Please enjoy this informational budo video about sword blocking in classical Japanese kenjutsu.
I train to strike correctly. I perform keiko to understand the angles of my sword. Swordsmanship and sword combat at that the center of my …
Present and switched on
The method of critically watching practice is commonly referred to as Mitorigeiko. Last week I was having conversations with one of my …
The desire to destroy is within us all. We must overcome this urge to tear others down or damage someone's happiness. Whether it's intentional or …
Budo does not begin and end when you pass through the dojo, or step on and off a mat. Practicing musha shugyo when you have …
The code of the samurai is always popping up in martial arts circles and popular culture. Written about in the book, Bushido; Soul of Japan …
Are samurai still trained in Japan? Are there samurai schools? The short answer is, No.Samurai were a caste or class in a social system in …
I heard a student say, "If I don’t do any kind of training every day, I feel a strong sense of guilt." When I heard …
Hablaré acerca de bases y dominio. Antes de comenzar, quiero decir que usaré la palabra "dominio" varias veces y la usaré de una manera amplia …
Gratitude for our swords and training equipment, and those that made them. To our teachers and those that came before us. To our students. To …
The Sword and its study.
Hesitation (doubt) is one of the four diseases in swordsmanship. In martial arts really. It is not unique to swordsmanship. Reluctance …
In the dojo, when I hear a student offer excuses to a teacher, I can only think that that student is unteachable or at the …
Maai 間合い
Combative spacing or maai is important to investigate early on and come to understand. In weapons combat it is essential. Although at some point …
In 1888 the Tokyo Metropolitan Police department decided to cull various ryu-ha together to form a system of study for their police force. This inculded, …
We should not let our mind or body or sword become contorted or controlled by the opponent. In the photo the opponent blocks. We must …
Beware The Rabbit Holes.
I want to talk about some pitfalls of martial arts training. Although I focus on classical kenjutsu and iaijutsu training, this advice …
鬼は外! 福は内!
In our house we dont use beans to chase out the demons, we use swords.
Just having a little fun during setsubun. I wish everyone …
In Japanese swordsmanship, there have been many hundreds of schools. There are, however, only a few ways to cut with a sword. Many schools feature …
Teaching maai 間合い, the ideas of combative spacing and timing intervals in kenjutsu.
It is difficult to wind through the brambles and thorns of life. It is impossible to escape from the drawing of blood, both metaphorically and …
Pardon the pun, but the point of iaido is important to keep.
When we practice iaido or iaijutsu alone it is easy to fall into bad …