Donn Draeger
Many know him for his books . While others know him for his involvement in the japanese martial arts and his tremendous contribution to the american world of martial arts . Donn Draeger was recognized as a world authority on Asian martial culture and human combative behavior. As a research historian, author and lecturer; he was considered the leading exponent of the Japanese martial disciplines. He held a large number of expert ranks and teaching licenses,and investigated Japanese martial culture more deeply than any non-Japanese in history:
-) Draeger was the first and only non-Japanese to hold the rank of “Budo Kyoshi”
or Full Professor of the Classical Martial Arts and Ways.
-) He was designated as the first non-Japanese Judo Instructor at the Kodokan
Institute in Tokyo, Japan.
-) Draeger was the first non-Japanese to demonstrate kata (as tori) at the All-Japan
Judo Championships and the 1964 Olympic Games.
-) He was also the first non-Japanese to compete in the “All Japan High Rank
Holders” Judo tournament at the Kodokan.
Born on April 15 1922 , Donald " Donn " Frederick Draeger grew up in Wisconsin , Milwaukee and began his martial training in the art of Jujutsu at a very early age.He soon switched to the practice of Kodokan Judo and received the rank of nikyu by the age of ten. He continued his involvement with Judo throughout his life.
During the summer months Donn was able to hunt, fish and live with the Chippewa Indians who lived in the Wisconsin wilderness. The older tribesmen accepted him because of his skill in grappling and his ability to handle youths older and larger than himself. His fascination with weapons developed at an early age, along with his skill in unarmed encounters. Saving money from a variety of odd jobs, Donn bought his first .22 rifle around the age of 11 or 12. He roamed the woods “plinking” and hunting small game. His skill eventually developed so that he could usually shoot from the hip more accurately than those who followed the usual sighting procedure.
At young age of 15, Donn joined the United States Marine Corps and eventually rose through the ranks as a regular officer. He served in Japan, Korea and Manchuria. While in the Marines he continued his formal education and received his master’s degree in electrical engineering. In the 1950s , he was sent to South America for some intelligence gathering mission .
His interest in hunting also continued while he was in the Marine Corps. Donn hunted big game on all of the major continents. He accumulated 44 heads including the Grizzley and the Alaskan Brown Bear. Later however, Donn grew to detest the idea of hunting animals other than for defense or subsistence. Soon, he was discharged after 16 years of service with the peacetime rank of captain and the wartime rank of major .
After retirement from the service, Donn made his home in Tokyo, Japan. From this base he pursued his interests in martial training and research. Approximately four months out of each year was spent conducting expeditions to various countries to study and document their diverse combative traditions. Southeast Asia was an area of special interest to him.
Donn followed a simple and natural lifestyle. He neither smoked nor drank and he had no heat or air conditioning in his small Japanese style apartment. He got up with the sun and usually jogged around his hometown of Narita. The rest of the day was spent training, teaching and conducting research.
A significant contribution was made to the art of Judo when Donn introduced systematic weight training at the competitive level. The impact was such that now all Judo champions utilize weight training as an integral part of their overall program.
“Politics” at the local and international level within the Judo world spurred Donn on to pursuing and eventually gaining acceptance into Japan’s koryu (ancient disciplines).
He was the first Caucasian allowed to enter the koryu and eventually became a licensed instructor of Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo (Stick Art) and Katori Shinto Ryu Kenjutsu (Sword Art). Later, Donn introduced Jodo training to Malaysia and also
began the U.S. Jodo Federation.
A prolific writer, Donn would spend up to 15 hours a day typing. He authored many books and was a contributor to numerous scholarly journals and magazines. His most well known books include Asian Fighting Arts and his three volume series on The Classical Martial Arts and Ways of Japan.
Donn was a contributing editor to the publication known as “Judo Illustrated” and he also published a magazine titled “Martial Arts International”. Later, he also published the official newsletter of the International Hoplological Research Center.
As time went on, Donn became increasingly “locked into” his chosen profession as a researcher and exponent of martial culture. When he would return from his annual expeditions he would have up to 100 lbs. of mail waiting for him – letters relating to the study of combatives; and he answered them all.
The final goal of Donn Draeger was to reformulate the study of weapons and fighting systems into a recognized academic discipline known as Hoplology. He was the one that could accomplish the task because of his lifetime of training and personal experience in the area of combatives.
His scholarly research provided the historical and cultural context for his hoplological conclusions. He founded the International Hoplological Research Center and developed ambitious plans for a permanent facility to be constructed on
the Big Island of Hawaii.
