[Bill Tsafa]

i am a long time fan of the European Martial Arts. I an currently trying to extend my knowledge to include Samurai Sword fighting techniques. Could you anyone please refer me a few links that would give me a basic idea of the asian principles. Something similar to the Talhoffer, Sutor and Marozzo links featured on myArmoury would be excellent. thanks

[Bill Grandy]

Hi Vassilis,
That's a tough one. The thing is, most Japanese sword practitioners have a different sub-culture in their views of training than European sword practitioners. Because JSA have been preserved and constantly practiced, most practitioners spend more time advising others to find an instructor than to make a website with more than rudimentary techniques. There is a tendency to discourage "wannabe" samurai, who've learned a few basic moves from a website, and are proclaiming themselves experts.

The reason you can find so much more on WMA online is because the groups are fewer and farther from each other, and the techniques are being "rediscovered", as opposed to having a lineage. Having online communities has really aided in sharing knowledge to rebuild these lost techniques, so more western martial artists are inclined to post their interpretations for others to compare/contrast with their own interpretations of historical manuals.

Sorry if that isn't much of a help.

[edited for grammar]