“One of the main criticisms levied at “traditional” martial arts (I put the term in quotes because, from what I can tell, “traditional” typically means anything that is NOT mixed martial arts or brazilian jiu-jitsu) is that many of the techniques that these arts teach are not combat-specific. The implication is that only arts that focus solely on combat are worth studying. In fact, going further, there’s a snarky undertone that implies that those who study traditional arts are deluding themselves by practicing techniques that fall outside the realm of “combat only.”
Brian Kagen is an avid web researcher with a particular interest in martial arts. His training background includes both judo and aikido. He has contributed hundreds of article links over the years for AJ readers.
Evangelical proselytizing about Aikido, and also against it, seems to abound.
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I don’t usually go for novels, but this one looks interesting. It’s called “An Obese White Gentleman in No Apparent Distress”. It is a novel based on the life of Aikido free spirit Terry Dobson, written by Riki Moss. I think it will be worth a read. The release is set for January ’09, and Amazon.com is taking pre-orders now.
The article below has been selected from the 
Available in our video archives is a rare film clip of the late Morihiro Saito Sensei is an exciting demonstration he gave in Meguro Ward, Tokyo way back in 1969. Aikido Journal Editor Stanley Pranin was on hand with an old 8mm camera to capture the action.
Here is a 
Among the many video clips in the Aikido Journal archives are two from the 
The interview below with New Zealander David Lynch has been selected from the 
Available in our video archives is a 
