East Asia Since 1800 Hears About Japanese Martial Arts

Eric SeGall, a Freshman Criminal Justice major, gave a talk to the HIST 314 East Asia since 1800 on Japanese martial arts. Though SeGall is in his first year at ONU, he has a deep interest in the subject and has made studying Japanese martial arts his hobby. In the summer of 2009, he attended the Kasukabe-U.S. Camp at ONU that brought together 20 Japanese and 20 American students, and it was there that his interest in and knowledge of the importance of Japanese martial arts in understanding Japanese culture became apparent.

SeGall told the class about the basic weapons of the samurai and the different fighters in Japan. He also took the story of bushido's (the way of the warrior) influence through World War II. Without a firm understanding of the role of the martial arts in Japan, it is difficult to understand the way that they engaged the rest of the world in the period leading up to the war. Eric managed to teach the instructor something as well, which was one of the purposes of his presentation, and I learned that samurai were initially taught archery skills by their mothers.

The department's faculty is interested and determined to provide students the opportunity to share their knowledge in a variety of formats, ranging from this class to professional presentations at conferences. These experiences help students get real world experience, which looks good on resumes, and provides a nice nerve wracking experience that takes students out of their comfort zone. Eric admitted to being nervous, but did a wonderful job in his presentation. Well done!

If you are interested in learning more about Japanese martial arts, click here to watch the streaming video.