Combat / defence skills and manuals Books
FreeLance Academy Press 'Can These Bones Come to Life?', Vol 2: High in
Book SynopsisUnderstanding the past takes more forms than historiography. Since 2005, professional and amateur scholars have come together at the annual International Medieval Congress in Western Michigan University to discuss the role re-construction, re-enactment and re-creation can play in 'breathing life into these dry bones' to deepen our knowledge of the past. Under the sponsorship of the Higgins Armory Museum and the Oakeshott Institute, presenters have looked at subjects ranging from ore smelting to equitation to the use of recreation and reenactment in the classroom. This volume brings together seven papers examining the depth and breadth in which experimental archaeology and textual analysis can come together to reveal the past. From glass beads to iron smelting, the profession of arms to the chivalric virtues of franchise and 'doing what one said they would do', this collection provides a unique insight into both the daily and intellectual life of medieval man. It will be of interest not only to professional historians, musicologists, literary scholars and art historians, but also to the vast army of impassioned and enthusiastic practitioners who endeavor, as a labor of love, to make the past come to life. Trade Review Table of ContentsIntroduction Michael A. Cramer There is No One True Art of the Sword Russell Mitchell "Forward Into The Past": Re-enactors and the Quest for Authenticity Lisa Evans Glass on Fire: Temperatures in Reconstructed Viking-era Bead Furnaces Neil Peterson with Sarah Backa, Jean Ross, and Robert Schweitzer An Iron Smelt in Vinland: An Experimental Investigation Darrell Markewitz The Chivalric Warrior as Man of His Word Steven Muhlberger "Seeking That Which Cannot Be Found": The use of Lancelot through Precursor Texts as Contemporary Social Commentary in The Once and Future King Emerson Storm Fillman Richards Franchise and Chivalric Identity Michael A. Cramer
£22.50
FreeLance Academy Press Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions
Book SynopsisKoryu, literally 'old flow from the past,' refers to Japanese martial traditions that predate the sweeping cultural changes that followed the Meiji Restoration of 1868. They generally have a very different character and tone from modern martial arts, such as kendo, judo or aikido which followed. More than the study of antique weapons, self-defense or a form of athletics, these martial traditions are a cultural legacy and a window to another time and place. In the first edition of Old School, Ellis Amdur, a renowned martial arts researcher, and himself an instructor in two different surviving koryu, gave readers a rare glimpse into feudal Japanese warrior arts, both as they were in the past and as they live on today. Nearly a decade later, he returns to the subject in this new, greatly expanded edition, bringing readers inside the dojos of a number ancient schools, providing details analysis of the evolution and morphology of uniquely Japanese weaponry, addressing the myth and reality of Japan's naginata-wielding warrior women, and discussing the modern relevance of the blood oaths, magical ritual and mysticism that often permeate the koryu. Finally, he looks at the challenge of preservation and transmission, especially as more and more practitioners of the koryu exist outside of Japan itself. Writing with a combination of the initiate's passion for his subject, and the scientist's rigorous search for the truth, Amdur asks critically: do the ancient traditions still meet the objectives of their founders? Are they successfully passing their ancient legacy down to the next generation? Over a third larger than the first edition and filled with new artwork and photography, Old School: Japanese Martial Traditions Expanded Edition will be an invaluable addition to the library of old readers and new alike. 125 b&w illustrations, photographs and drawings. Trade Review Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Dedication Foreword to the First Edition Foreword to the Second Edition Author's Note Part One: Something Once New Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-ryu Maniwa Nen-Ryu Higo Ko-ryu Part Two: Essays on Japanese Weaponry Ancient Weapons: A Prologue to the Development of Japanese Weapons of the Classical Era The Development and History of the Naginata Kusarigama: the Chain-and-Sickle Chigiriki: The Japanese Flail Part Three: History and Tradition The Origins of Araki-ryu Women Warriors in Japan Part Four: Nothing Stays the Same: Martial Traditions from the Edo Period Lineal Transmission into the 21st Century Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-ryu Redux Bugei in the Edo Period: The Rise of Competitive Martial Sports Honma Nen-ryu Yoshin-ryu: A Maze of Willows Part Five: The Sinew of Classical Martial Traditions The Role of Esoteric Training in Modern Times Keppan: Blood Vows in Japanese Martial Traditions Glossary Bibliography
£35.62
