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Interesting Facts on Samurai Sword Manufacture
A samurai's sword is his most sacred and prized possession. Not only did the samurai rely on his sword to defend him, but spiritually the sword held greater significance as the samurai actually believed his soul inhabited the sword.

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Sensing Intention
One of the 'mystical' aspects of the martial arts has always been the ability to feel another persons intention.Sensing intention gives a person the ability to be in instant control of a potentially violent encounter, and it's one of the ways we use the martial arts to test our energy work and meditation skills in Hoshin.

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Bogu Training
About four years ago Carl recommended we start using the Bogu during our kumite (sparring practice). This method was developed in Okinawa and then found its way into mainland Japan and eventually to the U.

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Samurai Armor Part 1
The first prototype for Japanese samurai armor came about in the form of the yoroi during the Gempei War of 1181-1185. The weight of the yoroi was around 60lb.

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A Samurais Power Is In His Little Finger, Not His Samurai Sword
In the 12th Century the Shogunate was formed. The head of this regime was the Shogun, the supreme ruler.

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Is it a "Hurt" or is it an "Injury"
My father fed me this line every time I felt pain or discomfort. Growing up the coach's son was not without difficulty.

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Tai-Chi for the Masses--and Others
Kuang Ping was the T'ai-chi set favored by Yang Lu-Chan, the man who brought forward the "Yang" style in the mid-1800's, now so popular throughout the world. Kuang Ping is what the man trained with himself.

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Women in the Martial Arts
1st Lady Assistant to Sensei Henry Ellis Ellis Schools of Traditional AikidoI was born in West London in 1963, my father was very involved in the martial arts and a dan grade in Karate he was also a dealer in ancient Japanese arms and armour, although my father has an antiques shop in London's Bond Street, my home was more like a samurai warriors dressing room, with original suits of Japanese armour complete with very frighting face masks that would frighten the life out of my friends when ever they came to visit, there were also very many valuable swords yari and naginata spears.The MastersMy father would travel around the world searching for the best quality weapons, what intrigued me the most as a child was all these strange visitors that would come to my home, the famous Otani family were regular visitors with Sensei Matsuro Otani 7th dan Judo the UK National Coach, Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, Tomio Otani Sensei the UK National Coach for Kendo, his visitors were like the who's who of martial arts, as recently as two weeks ago I was pleased to meet with Sensei Kazuo Chiba 8th dan when he came to see my father.

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Makiwara Training
Shigeru Kimura Sensei 9th Dan Tani-Ha Shitoryu Shukokai had a punch that was like getting hit with a cannonball.Kimura Sensei had won the All Japan Karate Championship two years in a row.

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Do You Take Yours Trained or Untrained?
If you ain't pissing anyone off, you're not doing anything worth while. Like religion and politics, martial arts are not for a lack of its zealots.

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Martial Training as a Timeless Portal
Thanks to several centuries of enlightened teachings by extraordinary men in the martial disciplines, we don't have to be restricted to lives of getting and spending, waiting in quiet desperation for the pain to cease.Most of us in the Arts focus on the tasks in front of our noses (the correct hand forms/kicks/body alignments), forgetting our option to consciously evolve along the way to physical perfection.

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So You Think You Train Hard
"Tokio Hirano (1922-1993) 8th Dan The Man Who Revolutionized Judo" By Jim Chen, M.D .

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Im Soooo Confused...
I was going to write about the BASICS of "practical unarmed combat". Things like a solid and productive core of strength training, development of real speed and power.

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Combatives
This is our last installment on "defining" the parameters of COMBATIVES.The point, I am sure, will be missed by some but it must be emphasized that this material is historical fact and is accurate in substance and detail.

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Strategy as Applied to Warrior-citizens
After years of study, I have come to a small understanding of the way of strategy. I will here explain some strategy as it applies to warrior-citizens.

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Martial Arts Strength Training
According to various sources on the internet, a 1996 article in Iron Man Magazine revealed Bruce Lee's workout. In addition to his cardio and karate workouts, Lee lifted weights three times a week and performed the following routine: clean and presses 2 x 8 squats 2 x 12 barbell pullovers 2 x 8 bench presses 2 x 6 good mornings 2 x 8 barbell curls 2 x 8 Unfortunately, he injured his back doing good mornings, which nearly ruined his career.

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Applying Law of Gravity to Judo
In judo it is important to throw your opponent by making use of his loss of balance, the law at work here is the law of gravity. We know that Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravitation by seeing an apple fall from a tree.

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Aikido Philosophy: An Oriental Concept of Energy, Self, and Mind
PrefaceThere are many different ways to understand Aikido philosophy and perceive, utilize, and benefit from energy. What I offer here is one of many ways.

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John Styers
Most people have only been exposed to John Styers work through the book "Cold Steel".It is important to remember that first and foremost this book outlines a BASIC course of close-combat instruction.

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Samurai Swords - Choosing a Sword to Buy
It's undeniable that a well placed and mounted samurai sword or samurai sword set looks fantastic and an ads character to any room of the home, but is it worth spending upwards of $650 on such a sword or sword set? This all depends on your reasons for buying a samurai sword.If you are merely purchasing a samurai sword for display purposes and positioning it as a focal point in a room then you certainly don't need to spend anything like the amount suggested above, you can just go for a relatively cheap manufactured replica with the necessary sword stand.

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