Kirjahaku

Music, money, madness & other mysterious things. This is the karmic tale of the author, adventurer, martial artist & time traveller, Mark D Bishop; an objective look at his genetic ancestral past. It is DNA family history in fascinating detail, a journey through ancestral time, when industrious, creative hard work, births, marriages and burials focused around church life. The reader begins the excursion in a grocer's shop in upmarket Teddington on Thames, before being transported to Rochester on the Medway, with its Norman castle and cathedral; then along the Roman Fosse Way to Chatham, which once was host to the Royal Naval Dockyard. Woodworking trades, such as cart-wheelwrights & cabinetmakers are imbedded in the ancestral search, with Kentish & Sussex surnames;the Wrens who went to America, the Mitchells who were shipwrights. Ancestry often has a darker side too, necessitating a trip through the sordid conditions of 19th century 'madhouses' and a realisation that lovemaking never really changes.

Time moves on, cultures change with the twists of history and secret arts are lost. To understand the essence of karate, kobudo and te is to read and digest this work. To devour the mysteries of the secret principles it records is to dwell in a former time, only then will the reader know the true meanings of what the masters passed on. This book was a classic of the 20th century and, with the passing of time, is now considered to be an historic record for the modern era; both a time capsule and an integrated tool of knowledge transmission. Also featuring contributions from the latest breed of expert researchers, this Expanded Third Edition keeps the original version alive in its entirety, while bringing the Okinawan karate world up to date, as it expands into an ever-increasing international world. Be warned though, it also answers questions that have not been asked until now and topics that could not have been discussed, while expanding on newly debatable issues. This is what the masters were really saying

Zen Bodywork Dynamics is a natural, martial-arts-based, hands-on method of helping to restore health in a holistic way. It corresponds with other martial-arts training, which it is seen as complementing - whatever the style. Thumbs, hands, elbows and feet, etc. are used to apply pressure and relieve pent-up stress in the format of: Relax, Release & Let Go. Many trainees have benefitted from its wisdom, as have thousands of members of the public - the book is highly recommended.

Progression is a positive trait, as long as one keeps in touch with the past and has a staple backdrop to focus or fall back on. Although the Revised Expanded Third Edition contains all the wording and photographs that are reproduced in both the first edition, as well as this Revised and Expanded Second Edition, it comparatively represents a step into what was, for these latter two books, the future. The year 2019, in which I am writing this foreword, represents respectively 30 years and 20 years into the future since the publication of these two books, so I think this faithful reproduction of the Master Version by Q&I Publications is well timed. For some readers it might bring about nostalgia, for others it might be an eye-opener into a world that is not always truthfully represented, due to commercial or other reasons. For the teachers who I interviewed and have been embodied herein, I hope this Master Version will remain a testament into how they wished to be represented for time immemorial.

Known for its knock-out strikes, fluid footwork & bladed weaponry, Okinawan te is a survivor that has endured due to its ability to adapt to social changes. In 1609, in order to suppress Okinawa's developing military might & vast trading links, the Japanese Satsuma clan launched a massive invasion & subjugated the island kingdom. Until then, te had been a bushido battlefield system, with organised castle & naval warfare. However, under Satsuma's rule, the Okinawan bushi, could no longer bear arms in public or have standing armies, so te was transformed into a personal fighting system & recreational activity. Within karate, Okinawan dance & music, the hidden essence of te still provides the framework. It fills Okinawan cultural life & keeps its subtle social machinery revolving. In this detailed work the foundation stones of Okinawan te are laid out through the explanations of historic technical photographs left by the masters for future generations; their forethought has enabled us to walk in their footsteps.

Another revealing book by Mark D Bishop. This work expands on the original best-selling version, by including more than 40 extra pages and further explaining the methodology of applications, as well training methods, for proper conditioning. Providing a teaching format for the instructor, it is also an informative workbook for the beginner and a how-to-do manual for those already with experience in the martial arts. In effect, it is the first ever work that deals thoroughly with the training and techniques of Okinawan Te as it developed from 1609, following the Satsuma Invasion of the Ryukyu Islands, until 1879, when the monarchy was dissolved by Japan. Until now, despite demonstrations of its effectiveness, the study of and training in Okinawan Te of this period has been known only to a few adherents. This has led to a mystification and often false representation. However, this can no longer be the case, as all is uncovered in this detailed and brilliantly coordinated work.

Explosively direct: Always one to stand his ground for technical reality and historical fact, this work reflects the quality and sheer scale of information in the author's previous works. Poignant questions are asked, debates are raised and down-to-earth, enlightening answers are given. Much of what is considered to be tradition by many a karate-ka is shown to be not necessarily the case. If you think the closed-fist punch is standard fair, read the facts. If you have been taught that karate is an ancient Japanese art founded on violence, reconsider the fiction. If you think karate training is for self-development, absorb the wisdom. If you seek the truth about zen, enjoy the magic. Packed with until now undisclosed information, this book leads the way for the mature karate-ka to discover those hidden treasures that lie beneath the surface. Fifty years of training will give any teacher insights and Mark D Bishop has more than most to offer. Read, absorb, be enriched & uncover your true self, through karate

Starship Free began as a concept of freedom when Mark D Bishop, as a pupil in a private English school in the 1960s, was feeling the effects of long-term physical and emotional confinement. It represented an escape that in his imagination created a world of travel, writing,love and martial arts. The 50 years of poetry that this Anthology represents, chart the course of how he acted out these dreams. While travelling, living, researching, training and working in various lands for 50 years, Mark D Bishop felt inspired to write poetry that he felt he would one day publish. This work then, recording his life's adventures in poetry, is the reality of his childhood daydreams. To the reader, the work represents a fascinating and mind-opening experience; be they arm-chair traveller or adventurer themselves, 'Starship Free: An Anthology' is a reassuring travel companion and an uplifting friend.

