Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 146

styles, but those who are, possess a high level of
commitment. Master Jordan has come to Europe
to stay and teach, accompanied by his charming
wife Juliana, as integrated in their common
dream as you can imagine. They are good
people, with a disposition for commitment and
intense work, always positive, and they have
come to share their knowledge with other
budokas. It is not a little that they have to offer,
either! In this first project, as much in an article
as a video for Budo International-no doubt the
first in a long series-Shidoshi Jordan wanted to
present the many areas included in his warrior
tradition, with the handling of multiple weapons
and techniques that have a common and
extremely interesting root.
Jordan, a true Samurai of the old style,
professes reverence for the ways of Musashi and,
like him, he divides his soul between the sword
and the pen, generously offering his knowledge
on his web-site, adding nearly one new article per
week. This high production has led him through
the years to publish the Bugei Encyclopedia and
many other books on Zen and Japanese
philosophy and tradition, most of them in PDF
format, texts that show his deep knowledge of the
Art and the Martial culture.
I must recommend to all the lovers of the
Japanese tradition this Art as well as this Master,
direct heir of the legally documented, authentic
warrior school of the eternal Japan.
Alfredo Tucci

BU (military, war), GEI (art)
Bu is related to the military, the martial; Gei, in turn,
means art, or performance. So, Bugei is a joining of
kanji, which has as an interpretation, “art or
performance of war”, denoting a more generic
aspect, which includes and embraces the diverse
specialties not only of Bujutsu, but of its subspecializations. Bujutsu, in turn, denotes the strategy
or the function of these warrior arts, the way by
which the practice reaches its objectives.
Bugei, or Military Art, had its origin in old Japan,
though it was only studied for purposes of warfare.
Nowadays, its ideology is totally centered around the
tradition of the art. For this reason, all the disciplines
have a common relation: the search for reality and
efficiency, an essential factor for the training of a
warrior.
It was in the Tokugawa Era (also known as the Edo
Period, 1603 to 1868 AD) when the military culture
reached its historic and technical height. The
population was divided into four social classes:
samurais, farm workers, craftsmen, and traders. The
samurais were the dominant class. They held
absolute power over the people and their lands,
having the sword and their family name as their
symbol. They possessed an honor code
denominated Bushido.
Approximately nine centuries of expression of
military power in Japan shows that the nation was
imbued with ideals and ethics particular to those
warriors, with an impressive sense of mission. Those
elements, which drove the bushi to act in important
scenarios of Japanese history, were strongly