Books

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Budo: The Martial Ways of Japan
The Definitive Guide to Japanese Budo
An Official Publication of the Nippon Budokan

Budō is enjoying astonishing popularity outside of Japan, more than the Japanese could ever imagine, and the potential of budō as a form of personal development is not unfamiliar to non-Japanese budōka. The main difficulty faced by enthusiasts overseas, however, ...

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Zen Calligraphy and Painting of Yamaoka Tesshu, with a foreword by Rupert Faulkner, introductions by Sarah Moate and Alex Bennett, an essay by Terayama Tanchu and an afterword by Takemura Eiji.
200 pp., 33 color plates, 67 b/w pictures, (cloth)

Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888) was a Japanese master of the sword, Zen and calligraphy. This full-color book on the Zen art of Yamaoka Tesshu features reproductions of extremely valuable calligraphy pieces, and also a number of essays about the relationship between swordsmanship, the study of Zen, and calligraphy. Each one of the works presented are translated into English, and its significance explained in detailed captions. Some fantastic specimens of Zen calligraphy by Tesshu's famous contemporaries Katsu Kaishu and Takahashi Deishu (Tesshu's brother-in-law), and modern master Terayama Tanchu are also featured.
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Assisted by my brother Blake, and supervised by Satō Nariaki-sensei, for the past year I have been working hard on a translation of the Kendō Shidō Yōryō (The Official Guide for Kendo Instruction). This book, as the title suggests, is the official ...

JIGORO KANO AND THE KODOKAN:AN INNOVATIVE RESPONSE TO MODERNISATION
Translated and Edited by Alex Bennett


I guess this is one of the reasons why my blog has been a little neglected of late. Have just published a book about the life and ideals of Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo.
As judo has become an immensely popular international sport, particularly since its induction as an official Olympic event in 1964, many of the progenitor’s original educational ideals have arguably fallen by the wayside.
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Recently, a new book regarding the history of kendo was released by the publishers of Kendo Nippon Magazine. The book, A Bilingual Guide to the History of Kendo, is, as its title suggests, a bilingual guide to the history of kendo. The author is Sakai Toshinobu, expert in sword history and professor at the University of Tsukuba. The English translation was done by me.

The book is comprised of a number of essays outlining the earliest sword ideals from the continent and how they were introduced and developed in Japan, right through the international situation of the art in the 21st century.They were originally published every month for two years in ...