Christmas Special Offer

For Christmas, in addition to our monthly Discounts, we offer presents with ALL orders!

Why do we offer this book ?
Kendo: Culture of the Sword is probably the best martial art studies book published in the past few years.
As the cover says, it's not only about Kendo, but it's about the entire sword culture in Japan and, therefore, related to all martial arts derived from the arts of the sword.

Kendo follows the development of Japanese swordsmanship from the aristocratic-aesthetic pretensions of medieval warriors in the Muromachi period, to the samurai elitism of the Edo regime, and then to the nostalgic patriotism of the Meiji state. Kendo was later influenced in the 1930s and 1940s by ultra nationalist militarists and ultimately by the postwar government, which sought a gentler form of nationalism to rekindle appreciation of traditional culture among Japan’s youth and to garner international prestige as an instrument of “soft power.” Today Kendo is becoming increasingly popular internationally. But although new organizations and clubs form around the world, cultural exclusiveness continues to play a role in Kendo’s ongoing evolution, as the sport remains closely linked to Japan’s sense of collective identity.

We've followed Alex's research for a few years now, and he already published many interesting papers.
As you know, Seido's staff also participates in some martial art related studies, together with Guillaume Erard. We've actually met with Alex a few months ago, and as we could expect it based on his publications, we've realized major similarities in our conclusions, despite the fact that his research is Kendo oriented and ours is Aikido oriented.

Our customers not being Kendoka (for most of them), the chances they already have the book are very low. Nonetheless, we believe, as practitioners and researchers, that all martial artists thinking of themselves as Budoka should read this book, and that's why we're offering it for Christmas.
It is also a great pleasure for us to help spreading Alex's work outside of the Kendo circles.

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas (and Hanukkah of course).

Please note that the presents granted for your order will be displayed in the cart but not in the confirmation email. No worries, it's on our packing slips and it will be in your package.

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