Good Book?

[LASur5r]

Some of the TFL'ers have been talking about breathing affecting the body, especially in self-defense, high stress situations.
Some of the folks that are interested in the development of ki (Japanese) or ch'i(Chinese), I would like to recommend a very opinionated writer of "The Power of Internal Martial Arts" by B.K. Frantzis by North Atlantic Books...$19.95.

It is not light reading , but there is a lot of good stuff for those of you who are interested.

[Hard Ball]

It sounds interesting, I'll check it out.

[dragontooth73]

There's also Yang Jwing-Ming, who's written a lot from the Chinese perspective; try an www.amazon.com search with his name as "Jwing-Ming Yang" and you'll hit around a dozen titles.

For anyone interested, I've moved from Boston to Chicago ... heading west gradually. Crossing this continent is fun. I couldn't do this if I had permanent ties; I hope to get home to Hawaii someday.

LASur5er, you mentioned in another thread that your Jujustu shihan had given his students a nata and said it was enough? I was wondering if you were happy with your carry knives so far and wanted to add another to your collection. I've found a bladesmith in Japan who ships orders domestically, but I don't know if he speaks English. Let me know if you're interested and I'll try to dig out the details.

[LASur5r]

DRAGONTOOTH 73,
Domo arigato gozaimasu.
I would greatly appreciate the information for the bladesmith, I'm sure that it is of the highest quality.
Mahalo, brah.

[dragontooth73]

Ok ... the bladesmith's name is Saji Takeshi (surname first, Japanese style)... also known as "Hakane no Shijin" (The Poet of Metal" ... He's won government recognition for his work ... he's from Fukui Prefecture. That prefecture's always been known for its blades for the past 700 years ... as much as Iwate and the other northern prefectures. In that tradition, he still makes them hand-forged.

Four blades were available last I checked through ordering:

Fisherman's knifes:

"Ryoshi Makiri"
Blade = 15cm
Handle = 12cm
Cost = 19,000 yen ($190)

"Ugui Kotoh"
Blade = 9cm
Handle = 20cm
Cost = 16,000 yen ($160)

Hunting Knives:

"Futokoro Nuiba"
Blade = 28.0cm
Handle = 15.5cm
Cost = 38,000 yen ($380)

"Nuiba Hachizun"
Blade = 38.0cm
Handle = 24.0cm
Cost = 38,000 yen ($380)

"Tanba Zantoh"
Blade = 33cm
Handle = 21cm
Cost = 35,000 yen ($350)

... The first two hunting knives are a set.

Ordering Info:
"Mag Planning"
Tel = (045)506-3323
Fax = (045)506-0189
(Takes over 2 weeks to finish and deliver)

These numbers connect to Yokohama numbers, which are on the outskirts of Tokyo - There's something called "Knife" magazine in Japan which where I found the info in the first place - publications in Japan tend to be fewer than in the US on any given subject so this one is pretty comprehensive. I'm pretty certain that their marketing department handles the orders so the poor guy can concentrate on making blades.

Try sending a fax first. If you do ever get to Japan, you'll probably end up in Tokyo first right? If you have time the Fukui prefectural government should have a tourist bureau in the city (I know the building, it's in Tokyo station and has all the prefectural government tourist bureaus) and they should be able to refer you to villages in the north with bladesmiths. If you can't make it there on your schedule (it's like going to Montana from LA, really) then they should be able to refer you to the bladesmiths directly.

I'll try to scan the pics of the blades (need to find a cybercafe) so you can take a look, but they're in the traditional Japanese style. Remember we're not talking katanas, but boar-hunting blades and salmon knives.

Anyways if you have trouble with the numbers or the fax, I'll try for you. Hope this helps. Wait a few days and I'll scan the pics. A hui hou

[LASur5r]

Dragontooth 73,
One of my first blades was given to me by O'sensei Unno, my jiujitsu instructor. We practiced from the very beginning with live filet blade. At first with scabbard on, then eventually with scabbard off.

One night, some of us young dummies wanted to try O'sensei's "real" ability, so the six of us attacked him as he came into his front yard. We did full on attacks as taught...meaning, if anything connected, we'd probably have to take that person to a hospital.
We learned something that night, O'sensei knew how to do one punch techniques (these left the recipient slightly paralyzed and unable to breathe) for about a minute or so. Acupressure points?
All I know is that as I lay on the gravel and watching the others being thrown and punched that at least this warrior, my instructor, understood Budo, the way of the Warrior, very well.
Thank you for the info, Dragontooth 73, I will follow up on it and I believe that you understand Budo very well.

[dragontooth73]

aiya, LASur5er ... imma one hopeless babooze lol the 5 knives i recommended were a limited set of 30 each on sale in august. they're gone now

instead, call up this store:

Volks
(06)6313-2525
*ask for Yamanaka Yasuhiro, the owner

The 06 should still be an Osaka city code ... this particular shop is famous for its knife collection (been to a dozen Tokyo shops and they're not all that big) and the owner should be able to refer you to what's available out there for Japanese blades ... I'm still going to scan the pics and email them to you in a week or so, hopefully. Severe roommate probs are forcing me to find anodda place to live in Chicago on VERY short notice... I never knew mainlanders could be THAT mento ... If you're looking for katanas, that's odda places.

I suggest you save up and get yourself a fine boar-hunting blade from the western prefectures ... area west of Kyoto is renowned as a inoshishi (boar) hunting region and has fine yappa (mountain blades) ... costs from $300 to $1000 or so but will last you a lifetime, and it will follow with the tradition of jujutsu that you began with.

I know I'm going to go back to Japan someday to get one again. Malama pono