Gyokko no Himitsu

Gyokko no Himitsu

(Secrets of the Jade Tiger)

(Note: This section is in draft status. Suggestions may be sent to toranoko@gyokko.com.)

Mission Statement

Gyokko no Himitsu seeks to provide a quality resource that assists the Bujinkan Beginner and Explorer to more effectively explore their selves and their art.

About Gyokko no Himitsu

Gyokko no Himitsu is a peer-reviewed electronic journal targeted at Beginners and Explorers who have a common interest in the Bujinkan way of life. Gyokko no Himitsu is based on five principles: Integrity, Respect, Creativity, Passion, and Thoughtfulness. The goal is to create an environment where Beginners feel comfortable exploring while simultaneously interacting with Shidoshi.

(Please note that the term "Beginner" has been left intentionally vague)

There are three primary sections: From the Beginner, From the Shidoshi, and Shidoshi to Shidoshi. From the Beginner is anything that a Beginner wishes to share, perhaps even hoping for quality feedback From the Shidoshi. Examples of appropriate articles from a Beginner would include edited training journals, insights from their level of training, book reviews (from a beginner's perspective), and so forth. These articles will be critiqued by a panel of Shidoshi and Shidoshi-Ho. (Please see "About the Peer Review Process" below.) The emphasis is on usefulness -- that is, is it useful to a Beginner from a Beginner's perspective?

Articles From the Shidoshi are written only by licensed and qualified Shidoshi and Shidoshi-Ho. Examples of appropriate articles would be responses to a Beginners article, observations, memories from early days of training, culture or history notes, training pointers, and so forth. Similar to From the Beginner, these articles will also be critiqued by a panel of Shidoshi and Shidoshi-Ho.

Shidoshi to Shidoshi is the place for articles that are targeted specifically to Shidoshi and Shidoshi-Ho level practitioners. Novices may not find these of immediate value, however Gyokko no Himitsu recognizes that Shidoshi are also Beginners and Explorers and they may need a place to express their discoveries to other Shidoshi. This section is also peer-reviewed.

There will also be a few non-reviewed items such as VIP articles (I'm not going to tell Hatsumi-Sensei that he needs to be "reviewed for quality"!), editorials, letters to the editor, and so forth. I would also like to recruit a few columnists. Additional sections may be added later.

About the Peer Review Process

Peer review is a quality control process used by most academic journals. Simply put, all articles will be reviewed by a "qualified professional" in that subject area, who will then give the editors their feedback on the article. This feedback is expected to be quality feedback, and not simply a "yes/no" answer. One reason for this is that editors are not required to be subject matter experts. All editorial decisions must be made with the facts in mind, and this requires an objective review. The "peer review" process is not a popularity contest.

A review will consist of three parts. The first part is a single line for the recommendation and consists of one of the following recommendations: Recommend Accept, Recommend Accept Conditionally, Recommend Reject Conditionally, Recommend Reject. The second section is an editorial recommendation and consists of such words as Recommend Heading History or Recommend Heading Spirituality. This is used to note that while the article is of value, it may not be of interest to all readers. A heading will give the reader a quick idea of whether or not he or she wishes to examine the article.

The third part is the actual review of the article. This section is where the reviewer supports his or her recommendation to the editors and provides constructive feedback to the author based on the five principles outlined above. The review must give specific and constructive feedback to be of any value -- reviews that do not will be rejected.

Example of Bad Feedback

Recommend Reject

The article "Video Training Methods" is wrong and should be rejected. ...

Example of Good Feedback

Recommend Reject Conditionally

The article "Video Training Methods" is well written, however if fails to examine several key points. The first is the lack of nonverbal feedback, such as body language, that is inherent to all video ...

Status of Gyokko no Himitsu

Gyokko no Himitsu is currently in on the "back burner" because of lack of interest. When there is enough interest, a forum will be established for the peer review process, and then the relevant information will be posted here (and, more than likely, elsewhere as well).