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6 - The Preparatory Arts

Feb 27, 2026
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Kosho Chronicles Issue #6

To the Reader

Every martial artist I have ever met wants to know what to do when the punch is coming. That is the wrong question. The right question is why you let it get that far.

Mitose began explaining the manuscript to me in a way that turned everything I thought I knew upside down. I had spent years training to react. He was about to show me that reaction was the problem.

The Teaching

Kosho Ryu should be preparatory first and reactionary second.

Everything we do, we must prepare for. Look at the way the body moves. Look at the way the body functions. Look at the way we get up in the morning. Everything is a practice. In everything, we prepare so that we can react, so that we can do.

Reactionary arts are secondary. They are the slower of the two. Unfortunately, many people who do martial arts today, all they want to do is react to things. But if they prepare way ahead of time, the fight never takes place. You have already won.

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17 - Principled Adaptation
Kosho Chronicles Issue #17 To the Reader I had a student once who was a top tournament fighter. One of the best. Then he started losing. He came to me and asked why. I told him the truth. Because everybody knows what you are going to do. He asked what he should do about it. I said, change everything. Change your base. Change your stance. Change your favorite side. He told me it felt awkward. I ...
16 - The Politician's Art
Kosho Chronicles Issue #16 To the Reader Most martial artists train to be soldiers. They drill techniques. They condition their bodies. They prepare for the moment of contact. There is nothing wrong with that. But in Kosho Ryu, the soldier is the last resort. Not the first. And if you find yourself acting as the soldier, something has already gone wrong. The Teaching Superiority in dealing with...
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Kosho Chronicles Issue #15 To the Reader Every time I sat down with Mitose's manuscript, I hit the same wall. He was writing about God, about Christ, about Buddha, about religion. I am a martial artist. I wanted combat strategy. I wanted the keys to the art. Instead, I got philosophy wrapped in theology wrapped in a riddle. Then he explained what he meant by God, and the entire book opened up. ...

The Kosho Chronicles

Each month focuses on a single Kosho principle. Once an issue closes, it doesn't return. No fluff. Only original Kosho material.
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