How are you all? Anyone here know a place to learn Japanese jujutsu or aikijujutsu around Nashville? I can drive 90 minutes maybe if worth, have a good weekend!

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Now we’re going to look at how Yagyū Shinkage Ryū is practiced, particularly in relation to levels of “aliveness.” The Yagyū Shinkage Ryū curriculum is broadly divided into two groups: the honden (original teachings) and the gaiden (supplemental teachings). The honden are the tachi devised and passed down by Kamiizumi Hidetsuna and Yagyū Munetoshi (including beginner’s versions of two of these forms devised by 5th soke Yagyū Renya and 6th soke Lord Tokugawa Mitsutomo). The gaiden are made up of the shiai-seihō devised by assistant instructor Nagaoka Fusashige, plus some unique forms developed by Renya.

Let’s say that a young man named Tarō has joined Yagyū Shinkage Ryū. His first couple of training sessions he learns the reihō, he learns (more or less) how walk with his shinai held overhead, how to do a straight cut with both feet, how to do a diagonal cut with his right foot (right to left), and then his left foot (left to right). Then he learns how to do gasshi. It’s the most essential gokui of Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, and the hardest thing to do right, so naturally it is the very first thing he learns how to do. Very quickly, he’s taught the five parts of Sangaku En no Tachi. This is a beginner’s version, with all exchanges happening from that shinai overhead position. As soon as he knows the basic shape of this, he’s moved on to the first shiai-seihō. This is Airaito Hasseihō: eight distinct seihō to teach fundamentals. These two kata are going to be pretty much all his training for the next sixth months. (Some other lines might include the beginner’s version of Kuka no Tachi at this stage, but the idea is still the same.) In the honden he will polish the mental/spiritual side (kurai) while practicing timing, and the subtle interaction of cutting lines. In the shiai-seihō, he will work on energetic, whole-body movement while honing his senses of timing and distance. Nagaoka wrote in his commentary of the shiai-seihō that, "I have included the rocks with the jewels, to encourage 博文約礼 hakubun-yakurei (correct behavior by broad learning)."

In this initial phase, Tarō’s practice is what we call torigai 鳥飼, which means “bird-handling.” Uchidachi’s shinai will never strike Tarō, but Tarō’s shinai will always strike the uchidachi. The idea here is to train a conditioned response. One might think that he is learning how to “do it right,” but “correctness” is less of a concern than doing it with whole body and spirit. Better to make a mistake doing it with all that you are than timidly and pedantically trying to “do it right.”

Eventually, as Tarō starts moving well, carrying himself with confidence and dignity, he learns the next shiai-seihō forms: fourteen with Tarō in seigan against an uchidachi with shinai overhead, and then another eight with Tarō in gedan against uchidachi with shinai overhead. In our line, this is where he learns the beginner’s form of Kuka no Tachi. At this point, his seniors start practicing with him in a way we call torigai higiri. Higiri can be written in two ways: 間斬り “cutting openings” or 非斬り “cutting what should not be.” Having gotten into the habit of doing things with all his body and mind, now Tarō starts working on getting the technical aspects right, because uchidachi’s shinai will strike him if the technique is not properly performed. The important distinction between this stage and later stages is that the uchidachi is not specifically trying to hit Tarō, other than in the sense of cutting to particular target. Rather, the hits could be considered “self-inflicted.” If Tarō did not do the technique wrong, he would not have been hit. His uchidachi is simply fully cutting to a particular target. Although Tarō begins to be struck on his hands or legs, it’s not especially painful and skin scrapes aside, it’s rarely injurious. Again, the goal is creating a further conditioned response: ignoring being struck, staying in the moment, and continuing the kata.

Tarō’s practice continues, and sometime after a year of regular training, he learns the standard version of Sangaku En no Tachi, with cuts starting from a chūdan or gedan position. He’s learned to make these kinds of cuts in the various shiai-seihō, so it is not a big jump to start doing the form in this way. Now his seniors start practicing in a way called higiri. Here Tarō’s uchidachi really start stress-testing him. Targets become variable. If his uchidachi see an opening, or they see Tarō starting to rely too much on the expected form of the kata, they may break the kata to strike where he has left himself open.

Tarō’s uchidachi begin altering timing and distance and making Tarō adjust. Particularly in the shiai-seihō, his uchidachi try to push Tarō out of his comfort zone, so that he can see where he needs to improve. And while being struck in earlier stages didn’t really hurt, being struck here hurts a lot. At this point, Tarō’s conditioned response has been trained enough so that even while his brain registers that a hit really smarts, he doesn’t even flinch.

