Heihō kadensho Part 0: Intro
Hello and welcome to my first post about my primary field of study in the SCA! This is the first in a series of posts centered on reading and analyzing selections from historic Ko-ryū treatises. The term "Ko-ryū" (literally; "old school") refers to any Japanese school of traditional arts, though it can be used as shorthand to reference Japanese schools of traditional martial arts or "Ko-budō". There is a larger debate that can happen over which of these terms (Ko-ryū or Ko-budō) may be more appropriate here depending on whether I am focusing on reading Japanese martial treatises for their combative, moral, disciplinary, or aesthetic content. I cannot speak or write Japanese (much less classical Japanese) so, while that debate would be fascinating, it is out of my depth. For now, I will settle on the more general shorthand "Ko-ryū". Thinking ahead, it might be liberating to have a broader term. After all, this blog may expand from analyzing ...