Samurai Fighting Arts Book

SAMURAI FIGHTING ARTS introduces the world of traditional Japanese martial arts and will provide readers with a deeper understanding of Bushido and Japan. Also known as Kobudo, these traditional martial arts can be seen as a continuation of samurai culture, and comprise a number of styles formulated in the samurai era that are still being taught today.

Aiming to develop Bujutsu (martial arts) and Hyoho (strategy) to the highest possible degree, the samurai devised a code consisting of over eighteen arts. A samurai was expected to have impeccable manners and be an expert in martial arts, but never to be a killer. His words contained his soul, which he cultivated by learning poetry and art, and by practicing Zen meditation.

Fumon Tanaka is the world-famous Kobudo grandmaster. He knows all the Kobudo styles, and his teaching of arts such as Iaijutsu and Jujitsu fascinates many students around the world. This is his first book in English and it offers readers around the world the opportunity to learn the lesser known arts of Kobudo, particularly the way of Nito Ken the two swords technique established by the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi and to further understand his spirit.

Lavishly illustrated with around 1200 photographs and pictures, SAMURAI FIGHTING ARTS reveals many secret skills of Kobudo.


About the Author

Fumon Tanaka was born in 1943. He started learning kendo at the age of thirteen, and has been practicing martial arts ever since. He is the leading authority on the traditional martial arts in Japan, and has published many books on the subject. In 1988 he traveled to France as part of the Nihon Budo delegation selected by the Ministry of Education and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Since then he has frequently been invited to teach in Germany, Italy, England, France, Denmark, and Sweden.