From: jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.fencing
Subject: Re: On fencers....
Date: 10 Dec 92 23:18:36 GMT
Reply-To: jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup) writes:
>>Evolution of Swordswoman:

>	Sensei Lovret is in San Diego, and also runs a electronic magazine
>(distributed by BBS).  Seminars are held in various areas of the country every
>few months, and the National seminar is usually at the Maryland Budokan.
>There are active groups in chicago (Rick Ritacco), silver springs maryland 
>(Rajguru), dallas, new mexico (Sandia budokan - Fred Tart), pittsburgh,
>san diego, probably san fransisco, florida, and elsewhere.  I don't know
>about boston (assuming you're at stratus near boston).  If you (or others)
>want, mail me and I'll dig out the number of someone at the maryland budokan
>who'll know or know who to ask, wherever you are.

	A few people have asked, so I think perhaps it's easier to just post
this.  If we decide to have a FAQ eventually, perhaps this info should go into
it.

	Note: this data is about a year or more old, numbers may have
changed (if you find this is the case, please let me know).

Kenjutsu contacts (they should be able to give you information on other areas,
		I know groups exist in Pittsburgh, Dallas, San diego, New
		Mexico, and I think San Fransisco.  Probably many other
		places as well.):

	Reginald Brisbane, Maryland Budokan (301) 589-2941
	Rick Ritacco, Chicago Budokan (708) 788-1869.  3635 South Cuyler,
		Berwyn, Chicago, Illinois  60402

Budo Shinbun:

	Electronic magazine, mainly oriented towards kenjutsu and aikijutsu,
but not exclusively.

	Published by Taseki Publications by F.J. Lovret, headmaster Itto-
Tenshin Ryu Kenjutsu and Yamate-Ryu Aikijutsu.  Mr Lovret used to publish the
Bujin, a much-sought-after paper magazine for kenjutsu practitioners, and
has written several books.

	$19.95 startup, $5/month for access, articles daily I believe.

	Taseki Publications
	3579 Ruffin Rd,  #205
	San Diego, CA 92123

	A review taken from rec.martial-arts follows.
	
	Randell

From: sog@craycos.com (Steve Gombosi)
Subject: Budo Shinbun
Date: 21 Aug 91 00:10:17 GMT
Summary: Buy this puppy!


Well, I finally cranked  up my copy of  _Budo_Shinbun_ and I thought I'd
share my "first impressions".  _Budo_Shinbun_ is intended to be a
"martial arts magazine for adults" and it fulfills that goal 
admirably.   As Lovret-sensei says in his first editorial (a sort of
"Shinbun manifesto"), the magazine is targeted at practicing martial
artists ranked sandan (or equivalent) or above. It's not a fan magazine,
but rather a journal for people who actively train and have done
so for at least a decade or so. The only "concession to beginners", as he
puts it, is an advice column. This does not mean that people with less
experience cannot profit from _Budo_Shinbun_, it just means that some
of the content will go right past them. That's ok, the files aren't going
anywhere...you can always read them later. For those of you who are 
familiar with _The_Bujin_, a magazine that he edited and 
published about 10 years ago, Lovret-sensei says to "think of _Budo_Shinbun_
as _The_Bujin_, Volume 6". That's probably the best description anyone
could provide. Lovret-sensei is a man of strong opinions and he's not
particularly shy about expressing them. His editorials are certain to
be provocative at the very least, but they'll inform as much as they
provoke - which is a damned sight more than you can say about the
*average* martial arts publication.  _B_S_ (unfortunate choice
of initials ;-) ) contains and will contain no advertising, except
classified ads from subscribers (which are free), so there are no
"commercial considerations" to affect editorial content. 

What was in it? Well, let me see...a pretty interesting article on
the Aikido/Aikijutsu technique Ude Osae (a/k/a ikkyo), with some
comments on how one's practice of this technique changes as one 
develops; reviews of a couple of magazines, _The_East_ and _Aiki_News_;
a rather interesting editorial entitled "Martial Art or MARTIAL Art"
which should add fuel to a couple of rec.m-a flame wars; Lovret-sensei's
statement of purpose (for want of a better term); some interesting advice
for instructors on how to most efficiently correct beginners; a pretty
good feature on Japanese sword construction; the advice column;
a couple of classifieds (including one pretty amusing one in which Lovret-
sensei offers a whopping $100 for 12th-14th century katana in excellent
condition...); an announcement of the 1991 annual kenjutsu seminar
at the Maryland Budokan; an article about the kanji "do"/"michi", etc,etc. 
Pretty much everything is illustrated (VGA graphics).

How does _Budo_Shinbun_ work? Well, the disk contains the necessary 
software to format and read the magazine, the "first issue", plus com-
munications software to download new articles and send and 
receive mail between subscribers (yes, _B_S_ contains 
an email facility, it really IS a martial arts BBS).
New articles are generated at a rate of 1-2 articlea per day. Copies of
articles for the past month or so are available on diskette, for a fee.
Minimum hardware configuration: IBM-compatible PC, 128K RAM available,
1 5 1/4" 1.2MB floppy (I had mine copied onto 3 1/2 to install it...it's
not copy-protected), VGA (absolutely required), and a 2400 bps
Hayes-compatible modem. A hard disk is definitely recommended! It will
run directly under DOS or under Windows 3.0 (PIF file supplied). The "starter 
kit" diskette is $19.95. The subscription cost (which allows downloading 
of new articles) is $5.00/month. The first month is included in the
starter kit price. You will, of course, have to pay for long-distance
charges to San Diego to download. They are planning to add 9600 bps
capability, but this hasn't happened yet.

One little note, each copy of the software has a serial number - a
given serial number has exactly one opportunity to download a
given article. If you've "lent" your copy to someone who uses
it to download an article, you won't be able to load it yourself. Serial
number is also used for email identification, so said friend can also
make you look like a fool before a large audience (just like USENET!). Of
course, none of *US* would ever think of distributing pirated software...

Am I glad I bought it? Hell, yes! 'Nuff said...

Steve



-- 
To be or not to be = 0xff
-
Randell Jesup, Jack-of-quite-a-few-trades, Commodore Engineering.
{uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com  BIX: rjesup  
Disclaimer: Nothing I say is anything other than my personal opinion.
Organization: Sophomore, H&SS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA