History, Kenjutsu

Dave Lowry frequently travels throughout Asia to research its culture and history, and has written several books about Japan and the budo. He started writing for Black Belt magazine more than 20 years ago and has shared his traditional take on the martial arts world in a monthly column called Karate Way since 1986.

In Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword, Lowry focuses his expertise on the techniques and history of the bokken--the wooden training sword used by both ancient samurai and today's swordsmen. According to Lowry, training with the bokken is important on two levels for the modern practitioner: "On one, he builds the physical stamina, rhythms, and adroit body movements of traditional swordsmanship. On the other, he achieves something of the animating spirit of the traditional swordsman. He is, through the refinement of his practice, linked in a very real way to his past, for it is from the principles of swordsmanship that the budo of today have based their teachings, no matter what their present form."

Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword couples Lowry's concise, eloquent writing style with more than 100 hundred technique photographs to provide the reader with the traditional and modern perspectives of this vital, historically rich practice tool.