Oxford Reference Search Results

Ohl, Paul (b. 1940)   Reference library

The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (2 ed.)

...commercial boxing as ‘organized murder’. An angry biography, Le dieu sauvage ( 1980 ), led to the rehabilitation of the reputation of the Amerinidian athlete Jim Thorpe . Ohl subsequently turned his attention to ancient civilizations. In the first of four historical novels, Katana. Le roman du Japon ( 1987 ), his authentic fictional recreation of seventeenth-century Japan reflects his personal interest in the martial arts and the science of war, as well as his appreciation of the philosophical values of the feudal Shogunate. In Drakkar. Le roman des...

Japanese words   Quick reference

Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (3 ed.)

...a verb meaning ‘to serve’, and their customs have been a particular interest in popular films and books. From the 7th to the 19th century Samurai were a powerful military class in feudal Japan, who followed the code of bushido [L19th] ‘military knight code’. They carried a katana [E17th], a long, single-edged sword. They might also be ninjas [M20th] from words meaning ‘stealth, invisibility’ and ‘person’, hence ‘spy’, or be trained in one of Japan’s martial arts. Aikido [M20th], literally ‘way of adapting the spirit’ but usually translated as ‘The...

edged weapons   Reference library

The Oxford Companion to Military History

...By that time the samurai warrior caste had developed the custom of owning two swords, sometimes wearing both: the long sword, or katana , and the shorter sword, or wakizashi . The wakizashi was the all-purpose sword and most Japanese military swords were of its dimensions, including those captured in such quantity towards the end of WW II and taken home as souvenirs by Allied troops. Daggers en suite with wakizashis and katanas were accorded the same care in their manufacture and decoration as their companion swords. Besides being a lethal weapon, the...

Martial and Physical Arts   Reference library

Valerie Eads

The Oxford Encyclopedia Women in World History

...in length. They did, reportedly, keep a short dagger about them. The Japanese sword changed relatively little during this time, and a battlefield weapon that had been slung from the belt as a tachi (cutting edge down) could be refitted and worn thrust through the belt as a katana or daitō (cutting edge up), paired with the wakizashi or shōtō (short sword) as symbols of elite masculinity. In the West the sword underwent marked change in the transition from military use by armored soldiers to civilian use by a well‐dressed bourgeoisie. The rapier...

Mṛdaṅga   Reference library

Alastair Dick, Harold S. Powers, Gordon Geekie, and P. Allen Roda

The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments (2 ed.)

... kat is a flat-hand, held-down stroke on the whole head. Ghā played simultaneously with a right-hand stroke (e.g. tā or tiṭa ) changes the notation to dh- ’ thus dhā or dhiṭa. Head-to-head rolls or compound phrases are common, such as kata, taka, kira, krāna ( ka-tā-na ), the common variational formula ghina-naka , and the ubiquitous cadential formula tiṭa kata gadi gina . The basic technique of pakhāvaj may be summarized as a series of rolls varying with, and leading to, resonant held strokes both on- and off-beat. The rhythmic values of...

Novels in French. Beginnings to 1900   Reference library

The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (2 ed.)

...of a European explorer ( Christophe Colomb. Naufrage sur les côtes du paradis , 1991 ). But perhaps no one exemplified this cultural opening towards the world and its history better than popular novelist Paul Ohl . With remarkable erudition he took his readers to feudal Japan ( Katana , 1987 ), to the time of the Vikings ( Drakkar , 1989 ), to Peru and the conquistadores ( Le soleil noir , 1991 ), and to China ( L'enfant dragon , 1994 ). During this period, the return to a more traditional form of novel, combined with a diminished eagerness for engaged...

Angel Dave   Reference library

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4 ed.)

...second and final long-player followed for Island in 1997, following which Angel recorded a mix compilation for React Music . More popular in Germany than his homeland, Angel continues to DJ at the Orbit club and to remix for various clients, including Sun Electric’s ‘En-Trance’, Katana for Eastern Bloc and the Seas Of Tranquillity EP for his own label, Rotation Records. ALBUMS Tales Of The Unexpected (Blunted/Island 1995) ٭ ٭ ٭ Globetrotting (4th & Broadway/Island 1997) ٭ ٭ ٭ COMPILATIONS with Daren Emerson Mixmag Live! Vol. 13: Techno Fruit (Mixmag...

Martial Arts, Traditional Japanese   Reference library

Deborah KLENS-BIGMAN

Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport (3 ed.)

...schools have their own ranking systems. An iaidoka may enter a mixed martial arts tournament in the kata competition, and competitions among iaidoka in kata have taken place. There are also related competitions in cutting straw or bamboo targets, using real katana or Chinese-made katana-style swords. Practicing the Traditional Arts Basic dress for kyudo, naginata, and iaido is the same: a loose-fitting jacket ( keikogi ), pleated, wide-legged trousers ( hakama ), and a belt ( obi ). The colors and details of this basic outfit vary somewhat depending on...

Naginata   Reference library

Ellis AMDUR

Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport (3 ed.)

...or glaive. This weapon was known as a naginata , meaning “long blade” or “reaping blade.” Due to the nature of Japanese grammar, the term is used for both singular and plural usage. This single-edged weapon was fashioned from the same laminations of hard and soft steel used for katana sword blades. The proportion of shaft to blade has varied, but the overall length of the weapon has almost always been the same: between 2.1 and 2.4 meters. Warriors used these first naginata to cut the legs of horses and to slash through an enemy’s defenses. Naginata were also...