Minmei Publishing Company Excerpt #01

The Hare of Inaba

As the name suggests, it had its origins with the old legend of a crafty hare who tricked the sharks into helping him cross the ocean by offering to count them, but at the last minute his true colors came out and the sharks tore his skin off.
It received this name from the danger of hopping between cars. It has a low survival rate, and every time it is done, many are reported dead or injured.
* Please do not try this at home, wise reader.
From "The Otokojuku White Book 2000" by The Minmei Publishing Company.

The Great Chime

In the Warring States period, during Takeda Shingen's battle with Uesugi Kenshin, Shingen wanted to encourage his soldiers fighting far away though he could not send reinforcements. He had a thousand soldiers lined up in his camp, and had them all shout at once. The shout could be heard from 25, or 100 kilo meters, away... On a similar note, during the National University Baseball tournament of Showa Year 15, W University's cheering squad was said to be heard all the way from Kamiya Stadium to Ikebukuro.
From "An Inquiry of The Warlords of The Warring States Period" by Minmei Publishing Company.

Household Items as Weapons

Long ago in our land, the leader at the time strictly forbade the people to carry weapons.
It was only natural that the people would develop fighting styles using household items around them as weapons. Common items included clogs, khsiers, and umbrellas. As a digression the phrase "I won't even need to take my clogs off" said during battles is an indication of the usefulness of clogs as weapons.
From "The Encyclopedia of Ancient Japanese Martial Arts" by Minmei Publishing Company.

Ki

Ki refers to the energy of life that all humans are born with. According to theory, its power holds limitless possibilities, and has potential applications in medicine, sports, and countless other fields. Example of its power is seen in the martial artists' story of the saint of the sword, Tsukahara Bokuden, who was said to be able to cut a stalk of bamboo with a slice of paper injected with his ki.
From "Biographies of the Japanese Swordsmasters and Sexmasters" by Minmei Publishing Company.

Master of Crocodile 

In South Asia, there are regions heavily populated by various killer crocodiles. In the 18th century, a technique for controlling these crocodiles was developed by a secret tribe of beastmasters. Using this technique, the tribes defended their territory from outsiders. For this reason, crocodiles are considered sacred and their religion worships a crocodile god. Even now, in certain South Asian countries, the killing of a crocodile is a capital offense. Last year, a Japanese tourist caught unwittingly carrying a crocodile-skin handbag was hanged. - Crocodile Dandy.