Content sources

One rule

What we cannot document, we do not publish. An empty field is more honest than a probably correct figure — because a probably correct figure spreads from an encyclopaedia, and after a few copyings nobody questions it any more.

That is why many fields on the site are empty. It is not unfinished work; it is what the rule produces.

Where the entries come from

We rank sources by weight. Where they conflict, the higher one prevails:

• Official federation and organisation documents — statutes, grading syllabuses, lists of kata and techniques, official historical accounts.
• Specialist and academic literature — monographs, peer-reviewed studies, work on the history of martial arts.
• Historical sources — manuscripts and printed treatises, and for European swordsmanship including the shelf mark, holding institution and a link to a digitised copy.
• Established reference works and specialist periodicals.
• Club and school websites — only for information about themselves, not for general claims about a style or its history.

Historical sources

For historical European swordsmanship we maintain a separate catalogue of sources: manuscripts and printed treatises with author, date, shelf mark and the institution that holds them. Where a public digitised copy exists, a link leads to it — so you can check an entry against the original, not only against our transcription.

When sources disagree

In martial arts this happens often — over the dates styles were founded, over lines of succession, over the authorship of kata. In such cases we state the conflict or leave the entry out. We do not quietly pick one version simply to avoid an empty field.

How the text is produced and who is responsible for it

The content is compiled by the operator of the site, who is responsible for it. Machine tools are also used in processing the data, harmonising the structure and translating into seven languages; their output is checked against the sources and does not replace them.

Technical names — of kata, techniques, grades and salutations — are kept in their original transcription. They are neither translated nor adapted, because in translation they lose their meaning and can no longer be traced.

Corrections and updates

Report an error or a missing entry to info@impaku.com. Include the page address, the item at issue, what it should say and what that follows from.

Documented corrections are incorporated and we note against the record what changed and why. An entry whose accuracy cannot be documented is removed from the site rather than left standing.

Trade marks and third-party rights

The names, logos and trade marks of federations, organisations, schools and brands belong to their owners. The site cites them solely to identify and describe.

Photographs, posters and other protected visual material are deliberately not published on the site.

How to cite Impaku

Give the name “Impaku”, the address of the specific page and the date on which you read it. The content is added to and corrected, so the date is part of the citation.