Roald Knutsen
AUTHOR OF JAPANESE SPEARS
ISBN 1-901903-61-3 - 240pp - Case - B/W illus.
March 2004 - £35.00
| KEY FEATURE(S): In an environment where budo has lost its ‘spirit’ in the process of shifting so much towards sport, this book reappraises and reaffirms the profound and intrinsic importance of budo 's underlying warrior culture and its real legacy |
In a marketplace where there is already a vast library consisting mostly of ‘how to’ and ‘illustrated history of’ books because of the increasing emphasis on the popularization of budo and budo as sport, Rediscovering Budo will be widely welcomed by more serious budo practitioners, as well as interested observers, who are looking for a return to ‘first principles’, who are interested in substance rather than style, and who wish - at least spiritually and emotionally - to understand and, where possible, relate to the mind-set of Japan’s unique warrior culture. Knutsen, who has the distinction of being the first European to hold a senior master’s licence in the formidable skill of Iai-jutsu – the art of ‘drawing sword’ for combat, makes it clear that he is not interested in exploring so-called ‘super’ theories, nor attempting to unravel complicated and ‘often incomprehensible’ definitions of the many teaching concepts employed in budo.
|
