Serge Mol is widely regarded as one of the foremost Western authorities on Japans traditional martial arts. He began his training more than thirty years ago and eventually received the ranks of menkyo and menkyo kaiden in several classical schools. These rare teaching licenses place him among a small group of non-Japanese practitioners who have been fully initiated into traditional martial lineages.
Mol became well known through a series of meticulously researched books that set a new benchmark for English-language works on the subject. His early titles, Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu and Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts, quickly became bestsellers and are still widely cited by martial arts historians and practitioners.
He lived in Japan for several years, dedicating most of his time to training and research. During this period he also lived with a traditional Kyoto family of samurai descent, an experience that gave him a rare insider perspective on classical martial culture. In addition, Mol assembled an impressive private collection of Edo period documents related to martial arts, weaponry, and the history and culture of the samurai and ninja.
Over the years he authored six major books on Japanese martial traditions. These include Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu, Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts, Classical Swordsmanship of Japan, Invisible Armor: The Ninja Yoroi of Iga and Koga, Bujutsu Densho, and Takeda Shinbi Hiden. Bujutsu Densho in particular was remarkable for its extensive photography of rare martial arts scrolls, many drawn from Mol’s own collection.
Today all six books are out of print. As a result, prices for used copies have steadily increased, with collectors and martial artists often paying premium prices due to their scarcity. For many readers, Mol’s works remain some of the most detailed and carefully researched studies of classical Japanese martial arts published in the 21st century.
At BudoVideos we sold a large number of his books for many years. However, around 2020 we lost contact with him and have not heard from him since.
If anyone has information about what happened to Serge Mol, we would love to hear it. It would be a shame if such important works remained unavailable, as his books are true modern classics in the study of traditional Japanese martial arts.
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