Talk:Siegfried Kufferath

Proposed source URL corrections and additional references

I have been reviewing the sources cited in this article as part of a source-reliability audit

I am posting here to explaiin these substantive citation changes and I want to give other editors a chance to review.

Problem: bare domain URLs

All seven non-Wikipedia references in this article cite bare domain URLs (e.g., https://danzan.com, https://home.blog) rather than the specific pages containing the cited content. I verified each URL on 2026-09-14 and found that the bare domains resolve to site homepages, not to the specific Kufferath biographical content. The actual content pages are at subpaths:

Ref name	Currently cited URL	Actual content URL	HTTP status
danzan_bio	https://danzan.com	https://danzan.com/HTML/PEOPLE/kufferath.html	Live (200)
kodenkan_bio	https://kodenkan.com	https://kodenkan.com/kufferath/	Live (200)
nikko_bio	https://godaddysites.com	https://nikkodojo.godaddysites.com/about	Live (200)
ajjf_bio	https://ajjf.org	https://www.ajjf.org/ (homepage; specific page may vary)	Live (200)
ajjf_memoriam	https://ajjf.org	https://www.ajjf.org/about-the-ajjf/in-memoriam/professor-sig-kufferath/	Live (200)
maytt_noha	https://home.blog	https://maytt.home.blog/2021/02/17/interview-with-californian-aikidoka-robert-noha-aikidos-spiritual-aspect/	Live (200)
tetsutori_history	https://tetsu-tori.co.uk	https://tetsu-tori.co.uk/history/	Live (200)

The bare-domain URLs are misleading: a reader clicking https://home.blog expecting to find the Robert Noha interview lands on the MAYTT blog homepage with no obvious path to the interview. Similarly, https://godaddysites.com is a 'free hosting platform domain>, not the Nikko Dojo site — the actual site is at nikkodojo.godaddysites.com.

Proposed corrected citations

I propose replacing each {{cite web}}: Empty citation (help) template with the actual content URL:

<!-- danzan_bio -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://danzan.com/HTML/PEOPLE/kufferath.html
 |title=Professor Sig Kufferath (1911–1999), 10th dan, Danzan-Ryu Shodai Keishosha, Jujutsu Shihan
 |website=Danzan-Ryu Jujitsu Homepage
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- kodenkan_bio -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://kodenkan.com/kufferath/
 |title=Kufferath: Prof. Sig Kufferath, 10th Dan
 |website=Kodenkan Jujitsu & Restoration Therapy
 |date=2012-11-04
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- nikko_bio -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://nikkodojo.godaddysites.com/about
 |title=Professor Kufferath
 |website=Nikko Dojo
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- ajjf_bio -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://www.ajjf.org/
 |title=Professor Sig Kufferath
 |website=American Judo & Jujitsu Federation
 |date=2015-10-16
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- ajjf_memoriam -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://www.ajjf.org/about-the-ajjf/in-memoriam/professor-sig-kufferath/
 |title=Professor Sig Kufferath In Memoriam
 |website=American Judo & Jujitsu Federation
 |date=1999-05-07
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- maytt_noha -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://maytt.home.blog/2021/02/17/interview-with-californian-aikidoka-robert-noha-aikidos-spiritual-aspect/
 |title=Interview with Californian Aikidoka Robert Noha: Aikido's Spiritual Aspect
 |website=Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (MAYTT)
 |author=Antonio Aloia
 |date=2021-02-17
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

<!-- tetsutori_history -->
{{cite web
 |url=https://tetsu-tori.co.uk/history/
 |title=History
 |website=Tetsu-Tori
 |date=2024-08-01
 |access-date=2026-09-14
}}

Additional issue: Wikipedia cited as a source

The article currently contains this reference:

<ref name="wikipedia_danzan">{{cite web |url=https://wikipedia.org |title=Danzan-ryū |website=Wikipedia |access-date=2026-09-08}}</ref>

This cites Wikipedia itself as a source for the statement about Kufferath being a founding member of the Kodenkan Danzan Ryu Jujitsu Association and the Kilohana Martial Arts Association. Per WP:CIRCULAR and WP:V, Wikipedia should not cite itself as a source. I propose replacing this with a direct reference to the AJJF memoriam page (which already covers this material) or to an independent source. If no independent source can be found for the Kilohana founding claim, that sentence should be tagged with .

