A Rare Opportunity for Dojos, Associations, and Dedicated Practitioners
The Ran Network is proud to announce a celebrative special edition of Ellis Amdur’s forthcoming publication Roots Still Cracking Rock. To mark this significant release, we are offering an exclusive opportunity for those who wish to support both the work and its author in a meaningful way.
Special Dedication Edition Offer
Dojos, associations, and individuals who purchase 10 or more copies of the book will receive a custom dedication edition, featuring a printed dedication page inserted directly into each copy.
The dedication will read:
“A Special Edition In Gratitude For Your Support Of
The Ran Network And The Writing Of Ellis Amdur
To ….”
This final line will be personalized with the name of your dojo, organization, or individual recipient.
Why Participate
This is more than a bulk purchase—it is a way to:
• Publicly affirm your support for the preservation and transmission of martial traditions
• Establish a lasting, tangible connection with this important publication
• Offer your students or members a unique and collectible edition
Quantities for this special edition may be limited.
The Special Dedication Edition is not available on Amazon. Orders taken via The Ran Network at
info@therannetwork.com ONLY.
You’ll let us know how many books, and your mailing address. We’ll calculate shipping costs, and total of the book order, send you a payment link and the books will be in your hands.
Support the work. Honor the tradition. Be part of the record.
Ellis Amdur: Roots Still Cracking Rock
Reflections On My First Fifty Years Within Classical Japanese Martial Traditions
The Ran Network – The Budo Classics N. 10
Fifty years ago, Ellis Amdur undertook the difficult task of a full commitment to two Japanese martial traditions, each eighteen generations deep. As one can see even from these two brief quotations, they are fundamentally different in character, even when expressing much the same principle. He felt the tremendous weight of responsibility that he do justice to what had been bequeathed to him, keeping them absolutely separate. As he put it, “When I am in my Araki-ryū dōjō, Bukō-ryū does not exist; when I am in my Bukō-ryū dōjō, Araki-ryū does not exist.” And he follows, “In any live situation, be it training or something more serious, they mix together as they choose. It is as if I have two lives within me, and they figure out their own working relationship.”
“Old pine tree on a rock from long long ago. Even when
the snow falls, the color of the needles does not change.”
—Araki-ryu torite-kogusoku
“An integrated body is the merging of an immovable mind
and moving mind. Because the will has experienced
an awakening, it is upright and not confused.”
—Tenshin Bukō-ryū
“Roots Still Cracking Rock is Amdur’s most personal book on martial arts. It reflects his lifelong struggle to be upright and not confused, an old pine tree whose needles do not change color, despite the snow.
Ellis Amdur has been a friend and colleague for 25 years. I have long appreciated his numerous treatises on Japanese classical martial traditions. Often provocative, Ellis sweeps away the veil of romanticism and reminds the reader that, at its core, koryū bujutsu is the study of conflict and violence tempered by Japanese etiquette, mindset and cultural evolution. He also adeptly addresses kata (pattern training) and shiai (freestyle combat), difficult subjects seldom represented with such intricate clarity. Whether you’re a student holding a sword or a scholar holding a pen, this comprehensive collection of essays challenges common assumptions and deepens one’s understanding of an arcane pursuit, one that remains frequently inaccessible to outsiders. Among all his books, it is this one that I believe to be most informative to students of Japanese martial arts. I will enthusiastically recommend this volume to the greater membership of the koryū ryūha I lead”.
—Tobin Threadgill
Menkyo-Kaiden/Kaichō Takamura-ha Shindō Yōshin Kai
The Ran Network 