I’m about to start my fourth book, Budo Reflections, which will contain Budo stories from various martial artists worldwide. I truly believe that the Budo Virtues can have an important part in today’s times. They’re simple to understand, uncomplicated, and easy to incorporate into our lives. Who wouldn’t want someone in their life that is respectful, loyal, honest, courageous, benevolent, and shows honour and rectitude?
My two previous Budo books did well. ‘Budo – The Book of the Way’ made the top 10, and ‘Child Development – The Budo Way’ made the top 20 (Source: Amazon Martial Arts Books). This has reinforced my belief that there is a ‘want’ for a simpler philosophy and I want to share your Budo stories with a wider audience. In 2023 I published a reference book “Budō Virtues in World Religions: Exploring the Interconnection of Warrior Principles and World Faiths”, which investigated Budo Virtues within six of the world’s main religions. This has had high critical praise for its in-depth exploration and knowledge.
If you’ve been guided by me to this page, I’m sincerely hoping you’ll be interested in contributing to the book. Please note the two points below.
Firstly, to aid the layout of the book, and to help my editing, I will require in order, your name, rank, style practiced, the date you started martial arts, and a brief biography. This will be followed by your story, which could be about an incident in or out of training. It could be something you witnessed, or a story passed onto you but must contain at least one of the Budo Virtues.
So, the book will have these details at the top, followed by the story underneath. And it will look something like this:
Marc Howes. 8th Dan Kyokushin Budokai. Started martial arts in 1973. Hanshi Marc Howes was educated in Malta and Wales. He has a PGDipCE and a MA in Sociology from Aberdeen University. He has worked with young people in a professional capacity for over three and a half decades.
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You may submit more than one story! I’ll leave that up to you. Pages in the book are limited, so, please ensure your work is in on time.
Secondly, I may have to edit the story, but this will not change the story’s ethos. It’ll be perhaps minor adjustments to language or the length. I might contact you regarding a detail or two. Any changes will be sent back to you for approval. The maximum length of a story is approximately 500 words, which is an A4 sheet, single-spaced in 12-point font. But of course, your story can be shorter than that. The last submission date will be August 2023, but the earlier the better.
Thank you for agreeing to share your Budo story with a wider audience. I look forward to your contributions.
Osu!
In Budo,
Hanshi Marc Howes
Mail to:
budotheway@gmail.com
IBK UK 