/r/Koryu

Photograph via snooOG

Koryū are the classical Japanese martial arts predating the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Koryū includes the obvious - swordsmanship, archery, jūjutsu, etc. - as well as other aspects of martial life in feudal Japan such as horse riding, armored swimming, and strategy.

/r/koryu is dedicated to the the history, practice, and preservation of these arts. We welcome video submissions, seminar and event announcements, and historical and technical discussion.

Koryū bujutsu are the classical Japanese martial arts predating the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Koryū includes the obvious - swordsmanship, archery, jūjutsu, etc. - as well as other aspects of martial life in feudal Japan such as horse riding, armored swimming, and strategy.

See our Koryū Wiki for more info.

/r/koryu is dedicated to the the history, practice, and preservation of these arts. We welcome a wide range of questions and submissions, including:

  • Videos of public koryū demonstrations
  • Seminar or demonstration announcements
  • Dojo and study group listings
  • Questions about strategy and technique
  • Interviews with licensed instructors
  • Historical Japanese martial artists
  • Historical battles and strategy
  • Training weapons
  • Book reviews
  • And more...

Resources to get started learning about koryū:

Koryu.com

E-Budo: Koryu Bujutsu Forum

Koryū Wikipedia Entry

Koryū Bujutsu 古流武術 Facebook Group (technically a closed group but open to anybody interested in koryū bujutsu)


Related subreddits:

/r/iaido (koryū & modern JPN sword drawing)

/r/kendo (modern Japanese fencing)

/r/Kyudo (modern Japanese archery)

/r/wma (Western Martial Arts / HEMA)


Macrons: Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū ā ē ī ō ū

/r/Koryu

3,434 Subscribers

5

Kobudo Kyokai 45th Anniversay Event

1 Comment
2024/03/20
03:34 UTC

7

Are these koryu schools legit?

Hello everyone,

I'm from Brazil, and got interested in koryu. There's a school here called "Niten Institute" that teaches Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, but it's said by kendo practitioners that it's a McDojo. I've found two schools besides Niten Institute that teach koryu, their official websites and social networks are listed below:

First school:

https://koryu.com.br/

https://www.instagram.com/koryu.dojo/

https://www.facebook.com/dojoryujin

https://twitter.com/koryu_dojo/

Second school:

https://aizuryu.com/

https://www.instagram.com/aizumusoryu/

https://www.youtube.com/user/AizuMusoRyu

https://www.facebook.com/aizumusoryu/

Is any of these two schools legit?

9 Comments
2024/03/18
02:42 UTC

4

How exactly was one meant to hold the Wazikashi in combat?

I've tried looking up images of it and I only see people wielding two handed swords. Does anybody have any references to Wazikashi stances?

4 Comments
2024/03/17
23:32 UTC

5

Structure of the Dai Nihon Butokukai.

The Dai Nihon Butokukai is an interesting organization. Supposedly the original one founded in the 1890s was shut down by the Japanese government and later restarted to support Japan's war effort in WW2.

Does anybody have any information as to just how this restructuring was done, as information I've been able to gather seems to point towards the original organization being less of a centralized, government ministry type, and more of a loose connection of various martial artists.

12 Comments
2024/03/16
09:33 UTC

9

Kashima Shin Ryu

I am re-reading Karl Friday’s Legacies of the Sword. If I had access, would have really wanted to enter the Ryu! Not sh@t stirring but remember reading that KSR was by Kunii Zenya and it I s basically a Jiki Shinkage Ryu off shoot. True or not true? Again I mean no disrespect by asking but just curious

18 Comments
2024/03/11
03:52 UTC

38

Kuroda Tetsuzan has passed away

Sad to see one of the most impressive swordsmen of our era has passed 😔

5 Comments
2024/03/05
14:28 UTC

16

Is "Let's Ask Seki Sensei" a legitimate source of Kenjutsu knowledge or is he a fraud?

Hello r/Koryu. Disclaimer - I do not practice kenjutsu, but I've recently been going down a rabbithole and am planning to attend a dojo in the future.

I don't think it's much of an exaggeration when I say that Seki Nobuhide is currently the most popular Kenjutsu content creator, with several of the videos on his channel "Let's Ask Seki Sensei" having views in the millions. Perhaps one could even argue that he's currently one of the most famous living kenjutsu swordsmen.

