In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts

Offers interesting dives on topics.

Lowry, Dave. In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts. Boston: Weatherhill, 2006.Titled as a guide to ritual and etiquette, this work also includes elements of history and anecdotes from the life of the author. It serves as a reasonable, general overview of goings on in a dojo. Divided into 13 chapters, Lowry covers topics ranging from the arrangement of the dojo and the elements of the shrine; the roles, behaviors, and responsibilities of visitors, students, and teachers; actions in daily practice and yearly events; and uniforms and equipment. In his efforts to be broad and far reaching, the chapters themselves provide readers a cursory glance into these topics from a variety of angles, from the eyes of students of a traditional art like those of many koryu to a more modern art like Judo or Aikido.Largely, Lowry draws from his own experiences as dramatically narrated anecdotes cover the pages quite frequently. On the occasions Lowry references other sources, such as historical records from organizations such as the Kodokan, he disappointingly does not include citations, footnotes, or a bibliography. This shortcoming limits the usefulness of this work beyond a cursory overview from only the author’s perspective.Readers should expect this personal narrative style to cause sections to wander, sometimes in directions with little more than a tangential connection to the chapter heading. Down some of these rabbit trails, the tone of the work shifts away from that of a helpful guide who's been down these ways before, sometimes into the warm, soft tones of nostalgia, others into the hard, unpleasant tones of condescension. These shifts do not make the work impossible to read—indeed, at times they give the reader time to pause and reflect on their own experiences—they do not, however, add to the ease of either reading or comprehension.For readers who have spent a length of time in a Japanese budo, Lowry’s In the Dojo will largely confirm what they already learned with a few opportunities for contemplation. This work serves best as an introductory work for students new to training in Japanese martial arts. The wide ranging topics he addresses will provide signposts to help neophytes navigate the myriad of strange, new, and sometimes uncomfortable experiences of starting any budo. Perhaps most important, especially for this audience, in one form or another Lowry repeatedly notes that his experience may differ and when questions arise, students should always defer to their sensei.

In the age of the Internet, much of the information in this book is available for the beginning martial arts student who is willing to surf a variety of web sites, read conflicting explanations of things, and use good judgement to weed out the sensible and believable explanations from silly traditions and urban legends. The advantage of this book is that the beginner can get lots of information without all the unnecessary effort.The book covers traditions and etiquette in a variety of Japanese martial arts (karate, aikido, kendo, koryu...), so that it is a relevant book for almost any student of Japanese martial arts. In fact, although most of the topics addressed are things that an experienced student is likely to have knowledge of, there are plenty of dojo where misinformation about history and tradition is passed on as fact, so it might be a helpful book for some experienced students as well.The writing is mixed. When he is trying to explain things or sticks to facts, the author is clear and interesting. However, sometimes he tries to be a clever essayist and this inevitably fails. This is true of all the author's publications that I've read. "In The Dojo" is on the whole successful. Don't give up while reading the first chapter (a metaphorical tour of budo using the Tao of the Dojo as a theme).As far as I can tell, the information is at least as accurate as other publications. Scholars may quibble on various points (e.g., the antiquity of sumo wrestling or whether colored belts were really used in Europe first), but the book is generally very well grounded in the author's extensive experience of traditional arts.The main drawbacks to the book, which I consider to drop its rating 1-2 stars, are the lack of citations and lack of index. I think the author considers his writing to be a sort of isshin-denshin training in which the reader accepts the author's superior status within the martial arts world as substitution for scholarship. But he is wrong. Publishing is not budo training, and an author is not the reader's sensei. By failing to give citations, the author essentially sets himself up as an alternative authority to whatever instructor a student may already have.  Karl Friday  doesn't have any problem distinguishing his roles as scholar and martial artist, why this author? Also, the lack of index makes it almost impossible to use this book as a resource. I found myself making my own index to the book as I read. Very annoying. Still, recommended for the beginning student.

