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Thank you for the information. Was the Portugese contact Tetsuji Murakami or someone from his group? Murakami seems to have been an interesting case in that his karate looked very "normal" prior to...

Hello Ellis,

Is there any information in your book concerning the relationship of either Shigeru Egami or Tadao Okuyama to Noriaki Inoue and the Omoto-kyo? I find it interesting that the only...

Many thanks! I'm sorry to say, though, that I seem to have caused you more trouble than was necessary by not performing an adequate search myself; I had no idea that Google's news archives went...

Thanks for the references. I actually had Willoughby's book in mind when I mentioned Maxick. No other tameshiwari-type stuff in that book that I can recall, though (unless you count driving nails...

Yes, motivations do, indeed, differ. For example, when I teach physics, I am fully aware that I am providing a service to the students taking the course, and I do my best to make sure that they are...

Yes, but in refusing to bow to certain market demands, you are providing a training environment that appeals to a particular cadre of students, just as changing the sign on the door to "The Latest...

Sorry, my sarcasm often gets the better of me. I don't really see the issue, though. You say that teachers are sacrificing the arts by catering to students who want "watered down" practice. But,...

Interesting to know it's been around in the West that long. Do you have a source?

On a related note, I was interested to find out recently that Maxick, the early 20th century strongman, used to...

Hear, hear! Money is the cause of it all! The root of all evil! Down with money, I say! All the problems associated with the transmission of traditional arts would be solved if just did away with...

Of course, but I think the crux is experience with what? Is it enough, for example, to have trained in a similar art (such as aikido)? Or must one have direct experience in Daito-ryu? If so, how...

Ha! I knew that would get your attention!

Can anyone identify the older gentleman in these clips?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=929VChlVZ5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwYyD9LyAYE

He...

Ah, never mind.

Nothing I was taught in the dojo focused very much on mechanical analysis either. You might be surprised to hear this, but I don't think an analytical approach is going to revolutionize much of...

Whether the front or rear leg becomes "weighted" will depend on the direction of the applied force as well as the stance you are in (more precisely, it depends on the position of your center of mass...

I'm not sure what you mean by "torquing"; it conjures up in my mind images of grunting and gnashing of teeth--things not at all implied by me. You will notice that "torque" is used only as a noun in...

Lifting the legs only seems more impressive if you haven't thought about the physics involved. In actuality, in the demo you are describing, any downward force applied to the ground by the legs...

Or better yet... whose baguazhang jibengong and circle walking? Honestly, though, at the level of nitpicking commonly seen on internet forums, I think it might be necessary to specify not only which...

Just to clarify:

I'm not really feeling any frustration from the descriptions themselves or the lack of details. My frustration stems from the difficulties that seem to accompany actually meeting...

You have my sincerest apologies. What I wrote wasn't really intended as an attack, just an expression of my own frustration (a frustration that apparently others are also feeling). And actually, I...

That's great, but, if your only response to someone who actually wants to see and feel this stuff in action is to retreat back into your secret clubhouse and lock the door, why spend so much time...

Sorry. You'd have to feeeel this particular handshake to understand. It's really much too complicated to describe. The only way to tell whether or not someone has "it" is to actually shake their...

But then it wouldn't be a secret. :rolleyes:

I'm not sure that the requirement of hard evidence precludes a "sense of wonder and curiosity about things outside of our own little area of experience & expertise." Most scientists I've been around...

Just a few general comments (not that anyone asked...):

I think it is dangerous to draw conclusions about someone's technical skills and/or teaching ability based on the terminology they employ in...

There is certainly jo-dori (and even video of Takumakai members showing spear disarming techniques in one of the videos available at Aikido Journal), but you probably already knew that. Also, I...