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6 – History and Martial Arts

18 Aug 2011

Antique kabuki postcards

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

kabuki
23 Jul 2011

Fighting Arts Unlimited ad

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines
14 Jul 2011

sigh…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 3

I have no astute comment to make here, nor should you need one.

22 Jun 2011

Crafted in Hollywood, shot in Japan

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 3

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

Last Samurai, ninja suits
9 Jun 2011

Ninja Boomerang – so close but yet so far…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

ninja boomerang
25 May 2011

I wouldn’t keep a knife that close to my junk…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines
2 May 2011

Clip art source found

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 2

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

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines, Warring Clans
16 Apr 2011

Yep, let’s just throw the term KOGA around…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 4

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

80s martial arts supply ads, ninja suits, vintage magazines
10 Mar 2011

So in conclusion…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 7

Look at that poor, little, unassuming sword down there. Why is that cute little fella the center of such controversy? Why do so many try to use the straight blade as a fulcrum to separate the ‘men from the boys’ … Continued

Ninja-To
10 Mar 2011

The ones that lasted, the ones we’ve made, and the one that got away

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 6 - History and Martial Arts | 7

At the apex of the 80’s ninja boom, I was in my early teens, had disposable income from odd jobs and a dad willing to put his name as an adult on a mail-in order to a martial arts supply … Continued

Ninja-To, Sho Kosugi

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja movies from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze and beyond, with a ton of vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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