Samurai or Ronin?

"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature." –John Webbe, in Benjamin Franklin’s "Pennsylvania Gazette" 1736

I had already worked with Mr. Aki through shisei, suri ashi, and tai sabaki. That was the easy part. We were now onto ukemi, and I was spending a lot of time on the mat. I mean, a lot. It seemed he loved nothing more than to throw me to the ground.

It reminded me of a story I once heard about why there are three traditional colors of martial arts belts. …