A great resource for martial artists and Japan aficionados alike, this book covers all aspects of etiquette and tradition in the classical Japanese martial arts. If you plan to study aikido, iaido, judo, karate, kyudo, or kendo this is a must read. Subjects include layout of the traditional dojo, accommodating visitors, wearing traditional uniforms, handling weapons, the Shinto shrine, contemplative meditation, ritual bowing, martial language, interacting with teachers and other students, and training fees. The author covers not only the obvious traditions but also the "unwritten" behavioral expectations as well. You will also learn a whole lot of useful Japanese words and phrases. The book is a very easy read, filled with colorful vignettes to entertain as well as educate.My only complaint is that there are no illustrations. While some practitioners have the luxury of training in a classical dojo and seeing a traditional Shinto shrine, many do not. Those folks would undoubtedly appreciate seeing what this stuff actually looks like. The same thing goes with the hakama skirt; while it is traditional bugei garb, it is not used in all Japanese martial arts. A picture really is worth a thousand words most of the time though I suppose if Lowry can write an outstanding book on sushi that contains no pictures he can certainly leave out the illustrations here...While this book may be most beneficial to newer practitioners, it is useful and insightful for anyone who practices Japanese martial arts. Like most of Lowry's tomes, it truly deserves a place of honor in your personal library. Highly recommended!Lawrence KaneAuthor of Blinded by the Night, among other titles

`In the Dojo' is a book by Dave Lowry exploring etiquette and ritual in the dojo and their history. Whilst I am a huge fan of Lowry's books, this one seems to be stilted and quite dry to read. It doesn't flow like his other books and comes across as too serious and even a little stiff at times. He comes across as very dedicated and with a great deal of integrity, but whereas previously he came across as more down to earth and slightly more informal when imparting his prodigious knowledge, here he seems uptight and even slightly condescending about the issues explored. I agree with all he has to say about Budo and it's development and enjoy reading about the etiquette of dojo activities and form, but I didn't especially enjoy the way he chose to impart it this time. The topic this book covers are The Dojo, Visitors, The Uniform, The Hakama, Weapons, The Shinto Shrine, Contemplation, Bowing, Martial Language, The Teacher, Money, The Student, The Dojo Year and an in-depth glossary of Japanese terms used . If you a fan of Lowry then there will be something here to engage you, but if you are new to martial arts books, or have yet to try Lowry's other books, then I would suggest you try one of those first before you come to this later on. His two collected essays books are particularly good and worth checking out.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

There are some interesting anecdotes in this book and I was even moved to make notes as I went along for future reference. However, I wonder just how much of what the author suggests is 'fact' and how much is his interpretation, opinion or made up by himself-references would have helped make this more lucid. The writing style is verbose and meandering and Lowry occasionally has an odd, awkward turn of phrase (rather like a foreign language book translated into English) that requires one to reread sentences. This gets a little tiresome over the course of the whole book but when you reread the book the tangents become really interesting. I haven't come across this style of writing in his other books. But he warns us of his tangential writing in the preface, so I was warned and so are you! Having said all that, don't let it put you off buying this book as it does contain some very valuable, interesting pieces of information that will fascinate moat martial arts practitioners.

This book is a simple and easy to read guide to the rituals and etiquette that surround the dojo and the Japanese martial arts.It is well written and a joy to read, bringing meaning to the traditions and rituals that we observe in the dojo.The book is a collection of essays that deal with various aspects of the dojo:- The dojo space itself, the shinto shrine that we find in every dojo,its vistitors,the relationship between the student and teacher, the uniform, the training weapons, the martial language and bowing.It is a must for anyone who practices or has an interest in martial arts and desires understanding the traditions that they come upon during the time spent in the dojo.

Simply the best book I have read on the subject. Mr Lowry gives a no nonsense subject by subject guide to the etiquette in traditional Dojos. The chapters are well written making it a book that I found very difficult to put down.The book is suitable for either a newcomer to the martial arts looking for information or for a seasoned instructor who wants to fill in some gaps in their knowledge or who is looking for inspiration. Mr Lowry "tells it like it is" without trying to push personal opinions onto the reader. This is a book I know I will read time and time again, and loan out to my friends and students. Well done on another great book.

Great value and service.