Dr. David A. Hall, one of today’s leading experts on Japanese  combative culture, combines hands-on experience in a wide variety of martial traditions with an academic and religious background to produce this landmark work. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts is an exhaustive, impeccably researched reference offering information about everything there is to know on the subject, from “adauchi” (a vendetta) to “zanshin” (state of focused vigilance before, during, and after executing a technique or combative form).
The volume opens with several sections to help make using the Encyclopedia as efficient and effective as possible: Abbreviations, Quick Guide to Weapons and Systems, Historical Eras, guides to the Entries and Lineage Charts, and A Note on the Japanese Language and Communication Style. The Encyclopedia itself, which runs for more than 625 pages and contains around 4,000 entries arranged alphabetically with bilingual entry headings and concise definitions, covers all aspects of the many different martial arts that have developed in Japan.
Following the main portion of the work are several Appendices (Traditional East Asian Numbering Systems and Ancient Period Military Organization), as well as a Selected Bibliography, and Character Indices (General, Chinese, English, and Sanskrit) containing around 6,000 terms.
With its vast wealth of information and practical organization, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts is sure to become the essential reference for the beginning martial artist, as well as for the advanced student who wants a deeper understanding of the subject. Additionally, the book is perfect for scholars and researchers, who will appreciate the access to material previously unavailable in English; and for reference libraries and Asian studies and language departments.
 
David A. Hall earned an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii in 1977 and a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies/Military History from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. He began training in martial arts in 1965; in 1975 he began training under Donn F. Draeger in Shindo Muso Ryu in Hawaii. Moving to Japan in 1977, he continued studying Shindo Muso Ryu at the Rembukan Dojo under Shimizu Takaji, and joined the Kashima Shinden Jiki Shinkage Ryu under Namiki Yasushi, the 18th headmaster, in 1978. He also he began formally training in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu heiho in 1985, under 21st headmaster Yagyu Nobuharu. David continues to train and teach Shindo Muso Ryu, Jiki Shinkage Ryu, and Yagyu Shinkage Ryu under the auspices of the Hobyokai/Hobyokan in Rockville, MD.
In addition to his academic and martial studies, David was ordained as a priest of the Japanese Buddhist Tendai School in 1978 and completed a rigorous training program under Professor Masao Ichishima at the Tamon-in temple. He later integrated this training in his academic research at U.C. Berkeley where he produced a dissertation entitledMarishiten: Buddhism and the Warrior Goddess in 1990 (a version of which appeared in the collection Koryu Bujutsu), currently under revision for popular press publication.
After the death of Donn F. Draeger in 1982, David collaborated for ten years with Hunter Armstrong in running the International Hoplology Society. From 1983 to 1993 he also co-edited Hoplos: Journal of the International Hoplology Society. David is currently a professor at Montgomery College in Maryland where he is also Director of CyberWATCH–a National Science Foundation supported center dealing with Information Assurance and Security.

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