The ability to properly watch his uchidachi and respond if they bend or even break the kata is important, because sometime 2 to 3 years after joining, Tarō starts learning how to do the uchidachi side. Initially, he will practice uchidachi with others of roughly the same level, and they are not as precise or controlled as the veterans he’s been practicing with until now. At the same time as he is learning uchidachi for the shiai-seihō he already knew, he’s also learning new shiai-seihō. These new shiai-seihō are especially helpful, as often they are set-up the opposite of the earlier shiai-seihō he learned: shidachi with shinai overhead against uchidachi in seigan or gedan. Essentially, he is learning, as shidachi, counters and responses to the techniques he’s receiving as uchidachi in the earlier shiai-seihō. But not in sense of “If A, then B,” but rather, “here are multiple possible ways of dealing with something A-like.”

Four to five years in, Tarō learns both the shidachi and uchidachi side of the standard version of Kuka no Tachi. This is significant because until now, his practice with his juniors has been under the watchful eye of a senior. But now he’s considered a shidosha, someone who can be trusted to practice with a junior on his own. At the same time, his practice with other shidosha now moves to the higiri-jiai stage. This means that both shidachi and uchidachi are on the look out for openings, and may break the kata if applicable. But in the case of the shiai-seihō, is it breaking the kata if one simply slips into another kata?

Let’s look at a practical example. In the 2nd seihō of Airaito Hasseihō, shidachi and uchidachi approach. Shortly before entering into cutting distance, shidachi surreptitiously slips their foot into range, and quickly strikes at uchidachi’s upraised forearm. Shidachi follows up by advancing a few steps, pushing uchidachi back. It is incumbent that shidachi stay in contact with uchidachi as uchidachi retreats and not get stuck in place or run out of steam. The reason why is demonstrated in a later shiai-seihō. In that later seihō, the set-up is exactly the same with shidachi striking first and driving uchidachi back. But in that seihō, uchidachi shoots back to create enough distance do a retreating cut at shidachi’s hands. Shidachi must now switch from driving uchidachi back, to cutting down this new attack. Between two veteran practitioners, familiar with these seihō, it is nothing for uchidachi to slip into the later seihō if he deems shidachi’s cut and advance is not sufficiently preventing him from doing so. Ideally, shidachi should be able to naturally respond to it, as trained. And that response may not necessarily be from the same seihō!

Practically, one may not see many such variations over the course of a practice. At that point, practitioners are so aware that it could happen that they practice so it doesn’t happen. Their practice is infused with the tension of this potentiality. The standard “shape” of the kata is not the goal of the practice, but simply the end result of both practitioners fulfilling the particular parameters of that kata. The infrequent, but not uncommon, variations are themselves entirely valid shapes.

It should also be noted that while these various stages have been clearly delineated through the example of Tarō’s practice above, in actuality the boundaries are not so distinct. From the beginning, Tarō’s been told to look out for openings in his uchidachi, and even to strike them if he sees them. Depending on his relationship and affinity with various seniors, as well as the particular thing being practiced, his torigai practice was leavened with torigai-higiri, or even straight higiri to illustrate a particular point, or to point out his own inattention/reliance on the expected shape of the kata.

And while it is ostensibly expected, and the ideal form of practice, higiri-jiai can be a fraught affair. Trust is needed, for both safety and for the maintenance of personal relationships, particularly among peers. There is a fine line between good-faith demonstration of an opening, and cheap-shotting someone. Some people, finding it a little too intense to do among their peers, or reluctant to do it with seniors, end up only doing a kind of torigai-higiri.

But with this framework, we can see how Yagyū Toshinaga saw another step to bridge higiri-jiai to full on shiai: you can set up shiai within particular shiai-seihō parameters—say, jodan vs chudan or jodan vs jodan—either open or with specified targets. And you can also see Nagaoka Fusashige’s goal: you can have entirely open shiai, where the strategies, targets, and techniques, are heavily informed by shapes vigorously trained in the shiai-seihō.

So, currently, entirely open shiai is not officially practiced in mainline Yagyū Shinkage Ryū. Should it be?

I don’t it think necessarily needs to be. For one, modern kendo is an outlet for people who really just want to engage is a kind of free practice, unbound by any parameters of kata-geiko.

