New Book

SMAA member Max Roach recently had a book published called Japanese Swords: Cultural Icons of a Nation. We just got a copy of the book, so we haven't had a chance to read it yet, but the photos and presentation are great. You can check out the book's Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japanese-Swords-Cultural-Icons-of-a-Nation/128441140520277

I'd like to have one of the leaders of the SMAA come to my dojo to teach and/or conduct testing. How do I do this?

Just contact the SMAA HQ, and let us know which teacher you would like to study with. We will then pass your request on to that instructor.

Many of the Directors and Advisors are willing to teach seminars an...d conduct testing for low fees--in some cases just for the cost of their expenses--to help spread high quality traditional budo. Each teacher has his or her own ideas about payment, but it is often easier to bring a top SMAA sensei to your dojo than you might think.

Members find that belonging to the SMAA offers many important and tangible benefits. However, perhaps the most important benefit is a chance to experience genuine Japanese budo, budo that has not been watered-down or Westernized, and such opportunities are more rare than the public might imagine. Moreover, competent teachers of these classical disciplines are equally rare to find outside of Japan, and we hope SMAA members will take steps to learn from the accomplished sensei in our group.

I'm a member, and I have not received a copy of the journal in some time. Why is this?

Did your home address or e-mail address change? Did you let us know well in advance that you would be moving? If not, this can easily explain why you are not receiving anything from us. If your e-mail address changes, please promptly ...send the new address to hedavey@aol.com.

Have you made your annual donation to the SMAA, which is due on January 1 of each year? Since we are a small, traditional, and fairly non-commercial association, we cannot send copies of the journal to members who are not contributing to the financial maintenance of the SMAA.