Donn F. Draeger
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2008-07-03T09:34:32Z
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[[Image:Draeger.jpg|230px|thumb|Draeger on the Set of the film [[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]] where he served as Martial Arts coordinator]]
[[Image:Draeger2.jpg|230px|thumb|Draeger on the Set of the film [[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]] demonstrating [[bo (weapon)|bo]] technique. Notice [[Sean Connery]] in the background]]
[[Image:CAFA.jpg|150px|thumb|Cover of Draeger's best known text Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (Previously published as: Asian Fighting Arts)]]
'''Donald "Donn" Frederick Draeger''' ([[April 15]] [[1922]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] - [[October 20]] [[1982]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]) was an expert practitioner of [[Asia]]n [[martial art]]s and author of related books, having lived and trained in Asia for decades.
Draeger held the rank of [[Captain (army/air force)|Captain]] during peace time and [[Major (United States)|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.<ref name=bbm1>{{cite journal|last =Nurse| first =Paul | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Donn F. Draeger: The Life and times of an American Martial Arts Pioneer| journal =[[Black Belt Magazine]] | volume =44 | issue =5 | pages =P. 120 | publisher =Rainbow Publications, Inc.| date =May. 2006| url = | doi = | id = | accessdate = }}</ref>
Donn Draeger stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed between 195 and 215 pounds.<ref name=bbm1/> 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.
==History==
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 [[Dan rank|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).<ref name=bbm1/>
==Achievements==
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 (film)|You Only Live Twice]] where he also doubled for [[Sean Connery]].<ref name=MAT/>
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 (martial arts historian and 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 [[koryu|classical martial arts]]. He was also the first non-Japanese practitioner of [[Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū]], achieving instructor status (''kyoshi menkyo'') in that system{{ref|1}}. He also held high ranks in [[Shindo Muso-ryu]] [[jojutsu|jodo]], in [[judo]], and in [[kendo]], being awarded the highest rank of Menkyo Kaiden in Shindo Muso-ryu posthumously.
==Later Years==
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.<ref name=bbm2/>
Draeger lived in [[Japan]], [[China]], [[Mongolia]], [[Korea]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]]. One of the books he wrote is Javanese Silat: The Fighting Art of Perisai Diri (Paperback - Mar 1979).<ref name=MAT>{{cite book| last = Corcoran| first = John| authorlink = John Corcoran| title = Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People |publisher = W.H. Smith Publishers Inc.,| date = 1988| pages =P. 320| id = ISBN 0-8317-5805-8 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=bbm2/>
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]].<ref name=bbm2>{{cite journal|last =Nurse| first =Paul | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Donn F. Draeger: The Life and times of an American Martial Arts Pioneer| journal =[[Black Belt Magazine]] | volume =44 | issue =5 | pages =P. 122 | publisher =Rainbow Publications, Inc.| date =May. 2006| url = | doi = | id = | accessdate = }}</ref>
Draeger was buried at [[Wood National Cemetery]] in Milwaukee on October 25. His grave lies in Section 4, site 377.<ref name=bbm2/> {{ref|2}}
==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).
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Published works==
*''Judo Training Methods : A Sourcebook'', with Takahiko Ishikawa, The Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1961
*''Javanese Silat: The Fighting Art of Perisai Diri by Quintin Chambers and Donn F. Draeger (Paperback - Mar 1979)
*''Pentjak-Silat The Indonesian Fighting Art'', Kodansha International Ltd,1970
*''Asian Fighting Arts'' (with [[Robert W. Smith (martial arts historian and author)|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
==External links==
*[http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsdraeger_bibliog.htm Donn F. Draeger bibliography in EJMAS Journal]
*[http://koryu.com/library/rsmith1.html Donn Draeger: An Excerpt from ''Martial Musings'' by Robert W. Smith]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Draeger&GSfn=Donn&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=18943943& findagrave.com entry for Donn F. Draeger]
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[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:American judoka]]
[[Category:American kendoka]]
[[Category:American jojutsuka]]
[[Category:American martial arts writers]]
[[fi:Donn F. Draeger]]