I’ve also come to the conclusion that maintaining the integrity of the honden and gaiden requires intensive effort. I don’t know if it’s a manifestation of entropy, but even now, doing kata exclusively, in the manner described above, some people with the best of intentions have a tendency to do the kata in a mannered way, or, desiring to do the kata “right,” do not imbue it with the life it needs. I fear that, as Yagyū Toshimichi suggested, if we split our limited time between kata and shiai, that tendency would be increased, particularly if the shiai came to be seen as doing it “for real”. I go back to Nagaoka-sensei’s preface to the shiai-seihō, and note that even back then, shiai were enough of an issue that he actually created more kata.

In the meantime, higiri and higiri-jiai provide a degree of “aliveness” for feedback, particularly in the shiai-seihō. And finally, by diligently working to maintain the process described here, a framework exists to return to shiai if desired.

In conclusion, Yagyū Shinkage Ryū Heihō is a Sengoku era ryūha extant today with a focus exclusively on kata, but which has nevertheless been strongly associated with shiai in its practice since its beginning. Its dedicated use of the fukuroshinai allows it to create a spectrum of “aliveness” throughout the training process. It is probable that similar ryūha existed throughout the Edo period. Yagyū Shinkage Ryū can be seen as an exemplar of the type of ryū in the Meiji period that, when faced with the change of kendo from distinct “proprietary” styles to a more homogenized “open source” paradigm, chose to maintain a primary focus on its kata in order to preserve its particular character.

Home page claims a lineage going back as far as the 1600s, but honestly that doesn't say much. No Wikipedia article, seems like there is some connections to Mugai-ryu.

Is it some sort of new school?

Hello !
I've been practicing Japanese martial arts my whole life more or less.
I recently got interested in Hema and weapon martial arts.
What are you guys thoughts about Hema?
How would it compare to kenjutsu in general?

To be more precise, I haven't practiced Kenjutsu. I've done mostly Japanese & Okinawan karate.
I'm just interested in both Kenjutsu and Hema.

I'm no expert but I'd say the biggest difference is kenjutsu practice has been kept alive for centuries while Hema is more like a reconstructed martial art from books.
Hema is perhaps more modern and has a higher focus on sparring. Like traditional asian martial arts, Kenjutsu is more codified.

Thank you !

I looked into a list of Kenjutsu styles that existed in the late 1800s, and it seems like there were considerably more styles than what is known that may have lasted as recently as the 1960s. The 1930s and WW2 seems to have been something of a finishing blow for smaller ryuha that had been holding on and not absorbed into things like Kendo.

Hello,

I heard somewhere that some years ago there was some drama in the Suio-Ryu European community regarding Robert Rodriguez and how he (used to) led the school in Europe.

What happened? How does the school stand nowadays in Europe and in regards with him?

I've been wanting to get into Owari Kan Ryuu Soujutsu, which uses a special kind of yari that slides through a metal tube, called a kuda. Unfortunately, I have no idea on specifications for making one, nor a real life example to work with, and finding any information about kudayari online in either Japanese or English feels next-to-impossible. Are there any guides on how to make your own (I have plenty of metalworking experience, so that's not an issue for me), or anyone who is able to make them? TIA

My instinct would be that since Aikido is a pacifist style and Daito Ryu is for war that Daito Ryu would be a much more aggressive style. Perhaps more overlap with Judo, BJJ, or the grappling aspects of Goju Ryu?

For those that have done both, how much Daito Ryu is not found in Aikido?

Hello, I'm new to Koryu and don't know if it's rude to ask about someone here, so please accept my apologies if it is.

I'm planning to join a seminar of Takara Takanashi Sensei. The seminar information says it's about Niten Ichi-ryu. I don't know anything about him, and couldn't find much online.

I'd really appreciate if you can give me some information about him (like how legitimate he is, and his ranking etc). I'm going through very tough times financially, and joining a seminar in another city is something that i can barely afford.

I might slowly start to have savings to get a yoroi. My group practices in them every now and then (as in, doing kenjutsu and other kata but not randori or jujutsu), but given my size (mostly height) I have had hard time to wear any. Most of my peers seem to go for Iron Mountain armoury, but that is seemingly due to the price vs quality (perception of it at least). In addition, I know of Romance of Men and Marutake at least. Tozando also sells some, but I don’t know who the maker is.

