Originally Posted by
avkenshi
...the difference between gendai budo and koryu budo.
From what I father [sic] from Dave Lowry's articles, the classes are a lot smaller, they're definitely harder to find and there seems to be a very strong 'traditional' japanese element to it. ...
I would point out that there are some gendai ryu that meet the above criteria as well.
In some cases, there is little if any difference. (Not to mention no clear agreement, in some cases, of whether an art is gendai or koryu.)
Take, for example, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu. It's koryu, but has a relatively large, international, student base.
Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido is often classed as gendai, but others see it as a reorganized koryu, and it shares many similarities to MJER (including most of its lineage).
So, as with most things in the Japanese martial arts, everything really depends on what art you're talking about, and must be taken on a case by case basis.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---