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Zen Beikoku Bujutsu Kyokai
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USAMA BLOG

Raising the standards of the martial arts

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The Importance of Documentation

5/14/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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Especially here in the States, anyone can go to their local martial arts supply store (or online), pick up a black belt and open a martial arts school without any legal implications. Because martial arts instruction is not overseen by the government (thank God) and rank is so subjective, the government doesn't recognize this as fraud. Therefore, aside from a bad reputation and a painful lesson in humility, there are no repercussions for doing so. This leads to a large range of quality among martial arts schools and, more often than not, students of the lesser quality schools get a bad taste in their mouth and write off all martial arts for good.

In Japan, the government recognizes the Dai Nippon Butokukai and the Kokusai Budoin as governing bodies while in Korea, they oversee the Kukkiwon (Taekwondo only). While I am adamantly against a single governing body that oversee's all martial arts on behalf of state or national governments, I believe every instructor should be certified by some organization with a reputation for quality control.


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Modern-Day Samurai: To Serve Or Not To Serve

5/6/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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Call to mind the image of the Samurai. I'm sure it's something along the lines of a Zen master drinking tea in the garden, offering up deep philosophical advice to his most trusted pupils after teaching them the deadliest secrets to sword fighting, right? It's not your fault, that is what we've all been coerced into believing and have ingrained in our subconscious. And who wouldn't want to emulate that? Unfortunately, nothing could be farther from reality.

In the Japanese martial arts community, there is always an underlying desire to have some connection to the Samurai of feudal Japan. I am guilty of this as well, so don't get me wrong, but how much is too much? In the age we live in, koryu bujutsu (Japanese arts that pre-date 1868) are very accessible and there are even some that have passed down their iemoto to Westerners! So with what was once restricted within a specific clan now being available to anyone worldwide, why would we not try to become modern-day Samurai?


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