I’m asking for help in getting experiences from others what they have found to be good, bad and the ugly with makers, and perhaps hint me about makers that would make custom sizes. Price is not really a concern - I am sure some may be way out of the budget, but I’ll worry about that later. Right now I’d love to know what’s available and how they rank regarding quality & historical accuracy.

Does the Mugai Ryu taught at the Tenshinkai dojo in Germany include kenjutsu in its curriculum? From which lineage of Mugai Ryu does it originate? Is daisho used in this dojo? Is there anyone in Poland representing this specific lineage?

Question: historically speaking, when did your school you belong to start using the term Soke? If they don't use this term, is there any reason why? What other term is being used? Thanks and regards

This might sound like a weird question but bear with me here.

So a few days ago me and a friend of mine had a discussion about the A-bombs that were deployed around the end of WW2, and the topic of Kyoto came up. The Kyoto Butokuden was there, the Budo Senmon Gakko was there, it was probably somewhat of a hub for martial arts. Kyoto was almost the target of the 1st nuclear bomb, until Secretary Harry Stimson ordered the city to be untouched for reasons not clear to this day.

But what if it *was* bombed, alt history is always weird due to the butterfly effects it may cause, but let's just say the Americans did blow the place up with a nuke. Are you aware of any famous martial artists or schools that were based in Kyoto, that might have been taken out by the bomb?

Recently been playing ghost of Tsushima, I really like the samurai style. I want to learn kenjutsu from a really high quality kenjutsu school in or near London, but don’t know how I can find one.

I have attempted to look online, however it overwhelms me so need some guidance.

Can anyone help?

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• Part 2
• Part 4

Later Historical Record of Yagyū Shinkage Ryū

There is little written about Yagyū Shinkage Ryū as it was in the 1700s. Renya’s nephew Toshinobu succeeded him as head of the family and instructor the Owari Tokugawa. He took the ryū into the 18th century and then passed it on to his son Toshitomo, who then passed it on to his son Toshiharu.

One of Toshiharu’s students was a man named Nagaoka Tōrei Fusashige. Nagaoka inherited from his father the position of shihan-hosa, assistant instructor to the sōke. Nagaoka’s official post in the Owari Domain was to train martial arts, particularly Shinkage Ryū, and to write about them. Toshiharu was succeeded by his son Toshiyuki, but Toshiyuki died at a relatively young age, and was succeeded by his teenage son, Toshihisa. But then Toshihisa also died at age 20, when his own son, Toshishige, was still a baby. Toshiharu’s younger brother, Toshimasa, together with Nagaoka, kept things together until Toshishige could come of age and grow into his role as sōke.

One thing Nagaoka noticed was that people were struggling in shiai. His solution was to devise more kata. He referred to these kata as seihō 勢法, to distinguish them from the original kata of the ryu, which are called tachi 太刀. The sei refers to ikioi, which means force and momentum, but also carries a nuance of the natural course of things. Hō refers to methods and principles. In the preface to his description of these seihō, Nagaoka wrote:

“There are many beginners who do not understand the way to achieve victory in shiai, and then go headlong down the wrong road. So I, Fusashige, have devised seihō in the broad outlines of shiai, with the teachings of the past masters, based on the forms of certain victory in the old [armored] style and new [unarmored] style, and give them to my fellows beginning their study.”[1]

Okay, so what are the shiai-seihō and what makes them different from the tachi so that they can aid the learner in shiai? Most of the tachi (Empi no Tachi being the notable exception) are split into distinct parts which are made up of one or two exchanges between the practitioners. The shiai-seihō typically feature 3 or 4 exchanges chained together, some even have 8 or 9, and some of them have effectively no upper limit, bound only by physical space and uchidachi’s wherewithal. They are also dynamic: within these multiple exchanges, attacks and responses come from high and low, from the left and the right, from far out and from close in, with both shidachi and uchidachi moving forward or moving back. After the new practitioner has learned the first three shiai-seihō, totalling 30 distinct sections, they have acquired the basic skill to respond to an attack from any angle, to any target on their body. Finally, they are highly permutable. Different seihō share similar parameters, so that one can flow into another, or the response in one might be used in a different, but similar seihō.

Nagaoka’s description of Gasshi, the very first part of the first shiai-seihō is also very interesting from the perspective of historic shiai. (Here is a description in case the link above should ever break; shidachi and uchidachi start standing roughly 30 feet apart, and with shinai held overhead, both approach the middle. They stop at a point with both just a little outside striking distance. Uchidachi takes a big step forward with their right foot, cutting straight. In response shidachi does the same, a big step forward with their right foot, cutting straight. The slight delay in shidachi’s response allows them cut over uchidachi’s cut, deflecting it to the side as shidachi’s shinai lands on uchidachi’s head. Both then step back, and do it again, this time cutting with the left foot.)

