Masters of Self Defense Featuring Richard Bowe

Some pieces of martial arts history are too good to keep locked away in an archive.

In August 1974, Masters of Self Defense magazine featured Shihan Richard Bowe in a full article written by Sean Thomas. At the time, Nihon Goshin Aikido was still relatively unknown outside of a small but dedicated circle of practitioners in the northeastern United States. This article offered one of the earliest public glimpses into the art and the man who brought it to America.

We have scanned the original magazine pages and shared them below in their entirety. Reading through them today, what stands out is how ahead of its time Shihan Bowe’s approach was. While much of the martial arts world in 1974 was focused on tournament competition and flashy technique, Bowe was already teaching a grounded, practical system built entirely around real-world self-defense.

The article covers Shihan Bowe’s training journey — from his early years studying Ju-Jitsu in New York City, to his time stationed on the Japanese island of Hokkaido where he trained directly under Master Shodo Morita, to his return to the United States where he established the first Nihon Goshin Aikido dojo in America in 1963.

Fifty years later, that same lineage continues. The principles Shihan Bowe learned from Master Morita — and shared with the world through articles like this one — are alive and well here in Myrtle Beach at Aikido School MB, where Sensei Ken Marvin carries the tradition forward every day on the mat.

We hope you enjoy this rare piece of Nihon Goshin Aikido history as much as we do.

Scanned and shared for historical and educational purposes. All rights to the original article belong to Masters of Self Defense magazine and its respective owners.