The center would serve as a training site for a variety of combative traditions and also house facilities for analyzing the hoplological data gained through fieldwork. In addition, “the archives” of the center would house the most extensive collection of representative weapons in the world. Over 10,000 separate books would be the start of a library for the center. Donn maintained the world’s most extensive collection of wood block prints depicting the warriors of Japan. These prints would very likely be on display in the archives.
The development of hoplology continued with Donn serving as a guest lecturer at the University of Hawaii, the University of Maryland and the East-West Center on a regular basis. He trained a variety of individuals scattered throughout the world in hoplology theory and methods. He took a number of individuals with him on his annual expeditions so they could be oriented to the foundation of hoplology .
Fieldwork into the remote areas of the world carries a significant degree of risk. Bad luck finally found the 1979 research team while they were in Sumatra. While studying the Atjeh tribe, the entire team was poisoned and developed severe
amoebic dysentery which required hospitalization.
The team eventually recovered but Donn continued to develop health problems. He had severe swelling and pain in his legs. His health gradually deteriorated to the point where he was diagnosed as having liver cancer. On October 21, 1982 Donn Draeger passed away at the age of 60.
Little is known of Donn Draeger's family . He was a very private man and did not talk much about his family life . He might have had a half brother as it is known that after his biological father died , his mother remarried .
Draeger was also known for his Greek God like physique and tremendous strength . At a young age , he started to look into weight training to supplement his martial arts training . He started working out with barbells. Soon , he developed a physique that even bodybuilders envied . Soon coaches and bodybuilders were approaching him . Even in his late 50s , he could still squat with 500 pounds on his shoulders .
Donn had severe allergic reactions to any typeof pain-killer. Which meant that if he had surgery he could have no anesthetics. In 1978, while he was in Honolulu for a lecture series,he had to have a root canal done. And did it sans pain-killer.Another time, he was on the operating table for surgery on a big toe that had plagued him for years. He insisted on no anesthetic and told them to proceed. The doctors were stupefied, but when Donn stuck to his guns they canceled surgery! That toe was later caught in a door at Tripler Army Hospital that another fellow accidentally slammed. Donn felt intense pain at first, but then it disappeared. He laughed in recalling that the door had corrected what the aborted surgery was supposed to do.
There can be no mystery, however, in how he benefited America and the world by his contributions. He opened Asian combatives to the full view of the West. He was an authentic warrior able to blend the tough with the tender. He could fight the match, referee it, and then explain the mechanics of it later in his books. He was an unusual American--he never made a dollar with his incomparable skill. All of it went into the more than twenty books we have inherited. Hear his name , Donn Draeger
-) Draeger was the first and only non-Japanese to hold the rank of “Budo Kyoshi”
or Full Professor of the Classical Martial Arts and Ways.
-) He was designated as the first non-Japanese Judo Instructor at the Kodokan
Institute in Tokyo, Japan.
-) Draeger was the first non-Japanese to demonstrate kata (as tori) at the All-Japan
Judo Championships and the 1964 Olympic Games.
-) He was also the first non-Japanese to compete in the “All Japan High Rank
Holders” Judo tournament at the Kodokan.
Born on April 15 1922 , Donald " Donn " Frederick Draeger grew up in Wisconsin , Milwaukee and began his martial training in the art of Jujutsu at a very early age.He soon switched to the practice of Kodokan Judo and received the rank of nikyu by the age of ten. He continued his involvement with Judo throughout his life.
During the summer months Donn was able to hunt, fish and live with the Chippewa Indians who lived in the Wisconsin wilderness. The older tribesmen accepted him because of his skill in grappling and his ability to handle youths older and larger than himself. His fascination with weapons developed at an early age, along with his skill in unarmed encounters. Saving money from a variety of odd jobs, Donn bought his first .22 rifle around the age of 11 or 12. He roamed the woods “plinking” and hunting small game. His skill eventually developed so that he could usually shoot from the hip more accurately than those who followed the usual sighting procedure.
At young age of 15, Donn joined the United States Marine Corps and eventually rose through the ranks as a regular officer. He served in Japan, Korea and Manchuria. While in the Marines he continued his formal education and received his master’s degree in electrical engineering. In the 1950s , he was sent to South America for some intelligence gathering mission .
His interest in hunting also continued while he was in the Marine Corps. Donn hunted big game on all of the major continents. He accumulated 44 heads including the Grizzley and the Alaskan Brown Bear. Later however, Donn grew to detest the idea of hunting animals other than for defense or subsistence. Soon, he was discharged after 16 years of service with the peacetime rank of captain and the wartime rank of major .
