With the 80s craze came a lot of repurposed merchandise – stuff that for the previous decade’s boom had been sold as kung-fu gear now emblazoned with ninja logos. The above looks to have been a Chinese-esque design probably inspired … Continued
He’s been an icon of martial arts magazine covers for decades, is one of the most recognizable Asian character actors of our age and he pioneered his own signature version of the Chinese hook sword! He’s Gerald Okamura of course … Continued
These mostly un-marked, supposedly pre-war postcards, have been showing up at some of the cheesier souvenir shops in LA’s Little Tokyo. Authentic antique or not, the imagery is great. I’m no student of kabuki theater, but I do know wizard … Continued
Man, how 80s would that satin jacket have been? And I wonder what “scribe-spike-etc.” were. This is a pretty dumb ad – lots of vague category and price ranges on unspecified items, but with an order form attached. In the … Continued
I have no astute comment to make here, nor should you need one.
I roll my eyes as much as the rest of you when it comes to The Last Samurai, and the ninja scene is just as cheesy and unconcerned with history as the rest of the movie. However, when I had a … Continued
Made a trip out recently to a mainstay of martial retail in SoCal, Valley Martial Arts. They’ve always got something weird and exotic, with plenty of non-catalog-familiar merch. Plus you have a decent chance of running into a famous practitioner, … Continued
Despite the profusion of mail order ads and supply shops, the 1980s was actually a somewhat oppressed decade when it came to martial arts collectibles. And when you look at an ad like this, it’s kind of easy to see … Continued
In the days before scanners, throwing “clip art” into a print advertisement took some work. You had to find a cool image to start with, then “threshold” it via a stat camera and toxic chemical-laden rapid processor. And what you were … Continued
Merchandisers love VARIETY of offerings and EXCLUSIVITY of products at the same time. But above all else, they love a healthy PROFIT MARGIN. To those ends, you see ads like this one from the mid 80s a lot. Take the … Continued