LEONARD J. PELLMAN
Noted martial arts authority, Leonard J. Pellman, is the co-author of three highly acclaimed books on traditional Japanese budō:
LIFE & BACKGROUND
Len Pellman was born in the San Diego suburb of National City, California and throughout his childhood lived in the communities of Normal Heights, La Mesa, Clairemont, and Serra Mesa. He was persistently bullied in elementary school and, after a particularly savage beating, was finally allowed to train in jūdō beginning at the age of 13.
At the age of 16 he was selected from among over 300 applicants to be one of six sent as exchange students to Japan as a high school junior, living in the city of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture. There he acquired knowledge of Japanese culture and language, and was introduced to the Japanese martial arts of karate-dō, kendō, aikidō, and iaijutsu.
Upon graduating from San Diego State University, Len returned to Japan for nine months as an uchideshi—a live-in trainee in classical Japanese martial arts. During that time, he received more in-depth training in karate-dō, kendō, and Okinawa kobujutsu.
After returning to the US, he was employed in the transportation industry for 22 years, eventually rising to CEO of Mission Transportation System, Inc., a global logistics company with offices in 34 countries. He also continued training in karate-dō. In 1988, he was introduced to karate master, Shimabukuro Masayuki, who became his primary sensei (teacher) from 1989 to 2012. Pellman Sensei opened his first dōjō in 1992, teaching karate-dō, Okinawa kobujutsu, and iaijutsu. In 1994, Shimabukuro Hanshi selected Pellman Sensei to be his co-author of Flashing Steel: Mastering Eishin-Ryu Swordsmanship, which was published in 1995.
In 2006, the two collaborated again to write Katsujinken: Living Karate & the Way to Self-Mastery. By this time, Pellman was employed as an adjunct professor of business and economics at a major university. In 2008, Shimabukuro and Pellman co-wrote the second edition of Flashing Steel, expanding its content by nearly fifty percent. The two were collaborating on Karate As The Art of Killing when Shimabukuro died suddenly of liver cancer in 2012. Pellman Sensei eventually completed the manuscript and Karate As The Art of Killing was released in 2022 on the tenth anniversary of Shimabukuro Hanshi's death.
Now semi-retired, Pellman Sensei spends most of his time writing and doing volunteer work.
PHOTO
