(Note this is a guest post from Richard Stonell) Tameshigiri is a very popular element of swordsmanship today. This is perhaps thanks in part to the spread of Toyama-ryu, a system originally created in the 1920s to teach fundamental sword technique to officers in the Imperial Japanese Military. Tameshigiri forms a central part of training […]
Editors note: This is the first in a series of articles by Tokyo based budoka Jeff Karinja. In this series, he will introduce Yushinkan dojo and talk about its history, esteemed lineage, and ethos. Enjoy! The Yushinkan Dojo (有信館道場) is perhaps one of the most distinguished training halls in modern budo history. The dojo, once […]
Nukitsuke and nukiuchi are different. “Tsuke” means you are acting to forestall an opponent’s attack before it begins. Nukiuchi on the other hand means, precisely, to cut down an opponent. Without understanding the difference between these two, your swordsmanship will not be effective.* － Kamimoto Eiichi sensei, iaido hanshi 9 dan, kendo hanshi 8 […]
a.k.a. kendoka pictorial directory Editors comment: what follows here is another great translation by Isaac Meyer which I believe will be useful to the researchers out there. This book – kendoka shashin meikan (剣道家写真名鑑) was published in 1925, and it attempts to catalogue the butokukai of that time. This includes not only various pictures but […]
(Note this is a guest post from Daniel Zoot) Every year, the kendo community in Aomori conducts two tachikiri events. Tachikiri is often rendered in English as “stand all the way training.” Even has a long time practitioner of kendo, the first time I got to witness tachikiri keiko, I would have been tempted to […]
(Note this is a guest post from Richard Stonell) In budo circles today, it is not uncommon for students of swordsmanship to get angry or upset when they see attempts to make a profit from their chosen arts or turn them into spectacles of showmanship, especially when the person doing so is considered less than […]
(Note this is a guest post from Andy Watson) Authors note: This article emphasises a “lateral” view in that I am by no means a master or even seasoned teacher of Jodo. I believe that insincere humility is as bad as arrogance and so I would not go so far to say that I am […]
(Note this is a guest post from Josh Reyer) It’s a not uncommon sight on sword-related forums these days. An aspiring student of the Japanese sword arts, left-handed, joins the forum and asks about studying ken (be it kendo, iaido, or aiki-ken) with a left-handed grip. He is quickly informed that no, Japanese swordsmanship is […]
(Note this is a guest post from Daniel Zoot) “Motomereba Mugendai” (求めれば無限大) is my favorite Kendo book. It is a small, easily readable book composed of 100 short essays on Kendo training and leadership topics. One of the things I like about it (in addition to the uncomplicated, straightforward word choice and sentence structure) is […]
(Note this is a guest post from Leiv Harstad) Often when an individual thinks of influential characters in kendo, more likely than not, that individual will think of Japanese kenshi like Mochida Moriji or Takano Sasaburo, or even present day heroes like Eiga or Miyazaki (rightfully so as these people have left a tremendous mark). […]