After retirement from the service, Donn made his home in Tokyo, Japan. From this base he pursued his interests in martial training and research. Approximately four months out of each year was spent conducting expeditions to various countries to study and document their diverse combative traditions. Southeast Asia was an area of special interest to him.
Donn followed a simple and natural lifestyle. He neither smoked nor drank and he had no heat or air conditioning in his small Japanese style apartment. He got up with the sun and usually jogged around his hometown of Narita. The rest of the day was spent training, teaching and conducting research.
A significant contribution was made to the art of Judo when Donn introduced systematic weight training at the competitive level. The impact was such that now all Judo champions utilize weight training as an integral part of their overall program.
“Politics” at the local and international level within the Judo world spurred Donn on to pursuing and eventually gaining acceptance into Japan’s koryu (ancient disciplines).
He was the first Caucasian allowed to enter the koryu and eventually became a licensed instructor of Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo (Stick Art) and Katori Shinto Ryu Kenjutsu (Sword Art). Later, Donn introduced Jodo training to Malaysia and also
began the U.S. Jodo Federation.
A prolific writer, Donn would spend up to 15 hours a day typing. He authored many books and was a contributor to numerous scholarly journals and magazines. His most well known books include Asian Fighting Arts and his three volume series on The Classical Martial Arts and Ways of Japan.
Donn was a contributing editor to the publication known as “Judo Illustrated” and he also published a magazine titled “Martial Arts International”. Later, he also published the official newsletter of the International Hoplological Research Center.
As time went on, Donn became increasingly “locked into” his chosen profession as a researcher and exponent of martial culture. When he would return from his annual expeditions he would have up to 100 lbs. of mail waiting for him – letters relating to the study of combatives; and he answered them all.
The final goal of Donn Draeger was to reformulate the study of weapons and fighting systems into a recognized academic discipline known as Hoplology. He was the one that could accomplish the task because of his lifetime of training and personal experience in the area of combatives.
His scholarly research provided the historical and cultural context for his hoplological conclusions. He founded the International Hoplological Research Center and developed ambitious plans for a permanent facility to be constructed on
the Big Island of Hawaii.
The center would serve as a training site for a variety of combative traditions and also house facilities for analyzing the hoplological data gained through fieldwork. In addition, “the archives” of the center would house the most extensive collection of representative weapons in the world. Over 10,000 separate books would be the start of a library for the center. Donn maintained the world’s most extensive collection of wood block prints depicting the warriors of Japan. These prints would very likely be on display in the archives.
The development of hoplology continued with Donn serving as a guest lecturer at the University of Hawaii, the University of Maryland and the East-West Center on a regular basis. He trained a variety of individuals scattered throughout the world in hoplology theory and methods. He took a number of individuals with him on his annual expeditions so they could be oriented to the foundation of hoplology .
Fieldwork into the remote areas of the world carries a significant degree of risk. Bad luck finally found the 1979 research team while they were in Sumatra. While studying the Atjeh tribe, the entire team was poisoned and developed severe
amoebic dysentery which required hospitalization.
The team eventually recovered but Donn continued to develop health problems. He had severe swelling and pain in his legs. His health gradually deteriorated to the point where he was diagnosed as having liver cancer. On October 21, 1982 Donn Draeger passed away at the age of 60.
Little is known of Donn Draeger's family . He was a very private man and did not talk much about his family life . He might have had a half brother as it is known that after his biological father died , his mother remarried .
Draeger was also known for his Greek God like physique and tremendous strength . At a young age , he started to look into weight training to supplement his martial arts training . He started working out with barbells. Soon , he developed a physique that even bodybuilders envied . Soon coaches and bodybuilders were approaching him . Even in his late 50s , he could still squat with 500 pounds on his shoulders .
Donn had severe allergic reactions to any typeof pain-killer. Which meant that if he had surgery he could have no anesthetics. In 1978, while he was in Honolulu for a lecture series,he had to have a root canal done. And did it sans pain-killer.Another time, he was on the operating table for surgery on a big toe that had plagued him for years. He insisted on no anesthetic and told them to proceed. The doctors were stupefied, but when Donn stuck to his guns they canceled surgery! That toe was later caught in a door at Tripler Army Hospital that another fellow accidentally slammed. Donn felt intense pain at first, but then it disappeared. He laughed in recalling that the door had corrected what the aborted surgery was supposed to do.
There can be no mystery, however, in how he benefited America and the world by his contributions. He opened Asian combatives to the full view of the West. He was an authentic warrior able to blend the tough with the tender. He could fight the match, referee it, and then explain the mechanics of it later in his books. He was an unusual American--he never made a dollar with his incomparable skill. All of it went into the more than twenty books we have inherited. Hear his name , Donn Draeger