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I was awarded shodan (first-degree black belt rank) in aikido in 1973 by Saotome Mitsugi Shihan (master, exemplar), headmaster of the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. In the spring of 1999 Saotome Shihan promoted me to the rank of godan (fifth-degree black belt). I was ranked to nidan (second-degree black belt) by Thomas Cauley Shihan, United States director of Sakugawa Koshiki Shorinji-ryu karatedo. In 1988-89, while teaching in Fukuoka, Japan on a Fulbright scholarship, I was promoted to shodan in Muso-ryu jodo, testing before Otofuji Shihan, then headmaster of the ryu (school, or style). At the Fukuoka Budokan I practiced kyudo (traditional Japanese archery) under Asakuma Hanshi (eighth-degree black belt) and was promoted to the rank of shodan after formal testing.

I have written a number of articles and presented numerous research papers at various anthropological conventions and meetings (the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, annual meeting of the Central States Anthropological Society, and the annual meeting of the Southwestern Anthropological Society) on various aspects of Japanese martial arts. My book Women Warriors (Brasseys, Inc.: McLean, Virginia, 1997) is a study of the worldwide female martial tradition. In addition, I was asked to contribute the foreword to Saotome Mitsugi Shihan’s first book, Aikido and The Harmony of Nature. My tai chi ch’uan (Supreme Way of the Ultimate Fist) instructor, Chan Poi Sifu, grandmaster of Way Lum Praying Mantis kung fu, also asked me to write the foreword to his book, The Fatal Flute Form.