About

Keith Vargo is a writer, researcher, martial arts instructor, and fighter based in Tokyo. He was a columnist and Japan correspondent for Black Belt magazine for nearly 20 years and is the author of Philosophy of Fighting: Morals and Motivations of the Modern Warrior and The Soul or Fight: Martial Arts, Combat Sports and the Search for Warrior Wisdom. He also advised on the translation of Yujiro Watanabe's 1923 boxing manual, A Quick Guide to Boxing and wrote a foreword to the book.
Keith was the first foreigner to earn a shodan (first-degree black belt) from the world-renowned Takada Dojo, where he trained with MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba and other top fighters from the golden era of Japanese MMA. During his competitive years, Keith fought professionally in MMA, boxing and submission grappling and was an amateur shootboxing and combat wrestling champion. Keith also holds a degree in psychology and a certificate in multi-cultural self-defense from Radford University in Virginia.

Featured Work

The Soul of Fighting: Martial Arts, Combat Sports, and the Search for Warrior Wisdom.

2016

Former columnist and Japan correspondent for Black Belt magazine Keith Vargo returns with another collection of thoughtful essays on the fighting arts. The Soul of Fighting guides the reader through the legends and ideals that make up traditional martial arts and confronts the fierce challenges presented by kickboxing and MMA.

Like his first book, Philosophy of Fighting: Morals and Motivations of the Modern Warrior, this new compilation explores how philosophy, mysticism, aesthetics, science, and the study of human nature intersect in the martial arts. Topics include the seemingly paranormal perception of high-level martial artists, the transmission of knowledge in centuries-old Japanese koryu arts, and the martial philosophy of Hindu classics. But the essays also cover modern topics, like current research on human aggression, living and practicing martial arts in contemporary Asia, the medical risks of fighting, changing perceptions of women in the fighting arts, and difficult questions about race and self-defense. In addition, there are also encounters with Olympic judo champions and celebrity MMA fighters as Keith searches for the common threads that bind all fighters and martial artists together.

Other Works

  • A Judo Warrior's Journey Around the Globe: America 1904~1907

    2022

  • A Quick Guide to Boxing (translation)

    2021

  • Philosophy of Fighting: Morals and Motivations of the Modern Warrior

    2008