James Morganelli is a Chicagoland-based writer, consultant, teacher, and trainer. He has studied martial arts for more than forty years, including Eastern and Western styles, and lived and trained in Tokyo, Japan, for three years. He has taught around the world, from London, England to Tokyo, Japan, and across the United States. An Associate of Resolution Group International, a conflict-resolution company headed by Jack Hoban, he has taught conflict ethics and de-escalation tactics to civilians, law enforcement, and the military. As the “Protectives” instructor for the University of Illinois at Chicago, he is the subject matter expert for the school’s self-defense courses. Ranked, Junkyoshi, assistant instructor, he is one of the few Westerners to hold grade in the stretching and revitalization techniques of Makko-ho. In 1998, he founded the Bujinkan Shingitai-Ichi Dojo upon his return from Japan and was recommended to the uppermost rank of Daishihan, master-instructor, in 2018. The dojo celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023.
James has authored several books: A Sword To Cut Stone, collected essays from years of posts from his blog KOSSHI; two training guides on the art of bojutsu, staff fighting, BOJUTSU: Concepts, Techniques, and Forms, 2019, and BOJUTSU: Hiden, 2023; and a book at the intersection of martial arts and moral philosophy, The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way, which has since won several awards, including the "Social Change" category of the 2018 Best Book Awards by American Book Fest. Find him on Instagram @sgtidojo, Facebook at the “Bujinkan Shingitai-Ichi Dojo,” and his YouTube channel, “The Protector Ethic.”
James has authored several books: A Sword To Cut Stone, collected essays from years of posts from his blog KOSSHI; two training guides on the art of bojutsu, staff fighting, BOJUTSU: Concepts, Techniques, and Forms, 2019, and BOJUTSU: Hiden, 2023; and a book at the intersection of martial arts and moral philosophy, The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way, which has since won several awards, including the "Social Change" category of the 2018 Best Book Awards by American Book Fest. Find him on Instagram @sgtidojo, Facebook at the “Bujinkan Shingitai-Ichi Dojo,” and his YouTube channel, “The Protector Ethic.”