Ellis Amdur

Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts has been groundbreaking. In his first book, Dueling with Osensei, Amdur threw down a gauntlet to practitioners, that the moral dimension of martial arts is expressed in acts of integrity, not spiritual platitudes and deification of fantasized warrior-sages. In his second book, Old School, he applied both academic rigor and keen observation to offer the reader as close a look as words can provide to some of the classical martial arts of Japan, leavening his writing with vivid descriptions of some of the actual practitioners of these wonderful traditions.

Hidden in Plain Sight contents:

The Chinese connection
The birth of Daito-ryu
A unified field theory: Aiki and weapons
Aikido is three peaches
Hidden in plain sight
Circle, square, traingle: How to be O-Sensei in sixteen easy steps
Epilogue

In this volume, Amdur has radically reworked his iconoclastic essays first published on the website of Aikido Journal. Here, he attempts to establish the existence of something all but lost in Japaneses martial arts-a sophisticated type of training, encompassing mental imagery, breathwork and a variety of physical techniques that offered the practitioner the potential to develop skills sometimes viewed as nearly superhuman. Commonly referered to as 'internal training,' and usually believed to be the provenance of Chinese martial arts, Amdur asserts that not only was it once common among many Japanese martial traditions, but elements of such training still remain, passed down in a few martial arts-literally 'hidden in plain sight.'

As always, Amdur reminds us that this is a human endeavor and he provides vivid, even heart breaking, protrayals of some of the great practitioners of these skills, men who devoted their lives to an obsessive pursuit of power.

Ellis Amdur began training in various martial arts systems in the late 1960's, spending thirteen of these years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions, and has achieved instructor's level in two classical Japanese martial systems: the Araki-ryu and the Toda-ha Buko-ryu.

Since his return to America in 1988, Amdur has worked in the field of crisis intervention. He has developed a range of training and consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. These are based on a combination of phenomenologcal psychology and the underlying philosophical premises of classical Japanese martial traditions. Amdur's professional philosophy can best be summed up in this idea: the development of an individual's integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue.

Aside from his martial arts books and DVD, Amdur has released a number of instructional books concerning communication with seriously mentally ill individuals and verbal de-escalation of aggression.

Contents

Dedication
Acknolwedgements
Forward
The Chinese connection
The birth of Daito-ryu
A unified field theory: Aiki and weapons
Aikido is three peaches
Hidden in plain sight
Circle, square, traingle: How to be O-Sensei in sixteen easy steps
Epilogue: 'Mada, mada: ('Not yet, not yet!')
Appendices
Cast of historical characters mentioned in the text
Find out yourself… (meer)

Old School gives its readers a rare glimpse into Japanese martial traditions as the were in the past and as they live on today. Ellis Amdur writes about: ancient martial schools such as Katori Shintoryu, Maniwa Nen-ryu, and Higo Ko-ryu weapons that are uniquely Japanese and the diverse martial schools using them, and how the various martial schools originated and adapted to the changing times He writes with a passionate loyalty but, at the same, rigorously examines these martial traditions to discover whether or not their professed objectives are actually being met. Ellis Amdur lived in Japan for thirteen years and, while there, acquired teaching licenses in two Japanese martial traditions. He now lives in Seattle, WA, where he has worked as a crisis intervention specialist for almost fifteen years. He is the founder of Edgework, a company that offers consultation and training in effective intervention when dealing with people on the verge of suicide, violence, or severe character disorder. He also works with law enforcement agencies, setting up crisis intervention teams and training hostage negotiation teams to deal with agitated, mentally ill individuals. Ellis Amdur is also the author of Dueling with O-Sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage. Contents Acknowledgments Dedication Foreword 1 Koryu Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu Maniwa Nen-ryu Higo Ko-ryu 2 Japanese Weaponry Ancient weapons The development and history of the naginata Chigiriki: the Japanese flail Kusarigama: the chain-and-sickle 3 History and tradition Women warriors of Japan The origins of Araki-ryu Keppan: Blood vows in Japanese martial traditions Bibliography… (meer)

from cover If there were an 'ordinary martial arts book,' this would be its evil twin. Unflinchingly honest, writing from a perspective both authoritative and unique, Amdur explores aspects of budo, its philosophies and dilemmas, its remarkable rewards and yes, its pathologies, in a way no other author has. He does so with humor, compelling creativity, and a wickedly sharp-edged insight that make this book a delight.-Dave Lowry, author of Persimmon Wind Contents Foreword 1. Aiki: A State of the Union 2. Aiki is Not Always Pretty 3. The Use of Weapons in Aikido Training 4. A Conversation with Daito-ry's Other Child 5. Atemi: Striking to the Heart of the Matter 6. So How Tough Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 7. Toward Simple Morality-Or How Come Something So Fine Sometimes Turns So Ugly? 8. Otoko (Manhood) 9. There Is No Such Thing as Tenkan without Irimi 10. Hiding in the Shadows of the Warrior 11. Life as a Movie 12. Setsuninto-Katsujinken 13. Tenchi: Head in the Clouds and Feet in the Muck 14. Did You Ever Meet O-Sensei: O-Sensei Who? 15. The Knights of the Mouldy Rope 16. Oniisan (Elder Brother) Afterword… (meer)