Donn F. Draeger
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Donald Frederick Draeger (April 15, 1922 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 20, 1982 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was an expert practitioner of Asian martial arts and author of related books, having lived and trained in Asia for decades.
Draeger held the rank of Captain during peace time and Major during war time in the United States Marine Corps. His tombstone reflects his peace time rank of Captain. He spent several decades of his life in the Pacific area and Japan, becoming well acquainted with several classical martial arts of the region. Throughout his life Draeger was known by his nickname "Donn" rather than Donald.
Donn Draeger stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed between 195 and 215 pounds.[1] He was well respected in the martial arts community, and he was a leading authority and subject matter expert in the West. He was a well known author with over twenty titles about martial arts and fighting systems in his bibliography. He was an early pioneer in the study and propagation of the martial arts to the West.
Draeger began his involvement in the martial arts in the Chicago area at age 7. His first training was in Jujutsu. He soon switched to Judo and he became so proficient that he achieved Nikkyu grade (2nd Kyu just before Black Belt level) at age 10. By 1948, he was ranked fourth degree black belt in judo. He co-founded the first national judo body, the Amateur Judo Association in the United States. He played an active role in the establishment of the Judo Black Belt Federation (JBBF), which later became the United States Judo Federation (USJF).
Draeger authored numerous books. They were some of the first few sources available in the west. Prior to this most martial arts texts were written in Asian languages. The books he authored became among the most reliable sources available in the English language.
He served as "Martial Arts Coordinator" in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice where he also doubled for Sean Connery.
He vitalized the academic field of study called hoplology when he founded the International Hoplology Society (IHS) in late 1950s. Specific stories and anecdotes about Draeger can be learned in Martial Musings a book by long time friend and co-author Robert W. Smith.
He continued his practice of the martial arts throughout his life. He studied with many Asian masters, partly as a result of being stationed in the Pacific Rim during his tenure in the Marine Corps, and partly through living in Japan for more than a decade. Draeger was a member of Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, the oldest Japanese cultural organization for the study and preservation of classical martial arts. He was also the first non-Japanese practitioner of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, achieving instructor status (kyoshi menkyo) in that system1. He also held high ranks in Shindo Muso-ryu jodo, in judo, and in kendo, being awarded the highest rank of Menkyo Kaiden in Shindo Muso-ryu posthumously.
In his later years, Draeger spent four months a year on field trips throughout Asia. While on these trips, he visited schools and studied combative methods, which he analyzed and recorded. These studies were sometimes published as articles in various martial arts magazines, or put into books.
Draeger lived in Japan, China, Mongolia, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.[2] In 1979 Draeger and his team visited the island of Sumatra. While visiting the Aceh tribe there, it appears that the entire group was somehow poisoned, perhaps deliberately. As a result, he developed severe amoebic dysentery, leading to hospitalization. Draeger began losing weight and he grew increasingly weak during this ordeal. His legs began to swell, causing him great pain, and he found it difficult to walk or train. His long devotion to martial arts training came to a gradual halt.
While he was getting treatment at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, it was discovered that he had contracted cancer of the liver. He died on October 20, 1982, at the Veteran's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from metastasized carcinoma.[3]
Draeger was buried at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee on October 25. His grave lies in Section 4, site 377. 2
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[edit] Notes
- Note 1: Draeger was one of the translators for Otake Risuke's Deity and the Sword, one of the very few books about Katori Shinto ryū.
- Note 2: see H. Richard Friman, Donald F. Draeger's Wisconsin Grave, Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 8:3 (1999).
[edit] References
- ^ Nurse, Paul (May. 2006). "Donn F. Draeger: The Life and times of an American Martial Arts Pioneer". Black Belt Magazine 44 (5): P. 120.
- ^ Corcoran, John (1988). Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People. W.H. Smith Publishers Inc.,, P. 320. ISBN 0-8317-5805-8.
- ^ Nurse, Paul (May. 2006). "Donn F. Draeger: The Life and times of an American Martial Arts Pioneer". Black Belt Magazine 44 (5): P. 122.
[edit] Bibliography
- Asian Fighting Arts (with Robert W. Smith), Kodansha International, 1969; re-titled Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts upon republication, 1980 (ISBN 978-0870114366)
- Classical Bujutsu : Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol I., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
- Classical Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol II., Weatherhill, 1973, 1996
- Modern Bujutsu & Budo: Martial Arts And Ways Of Japan, Vol III., Weatherhill, 1974, 1996
- Japanese Swordsmanship : Technique And Practice (with Gordon Warner), Weatherhill, 1982
- The Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia (ISBN 978-0804817165)
- Phoenix-Eye Fist: A Shaolin Fighting Art of South China
- Judo Formal Techniques: A Complete Guide to Kodokan Randori No Kata
- Ninjutsu: The Art of Invisibility, Japan's Feudal Age Espionage Methods, Lotus Press, 1977; Phoenix Books, 1994
