Stephen M. Fabian

Stephen M. Fabian began his formal martial training in 1976. From 1987 until 1990 he and his family lived in Japan, where he trained in the Hontai Yoshin-ryu (jujutsu and traditional weaponry) directly under its 18th Soke, Inoue Tsuyoshi Munetoshi. In 1989 he became the first foreigner to win an All-Japan Championship in Toyama-ryu iaido (shodan/nidan male adults), at the Fourth All-Japan Toyama-ryu Tournament. Currently, Fabian holds a second degree black belt in tae kwon do, a sandan in Toyama-ryu, and is godan and U.S. Hombu-cho (Branch Head) in Hontai Yoshin-ryu. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Shudokan Martial Arts Association. Fabian teaches Hontai Yoshin-ryu bujutsu in Hamilton Square, New Jersey. A socio-cultural anthropologist, Fabian received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987. Prior to going to Japan, he and his wife lived and worked among the Bororo Indians of Brazil, following travel and work in several other areas of Latin America. Fluent in Portuguese and competent in Spanish, Fabian is working to improve his functional and written Japanese. He has various publications, including one book, and hopes to write more, especially of relevance to the martial arts.