Reflections on the Way
Inner Dharma was a writing project maintained by Mark Raugas between 2006 and 2026. I want to thank all those who provided feedback and encouragement over the last twenty years. Below you will find links to some of my published writing on martial arts and culture.
Books
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The Truth of the Calm Spirit: The practice of Shinkage-ryū Heihō as Taoist Internal Alchemy (opens in a new tab), Inner Dharma, 2025, contains my writings on Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū (opens in a new tab) – examining its history, teachers, kata, and the philosophical teachings of its curriculum. |
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From the Kōbusho to the Butokukai: Japanese Swordsmanship in Transition (opens in a new tab), Inner Dharma, 2026, examines the late-Edo and early-modern institutions surrounding Japanese kenjutsu — the Kōbusho, gekken-kōgyō, the Battōtai, the Keishichō police schools, the Dai Nippon Butokukai — together with the schools and teachers who carried the arts through their modern transformation. |
Articles
Two articles that developed out of shorter essays first published at Inner Dharma can be now found online at Kogen Budo (opens in a new tab):
- General Qi Jiguang’s Jixiao Xinshu and Reflections on Claims of Martial Virtue (opens in a new tab), 2023
- Divergence and Unification in Shinkage-ryū (opens in a new tab), 2024