Personally this channel was the reason I originally became interested in kenjutsu, but it seems as though many in this subreddit hold a negative opinion of him. Most of the reasons are summarized in this thread. It seems like many dislike him due to his racist actions, decision to provide online lessons, and his association with "Let's Ask Shogo" who has spread misinformation in the past.

These are all valid criticisms, but what I really want to know is if he is an otherwise legitimate teacher/practitioner of Kenjutsu? I've seen one comment describe him as a "mcdojo", but he and Asayama Ichiden Ryu are listed on the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai website which is apparently a good sign of legitimacy. His credentials seem quite solid and in his videos he seems (at least to an uninformed outsider) to know what he's talking about when he describes the purpose of each move.

Has anyone here seen his videos and noticed any techniques that are blatantly "bullshido"?

15 Comments
2024/03/05
02:01 UTC

9

Advice for iaigoshi

Around 5-6 months ago I started practing katori shinto ryu and I've been recently (about a month or so ago) taught the first seated Iai kata. My problem with it is the seated position itself, Iaigoshi, I just can't seem to get used to it. Whenever I try to practice it at home my toes hurt like crazy and I can not last more than 10 seconds in it, the situation at the dojo is slightly better because of the soft flooring but even with it I still can't sit in iaigoshi for long. Does anyone have any advice on how I can try to get used to it and make it hurt less?

9 Comments
2024/03/04
13:48 UTC

14

I've watched a couple of Katori Shinto Ryu kata videos and I notice they occasionally do this posture where they hold their hand out. Does anyone here know what the purpose of it is?

37 Comments
2024/02/28
21:27 UTC

8

How did you start training in the Martial Arts?

As a 40 something who has been messing around with one or another sort or martial art since my teens, I realise that in one form or another I've been doing this my whole adult life, and it's really taken some turns, from humble beginnings to now where, whilst certainly not an expert by any stretch, I sort of know what I'm doing in some settings.

I started at about 16, back in about 1996, practiced a Korean art called Kuk Sool Won for about two years, got to yellow belt before calling it a day, too far to walk to training, to expensive to grade no chance really.

At 19 I met a Tai Chi teacher who had also learned quite a lot of Shotokai Karate, Aikido, and what turned out to be the initial 8-kata set from Toyama Ryu Iaijutsu, that he learned from his Aikido teacher.

I used to go up and visit him and spend mornings on the beach practicing forms, getting hit with a shinai or a bokken, and doing a lot of push-hands and other exercised, but there was no grading, no formality, no uniforms, it was purely on a casual basis and I carried on like that for years, I still practice some of it now.

Years later, a Shodan in Aikido, just starting out in a Koryu martial art, Tatsumi Ryu, I feel like a beginner all over again and often think back to those days. No uniforms, only standing bows, a 'Gassho' really, and really sophisticated albeit simply taught training. My teacher, who later became a more a friend and occasional drinking partner, died a few years ago leaving only myself and a handful of students with snippets of what he had to teach.

Had it not been for that opportunity I probably would not have continued into practicing Budo to the extent that I have, so I own the man a debt of gratitude for those simplistic but formative times.

I doubt I'm the only one with a story to tell, I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.

15 Comments
2024/02/26
21:23 UTC

5

Teacher responsibility for student behavior

Are you prepared to take this sort of responsibility for your students' behavior?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68381695

10 Comments
2024/02/25
18:56 UTC

17

Old time practitioners, compared to when you started learning, how 'alive' is Koryu today?

On the internet I see conflicting information. Some think Koryu has declined sharply over the last few decades, meanwhile several Iaido teachers commented that the creation of the Seitei Iai Kata has renewed interest in iaido over the same period.

Even when the Dai Nihon Butokukai existed (in a way they still do, but they're pretty much fringe at this point) the number of teachers didn't seem to exceed 1000.

21 Comments
2024/02/19
16:17 UTC

21

Heki Ryu kyujutsu

10 Comments
2024/02/09
21:20 UTC

18

Nakanishi ha Itto Ryu

14 Comments
2024/02/06
16:42 UTC

6

Early Meiji era efforts to preserve, adopt martial arts aside from Sakakibara Kenkichi?

