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James Williams feature Article - Blackbelt August '08
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A 48-year veteran of the martial arts, James Williams is the founder of Bugei Trading Company, a renowned source for quality swords and armor. Williams runs his own school in Encinitas, California, and oversees a network of instructors and students who carry on his nami ryu system around the United States. He was featured as the cover story of Black Belt's August 2008 issue.
The August '08 edition of Blackbelt Magazine is on newsstands now!
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Excerpt from the article:
In the pages of Black Belt, we deal with a variety of Japanese sword arts-kendo, iaido, cutting, sport-style sparring, sparring with padded weapons and so on. How are they different from one another and from what you do?
First, sparring for sport has nothing to
do with the Japanese sword arts. Kendo
really doesn't have anything to do with
old-style Japanese swordsmanship; it's a
modern sport. The movements and stances
are completely different. From a classical
perspective, using a shinai is different
from using a sword. Iaido is a modern art;
it has roots in the past, but what they do is
not combat oriented.
I don't think the samurai would be able to
relate to most modern Japanese sword arts.
We use the term bujutsu, or "warrior study,"
to refer to all the things those warriors needed
to know: swimming while wearing armor,
shooting arrows while on horseback, and
how to use the naginata, yari and sword.
From the classical koryu perspective, the
sword was the foundation of strategy. All the
movements came from it.
What's the best term to describe what you practice? Kenjutsu?
We do bujutsu. My system, nami ryu,
has kenjutsu and iaijutsu, which is a subset
of kenjutsu that was useful when you
had to draw quickly under duress. It also
includes jujutsu, which is the strikes, drops
and throws that are identical to the moves
done with the sword, as well as shurikenjutsu,
tantojutsu, hojojutsu, naginatajutsu
and some kyudo. But the big three we work
with are kenjutsu, iaijutsu and jujutsu.
Does your system also include test-cutting?
Yes. Tameshigiri is about making sure
you can cut with the techniques you're
practicing. A lot of people do it just because
they can. It doesn't necessarily mean anything
even if you can cut well.
Should martial artists who haven't trained in a sword art refrain from practicing tameshigiri?
It depends on what you want to learn.
If you just want to chop things, there's all
kinds of ways to do it. But swords are dangerous,
and a mistake can be very costly.
A big mistake can be life changing. I absolutely
think you should get training first.
Furthermore, it took sword makers
a long time to create swords that are as
good as they are. If all you do is cutting,
you're not showing respect for any of that.
There's something about a sword-when
you pick one up, you're picking up more
than just a piece of steel. You're accepting
the responsibility to learn how to use it and
the responsibility to learn how to protect and
defend other people. You're taking up a task
that's been passed down for millennia.
Behind the scenes video footage:
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