Brett Mayfield, left, and Pete Porter are featured in a new book entitled “Modern Masters of the Martial Arts,” by David Nemeroff. The book features 55 martial arts experts from around the world, but Porter and Mayfield both reside in Hartford, Vt. Mayfield and Porter both taught at their respective schools in White River Junction for many years and often supported one another. (Valley News - John Happel) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Brett Mayfield, left, and Pete Porter are featured in a new book entitled “Modern Masters of the Martial Arts,” by David Nemeroff. The book features 55 martial arts experts from around the world, but Porter and Mayfield both reside in Hartford, Vt. Mayfield and Porter both taught at their respective schools in White River Junction for many years and often supported one another. (Valley News - John Happel) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

White River Junction — For a small town, Hartford is reaching a wide audience when it comes to martial arts.

Okinawan karate master Pete Porter and multi-discipline expert Brett Mayfield — both of White River Junction — will be featured among 55 elite instructors in an upcoming book, Modern Masters of the Martial Arts: Actions and Insights Into the World’s Classical Fighting Systems.

A hard-cover keepsake, Modern Masters is being billed as a photographic encyclopedia of traditional martial arts. Author David Nemeroff — who had no inkling Porter and Mayfield were neighbors when he reached out to them for the book — hopes the work will help more individuals become familiar with the world’s most revered self-defense methods and techniques.

“There are so many different types of martial arts in the world, and this book is an effort to educate the public about them,” Nemeroff said in a phone interview from Whitehall, Pa., where he runs Aikido Masters of Self Defense Academy.

“When most people think of martial arts, they think of MMA (mixed martial arts fighting), basic karate and taekwondo, without understanding the vastness of the different types of disciplines.”

Each of the teachers in Modern Masters is featured over a two-page spread. The left-hand pages include portrait photos and a synopsis each master wrote about his or her discipline, while the right-side displays images of techniques in action.

Porter, 63, is a 10th degree black belt in Shorin-ryu Okinawan karate, an ancient method emphasizing natural breathing, quick strikes and flexibility. Porter, a decorated tournament champion throughout the 1970s and ’80s, says the Shorin-ryu discipline incorporates the “soft” and “hard” elements of martial arts.

“It involves ‘mizu,’ which means water, and ‘koori,’ which is ice,” said Porter, a Hartland native who’s been teaching since 1973. “It’s similar to the yin and yang of things. Water can softly flow around anything, but it can also be as powerful as a tsunami. Ice, on the other hand, is nearly impenetrable. You need to be both to be a master of Shorin-ryu.”

Though he also practices Okinawan karate, Mayfield, 62, was chosen for Modern Masters for his acumen in Nihon jujutsu, a Japanese art emphasizing efficiency and practical defense techniques. It’s not as outwardly aggressive as some other martial arts, Mayfield noted.

“The spirit of Nihon is really about discovering oneself through budo or, ‘the martial way,’ ” Mayfield said. “It’s a self-building practice. Jujutsu means ‘the gentle art’ and it’s more of a defensive art. It involves locks, controls and throws more than punches and kicks. It’s about the application of form.”

Mayfield, who runs a holistic health practice, doubles as the health officer for the town of Hartford and teaches youth classes for his other specialty, goju-ryu karate.

A musician and hunter/fisherman, Porter has plenty to do away from martial arts. He builds custom guitars for a living and is a professional fishing guide. His rows of taxidermy trophies nearly outnumber the awards he once obtained through karate.

Porter’s modest training center, or dojo, is filled with memorabilia and photos of his teachers and friends from over the years. When he speaks of karate, his words are delivered with intensity reflective of the way he competed for so long.

“If you’re in one of my classes, you’re not looking out the window,” Porter said. “You’re all-in or you’re out of the class. That’s the way I was taught and that’s the only way to get the most out of yourself.”

Porter and Mayfield know each other well and have supported one another over the years. While differences exist within their disciplines, both ascribe to the classic style of martial art forms highlighted in Nemeroff’s book.

“You’ve got your traditional martial arts and non-traditional martial arts,” Mayfield said. “Traditional martial arts follow ancient lineages and there are (well-defined) relationships between teachers and students. Non-traditional martial arts might have their roots in certain styles, but they’re branched off into their own wheel. There is a place for them, but they’re very different than traditional styles.”

Porter was more blunt about his feelings toward nontraditional martial arts.

“A lot of them are junk, ” he said. “They’re cheap ways to make money run by people who aren’t trained (sufficiently). I’ve seen yellow belts running their own karate centers.”

The book’s author, Nemeroff, has known about Mayfield’s exploits for years, both belonging to the same international martial arts association. Nemeroff discovered Porter independently of his relationship with Mayfield.

“I felt the Shorin-ryu style was important to feature in the book, and (Porter) is who I discovered when I started researching that discipline’s best teachers,” Nemeroff said. “I had no idea he was in the same town as Brett, but that’s a pretty unique thing. I can only imagine their camaraderie.”

Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.