Proposed additional sources

The article currently relies heavily on affiliated sources (danzan.com, kodenkan.com, nikkodojo.godaddysites.com, tetsu-tori.co.uk are all run by Kufferath lineage students/organizations). To strengthen notability per WP:GNG and WP:RS, I suggest adding these independent sources:

1. Aikido Journal — Roderick Kobayashi profile

"Roderick Kobayashi". Aikido Journal. 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2026-09-14.

Relevance: Provides independent context for the California Aikido Federation (distinct from the CAA) and the broader California martial arts landscape Kufferath operated in.

2. Aikido Journal — History of Aikido in the United States

"History of Aikido in the United States". Aikido Journal. 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2026-09-14.

Relevance: Independent overview of US aikido history; may mention Kufferath or the Mountain View dojo context.

3. MAYTT — Interview with Bill Witt

Antonio Aloia (2020-07-15). "Interview with Aikido Shihan Bill Witt: The Early Days of Aikido in Northern California". Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (MAYTT). Retrieved 2026-09-14.

Relevance: Independent interview; Witt discusses the early days of aikido in Northern California, including the Kufferath-Nadeau dojo-sharing arrangement in Mountain View. This is already cited (as maytt_noha) via the Robert Noha interview, but the Witt interview provides more direct context.

4. Palo Alto Daily Post — Ed Dressen obituary

"Edward Theodore Dreessen". Palo Alto Daily Post. 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2026-09-14.

Relevance: Independent newspaper obituary confirming that Ed Dressen "founded Nikko Ju-jitsu and Aikido School in Mountain View" — this corroborates the article's claim about Kufferath's Mountain View dojo and adds context about the school's founding. Note: this source is about Dressen, not Kufferath directly, but it independently confirms the Mountain View dojo's existence and naming.

5. USAdojo — Sig Kufferath profile

"Sig Kufferath". USAdojo. Retrieved 2026-09-14.

Relevance: Secondary source providing biographical details; editorial standards unclear but may supplement the affiliated sources.

Source reliability assessment

I performed a confidence assessment of each source per WP:RS:

#	Ref name	Publisher	Confidence	Notes
Currently cited
1	danzan_bio	Danzan-Ryu Jujitsu Homepage	Low	Style-specific site run by Danzan-ryū practitioners; affiliated
2	kodenkan_bio	Kodenkan Jujitsu & Restoration Therapy	Low	Self-published by Kufferath's own organization; primary source
3	nikko_bio	Nikko Dojo (GoDaddy Sites)	Low	Free hosting platform; maintained by a student's student; no editorial oversight
4	ajjf_bio	American Judo & Jujitsu Federation (AJJF)	Medium	National federation; institutional source; Kufferath recognized as Shihan by AJJF in 1988
5	ajjf_memoriam	AJJF In Memoriam	Medium	Obituary/memoriam from the organization that recognized him
6	maytt_noha	MAYTT (Antonio Aloia)	Medium	Independent martial arts interview blog; author has published books on aikido history (Tambuli Media)
7	tetsutori_history	Tetsu-Tori (UK dojo)	Low	UK dojo in Kufferath lineage; self-published; no editorial oversight
8	wikipedia_danzan	Wikipedia	N/A	Should not cite Wikipedia per WP:CIRCULAR
Proposed additions
9	(new)	Aikido Journal (Roderick Kobayashi)	Medium-High	Aikido Journal (founded by Stanley Pranin) is a recognized independent publication; editorially controlled
10	(new)	Aikido Journal (US Aikido history)	Medium-High	Same publisher as above
11	(new)	MAYTT (Bill Witt interview)	Medium	Same publisher as Ref 6; independent
12	(new)	Palo Alto Daily Post	High	Independent newspaper; editorially controlled
13	(new)	USAdojo	Low-Medium	Secondary source; editorial standards unclear

Summary: The article currently relies on 4 Low-confidence affiliated sources, 2 Medium-confidence institutional/independent sources, and 1 improper self-citation (Wikipedia). Adding the proposed independent sources (especially the Aikido Journal and Palo Alto Daily Post references) would significantly improve the article's sourcing per WP:GNG.

Proposed next steps

1. Consider whether the Kilohana Martial Arts Association founding claim (currently sourced only to Wikipedia) can be verified from an independent source.

Biofuel (talk) 02:35, 15 September 2026 (UTC)