Martial Arts and Culture
Inner Dharma is a writing project concerned with classical and traditional martial arts and culture that began in 2006. I want to thank all those who provided feedback and encouragement over a period of twenty years.
Shugendō and Kobudō
Inner Dharma began because of my interest in Shugendō. My work on the subject, Mountain, Sword, and Mind, spans two volumes and almost nine hundred pages:
- Shugendō and Heihō examines sacred locations in Japan important to the formation of classical martial traditions and the canon of Shugendō teachings.
- Mikkyō, Zen, and Daoist Sources in Shinkage-ryū reads source material and scholarship in Kamiizumi’s Shinkage-ryū, and examines the influence Shugendō had in both its formation and inner-most teachings.
Heihō Kenjutsu
Much of this site’s content was centered around my practice of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu – that information can now be found at jikishinkageryu.org (opens in a new tab), which hosts my research into the art’s history, lineage, swordsmen, principles, a list of active training groups I am aware of.
I have two books available on Jikishinkage-ryū:
- The Truth of the Calm Spirit examines the practice of Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu through the lens of internal martial arts.
- From the Kōbusho to the Butokukai describes the late Edo period martial academy of the Tokugawa, its swordsmen and their styles, and the institutions that followed it into the modern era.
Internal Martial Arts
I am a lineal practitioner of Bagua, Xingyi, and Taiji as taught in Yin Cheng Gong Fa. I continue my practice in the Pacific Northwest.
Mark Raugas
Seattle, WA