Japanese Wikipedia puts great emphasis on one Sakakibara Kenkichi, a samurai and late Edo-era swordsman, in starting public demonstrations as a way for samurai to make a living. Alexander Bennett goes as far as to claim had it not been for the efforts of Kenkichi, Japanese martial arts would have been lost to time. Was the guy that important, or was he just a part of a wider movement among the Japanese ruling class at the time to preserve their old way of life.

7 Comments
2024/02/05
12:44 UTC

49

Pilgrimage

Hitting the Katori Jingu was def a special experience 🙇🏼‍♂️

9 Comments
2024/02/03
14:42 UTC

14

Questions about Katori Shinto Ryu

Hello everyone,

I don't actually do any martial arts, but recently I've been going down the kenjutsu rabbithole. Whilst I was trying to find kenjutsu dojos in the UK, I stumbled upon this legitimate Katori Shinto ryu dojo.

  1. First of all, apparently in the advanced stages they teach you about troop movements and field fortifications? This sounds insanely intriguing to me. Does anyone here know what that entails?

  2. Secondly, apparently you need to sign a blood oath before you start training. Is that literal? It also comes with some conditions. Most of them are fine, but one of the conditions is that you're not allowed to discuss or demonstrate details of the ryu to anyone. This sounds insanely strict to me. Are other ryu like this? And also, wasn't Yoshio Sugino a film choreographer? Doesn't that count as a demonstration of the ryu?

18 Comments
2024/02/02
23:56 UTC

4

Shinkage-ryu in Calgary AB, Canada?

I've been searching for dojos that teach Shinkage-ryu near where I currently live, but have met no luck yet. Are there really no such dojos nearby? Thanks to everyone reading in advance.

13 Comments
2024/02/01
07:06 UTC

2

I need some help

I live in the Houston Area and looking for a Koryu School. Does anyone know any that is legit? (I don't know the federations at all)

13 Comments
2024/01/28
02:40 UTC

4

Do you think the preservation of budo to the modern day was a 'lucky' event orchestrated by a few individuals, or were there many people trying to keep martial arts alive?

Title.

People like Kano Jigoro are frequently brought up as having singlehandedly revived budo, but looking at the Kano-Totsuka rivalry, etc, it seems like trying to preserve martial arts and adapt it to late 19th ~ 20th century society was something that many people at the time were trying, just that people like Kano were successful out of all those people due to certain events.

10 Comments
2024/01/27
14:06 UTC

5

Kage-ryū in USA?

I am aware there is a school in Canada. But is there any in USA? Koryu with Nodachi seems to be harder to find (because of laws placed in Edo) but I know some have survived. But I can't seem to find any dojos in the USA for it?

35 Comments
2024/01/21
15:22 UTC

3

Jiki Shinkage Ryu in Japan

I've been looking for information online, and it seems like schools are incredibly rare even for Koryu standards, maybe two or three organizations that have an online presence... the links provided by Japanese Wikipedia are mostly dead.

6 Comments
2024/01/20
13:28 UTC

15

I have always been entranced by Tatsuya Nakadai's fighting style in Harakiri (1962). However, is this arms-crossed stance actually useful in a duel?

12 Comments
2024/01/19
00:27 UTC

3

Right side of niten ichi ryu

i am looking at niten ichi ryu techniques and am noticing there is a lack of techniques that deal with an attack from your right side. is that so you learn to mirror the techniques or is there another reason for that? I dont practice the style so im not the most knowledgeable about this topic.

5 Comments
2024/01/17
07:42 UTC

2

Shunpukan Kanto Branch (Akabane Tatsuo)

Shunpukan Kanto Branch (Akabane Tatsuo) Location or website for future training?

1 Comment
2024/01/13
17:41 UTC

6

Sloppy demonstrations?

I found this particular video online and the comments were interesting, several people criticizing the participants for being sloppy. Is this demonstration a particularly bad one or has the quality of practitioners gone down considerably over the years?

10 Comments
2024/01/11
17:50 UTC

1

Questions: technique

Why kendokas don't use kesa kiri, more kamaes and grapling techinque like in Tennen Rishin Ryu?

8 Comments
2024/01/07
19:17 UTC

5

Questions for fumikomi

Why in some Ryuha there are fumikomi, for example Yagu Shinkange Ryu? And another question, why do we use fumikomi in kendo?

16 Comments
2024/01/07
11:07 UTC

0

Katori Shinto Ryu vs Yagu Shinkage Ryu

Who wins?

13 Comments
2024/01/07
09:00 UTC

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