Concept

Budo: The Art of Killing

Summary
Budo: The Art of Killing is a 1978 Japanese martial arts documentary created and produced by Hisao Masuda and financed by The Arthur Davis Company. Considered a cult classic, the film is a compilation of various Japanese martial art demonstrations by several famous Japanese instructors such as Gozo Shioda, Taizaburo Nakamura and Teruo Hayashi. Martial arts featured in the film include: karate, aikido, kendo, sumo, and judo among others. The only modern Japanese martial art not featured in the film is kyūdō. Budo: The Art of Killing is a compilation of various gendai budō each demonstrated by famous Japanese martial artists from the late 1970s. The film treats its subject matter with deep respect and demonstrates a great reverence for both Budō and Japanese culture in general. The film begins with Kunishirō Hayashi, reenacting seppuku, the ritualistic form of suicide practiced by Japanese samurai during Feudal Japan. This is followed by a demonstration of yabusame and footage of a samurai cavalry battle. The narrator then explains the connection between Budō and its universal symbol—the nihonto. After a demonstration of the effectiveness of the Japanese sword, the audience is shown the techniques developed by Okinawan farmers to combat the sword. Karate-do master Teruo Hayashi then demonstrates Okinawan weapon techniques. The film moves along with further footage of karate-do including makiwara training by Fujimoto (including the infamous shot of him striking a locomotive and chopping a beer bottle) and a demonstration of the nunchaku by Satoru Suzuki, a weapon made famous by Bruce Lee. The film moves to footage of traditional Judo training such as mat rolls, pole-hopping, bunny-hops, and practice of hip throws using rubber bands tied around trees. The film moves on to discuss naginata-do, a budō popular with female martial art practitioners in Japan. Aikido is then demonstrated by Gozo Shioda, the founder of Yoshinkan aikido interspersed with shots of leaves falling into a brook.
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