An entertaining odyssey by all means, which all readers, not only karate-ka, can enjoy. The work describes a fascinating 'voyage of discovery' through the Okinawan martial arts during the author's younger years. Both informative & factual, the work leads the reader on a journey of initiation from the preliminary stages of being a 'live-in disciple' of Goju-ryu & trainee of Matayoshi Kobudo in post-Reversion Okinawa, as he travels with the reader through the exploration of Uechi-ryu, Shorin-ryu & Okinawan te; also of a vast spectrum of connected Ryukyuan cultural entities. His attention to detail is commendable, as the shared expedition becomes an esoteric odyssey to find the zen spark of enlightenment that evades so many seekers, but which can be found within one's own nature. Mark D Bishop is arguably the foremost authority on historical Okinawa karate & martial arts. He continues to write, travel, research and teach extensively on various aspects of these, including its related anma bodywork & zen.

This work clearly defines and catalogues the fifty historical hand-held weapons that were used in Okinawa Prefecture and the Ryukyu Islands from the dawn of its history. It show the stages of development and introduction of these weapons to the islands and how they affected the culture through the ages. The 'standard five' popular weapons of the modern era (bo, sai, tonfa, nunchaku & kama) are described in detail with many scale drawings, but surprisingly, it clearly shows the influence of bladed weapons, such as the curved sword. Firearms also made a huge contribution to Ryukyuan weapon development, so these are also introduced in their historical context. Most surprising is the contextual detail of the historic eras, such as the affects of the Satsuma Invasion of the Ryukyu Islands in 1609 & the dissolution of the monarchy in 1879. Contrary to popular myth, between these years Okinawans did not adopt farmers tools for self protection, for quite a different history is revealed herein.

Following on from Ancestral Chains DNA Part I, this work takes the reader a step further along the intrigue of the Family Tree. Viewing Victorian life through the mind-set of great-grandmother, Kate, the stage is set in a posh Georgian terrace in Lewes that serves as the Sussex Probate Office. Money matters are inevitable, but madness and attempted murder play out the scenes of life, as a large family adapt to the sudden incarceration of their father. Clockmakers, the Tolkiens and the creator of Lorna Doone in Teddington, all play their roles in the Battersby family saga. There is mischief and innuendo too, as when the early 19th century grocer from Isleworth is buried with 2 of his 3 wives; the headstone even today forming a paving stone in the church path, regularly walked over by worshippers. A search & locate mission for a great uncle lost in the Battlefield at Passchendaele in 1917 is launched; love was not lost on his finance though because his elder brother took on the cause.

All is not always what is seems. History, as it has been presented for centuries, is riddled with stereotypes and fixed agenda, more so when it concerns prehistory and the 'Stone Age'. As the veils of obliviousness have been researched away though, four distinct species of humans, or hominins (the genus Homo), have so far been identified as once probably having inhabited the islands of what is now call Britain. The most ancient of these is known as Homo Erectus (or sometimes Homo Antecessor). These were a hominin group who were later followed by a species called Homo Heidelbergensis, who in turn came before Homo Neaderthalensis (known commonly as Neanderthals), all before we, Homo Sapiens, came along and took up residence. There are many indications that Homo Sapiens have been living on British shores, on and off, for at least 40,000 years, a time that clashes with the demise and 'extinction' of our Neanderthal cousins in Europe, whose DNA we carry within us to this day. Stone Age ancestors of ours, these four groups of people might or might not have been but, technologically speaking, common to them all, there is much hard evidence to show that ornate handaxes, portable rock art, tools, wooden structures and handicrafts of different types were made and used by individuals and groups for differing reasons. This work details the art and ritual concerning their handaxes in the broadest sense.

Can old stones talk? Yes, but not so much of themselves as lifeless bits of crystalline rock, rather through the art created by our Stone Age ancestors. They have left this for us to appreciate but for too long their portable rock art has been ignored or deprecated as meaningless, or even non-existent. The image that researchers of prehistory have passed down to us is of fearsome hunters, with brute mentalities, dressed in rough and ready skins, with little self-expression, minimal intelligence and, more to the point, they are devoid of any humour; ART However, the issue is that it is not that the humour, self-expression, sarcasm, wit and art did not exist, it is just that those researchers who should know better lacked the latter and were just not appreciating it. Most of the art now left to us is from flint and chert knapping, while woodworking, as equally as important, has rotted away; but lest we forget, stone technology has been around for at least 90% of hominin & human existence. So, please join me on a journey of discovery through this ancient artform as I uncover and investigate the arty secrets, seeing how certain inspired ancestors wanted to be seen, as creative, imaginative, emotional beings - just like us