also contains thirty-three photographs, bibliographical references, a Japanese glossary with kanji, and a detailed index. -- Midwest Book Review

Overall this book is a "must-have" for anyone who is serious about the study of the Japanese Martial Arts, classical or modern, bujutsu or budo. -- Kim Taylor, Journal of Japanese Sword Arts, July 1997

Product Description

Koryu Bujutsu is the first new book on the arts of the Japanese samurai to appear in over twenty years. Written by the foremost Western practitioner/writers, these eight essays are based on experiences with authentic Japanese traditions and teachers gained during decades spent living, researching, and training in Japan. Together they offer a fascinating, literate, and insightful view into the classical warrior ways of feudal Japan. Compiled and edited by Diane Skoss (herself licensed in Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutsu, an ancient warrior tradition), the book also contains thirty-three photographs, bibliographical references, a Japanese glossary with kanji, and a detailed index. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Foreword by Major George H. Bristol Preface by Diane Skoss Introduction: Keiko Shokon by Diane Skoss The Koryu Bujutsu Experience by Hunter B. Armstrong The Meaning of Martial Arts Training: A Conversation with Sawada Hanae by Meik Skoss Field Guide to the Classical Japanese Martial Arts by Diane Skoss Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior by David A. Hall Tenjin Shinyo-ryu Jujutsu by Meik Skoss Kato Takashi: Reflections of the Tatsumi-ryu Headmaster by Liam Keeley Koryu Meets the West by Ellis Amdur Glossary Index

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Koryu Books; 1 edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890536040
• ISBN-13: 978-1890536046
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #828,565 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent & scholarly, March 5, 2004

By	magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Written by some of the leading western experts who studied for years in Japan, this is an excellent introduction to the ancient Koryu or old arts of Japan. The book focuses mainly on the weapons arts using the sword, yari (spear), naginata (halberd), and so on, but jujutsu and the grappling arts also get discussed. Some of these authors were familiar to me from their contributions to martial arts journals like Furyu or the online Electronic Journal of the Martial Arts, like Ellis Amdur. Meik Skoss, the husband of Diane, was part of Draeger's original research team that went to Indonesia that resulted in Draeger's books covering Pentjak-Silat and the other Indonesian bladed arts, so I had high expectations about the quality and depth of the articles, and I wasn't disappointed.

As far as the coverage of the various arts is concerned, one thing that needs to be mentioned, since most people who study a martial art in the U.S. are studying karate or a similar boxing art like TKD or kung-fu, is that there isn't any coverage of that, since karate didn't arrive in Japan from Okinawa until the 1920s, and Japan really had no native tradition of boxing like ancient China, although China had a grappling art similar to jujustu in the art of chin na, and in the north there was Mongolian wrestling. Jujutsu did have atemi-waza, or striking techniques, but it wasn't a separate art and didn't develop to the same extant that it did in China and Okinawa before being introduced into Japan. Why this is I don't know, but I point it out just in case.

I had one other comment about the Hunter Armstrong chapter. He discusses in detail iaido, which he feels has lost the combative aspect, if it ever had it, pointing out that drawing the sword isn't an issue on the battlefield since you'll already be in the ready with your sword drawn, and in the heat of battle, if you have to draw your sword, it's probably too late anyway. Draeger brings this issue up too in his book, and that especially since the end of WWII iaido curriculums have been modified to make them more artistic than combative.

While this may be true, this problem isn't unique to iai or kendo or the other weapons arts. Karate has the same problem too, and so do the other unarmed martial arts. Unless you are willing to put on the heavy contact gear and risk getting your head bashed in, you're not participating in the ultimate combative aspect of the art, either. Although the samurai of previous centuries honed their arts and skills on the crucible of the battlefield and in individual duels, this isn't medieval Japan anymore, and is no longer practical. So although I would agree with Armstrong that the paired partner practice is certainly more realistic than the solo katas of iai, even that doesn't come very close to the original environment, and I don't see much help for the situation unless people are willing to make pretty radical changes that are unlikely, if only for the liability reasons.

Overall, this is a fine collection of articles about various aspects of the old Japanese martial traditions that are still poorly understood in the west and outside of Japan in general.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An insightful primer for studying Bujutsu/Budo, October 4, 2000

By	Bryan Wither (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

I first became interested in studying Bujutsu and its lasting impact on modern martial arts as an exponent of Judo and the short staff (jo). As my interests grew more towards the cultural backgrounds of these arts, I was pointed to the Draeger books and Secrets of the Samurai. Having no prior base of information, these complex and deeply analytical books left me even more confused. What I found in "Koryu Bujutsu" was a way to simplify some of the jargon that was found in the deeper research. It also gave me a bit of insight as to why certain instructors teach the way they do, and that a sensei that constantly points out your mistakes is better than one that just lets you work. To paraphrase a line in the book: Kobudo is not a proper term for these arts, because the term kobudo implies that they are dead arts. Koryu bujutsu tells us that these ancient arts continue to effect the techniques learned in the dojo to this day.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A faultless jewel in the martial artists' library !, December 7, 1998

By A Customer

It has been a pleasure to read Diane Skoss book. Since Donn Draeger's works, no author has touched on martial arts history, principles and ideas, with such expertise and knowledge. Diane is a true heir to "Bun Bu Ryo Do"(the pen and the sword, the same thing), the idea that the true martial artist must not only have technical proficiency, but culture and moral character as well. Buy this book and any other by Skoss : you won't regret it and it will raise your comprehension of the martial art you train in or, if you practice none, you'll have a better insight on japanese culture. RENATO ALCANTARA(Technical Director - Shintokai Dojo of Aikido - BRAZIL)