Nagaoka writes: “In the past, this was a type of higiri-jiai. Now we use the winning form of this shiai as a seihō.”[1]

I will talk about the meaning of higiri in the next part of this series, but there are three clear takeaways from these statements by Nagaoka. One is that shiai was a part of regular practice, and indeed that even beginners engaged in it. Two, we see issues with shiai being addressed with more kata. Third, with the statement “Gasshi is a type of shiai,” we can see that there are multiple parameters for shiai. It can be as open as a modern kendo shiai, or as limited as both practitioners in jōdan, both cutting straight against each other.

Moving on, young Toshishige eventually grew up and inherited the ryū and his hereditary position as heihō instructor. His son was Yagyū Sangorō Toshichika, the 19th sōke of Shinkage-ryū, and the last heihō instructor to the Owari Tokugawa. He oversaw the transition of the ryū from the Bakumatsu to the Meiji Era.

In 1868, Lord Yoshikatsu, the last lord of Owari and 18th sōke of Shinkage Ryū, opened the Meirindō, one of the early public schools of the Meiji era. As part of the school he also opened the Shidaibu Dojo, and invites practitioners of various ryūha to do uchikomi-jiai. Toshichika was appointed the dean of kenjutsu instruction for the dojo. According to Yagyū Toshinaga in his book Shōden Shinkage Ryū, the Shidaibu Dojo was devoted purely to shiai.[2]

The dojo project deteriorated after various edicts, such as the Haitorei, which ended the era of the bushi as warriors, and made the various ryūha ostensibly obsolete. In later years the Butokukai would be established to promote the training and transmission of classical and modern budo as a whole, but at that time Toshichika had decided to devote himself to purely passing down his family tradition of Shinkage Ryū.

I think what we have here is a major decision point for Shinkage Ryū. We can see the general trend towards shiai-centric practice, we can see the movement for involving multiple ryūha. Toshichika was intimately involved in that movement, at least as far as the Meirindō and Shidaibu Dojo were concerned. But either because of the experience, or in spite of it, Toshichika decided to step out of these movements, and focus on maintaining the essential character of Shinkage Ryū. We can imagine that had he chosen differently, Shinkage Ryū might have only survived in a few kata or pieces of kata in modern kendo.

On June 19th, 1885, Toshichika and his cousin Toshihiro traveled to Yagyū Village in Nara, and asked for a shiai with any of the former retainers of Yagyū Domain. I think it’s an interesting point that they did not offer to train or demonstrate kata, but that they wanted to see the vitality of the ryū in Yagyū Domain through a shiai.[2]

In 1913, Toshichika opened the Hekiyōkan Dōjō in Tokyo, and began teaching Shinkage-ryū to the Imperial Household Police. Toshichika’s son, Toshinaga, accompanied Toshichika to Tokyo, and was named sōke in 1922. He took over the Hekiyōkan after Toshichika retired back to Nagoya, and later opened the Kongōkan Dōjō, where he practiced until returning to Nagoya in 1935. While in Tokyo, he also taught kenjutsu to the Konoe Shidan (Imperial Guard).

In 1935, Yagyū Toshinaga gave a weeklong lecture series at Kokushikan University. These lectures were collected into a book called Kendō Hachikō, or “Eight Lectures on Kendo”. Kendo here is meant is the broadest possible sense as including modern kendo and classical schools. And here we can see Toshinaga’s image of ideal training, informed by his experience in Yagyū Shinkage Ryū.[3] I have already made a post about that lecture series, so in the interest of space, I will just provide a link to that.

Toshinaga shepherded Shinkage Ryū through the war and post-war years, eventually founding the Yagyūkai in 1955.

Toshinaga’s son, Nobuharu Toshimichi brought Shinkage-ryū to the 21st century, and accepted the first non-Japanese into the ryū that we know of. I want to wrap the historical examination by looking at his experience training during his teen years, as described in the book Dai-Sempai ni Kiku.

After practicing seihō they would don bōgu and try to actually strike each other with those techniques. About twenty primary school-age children would come to the dojo every Sunday, and [Toshimichi] was responsible for guiding them through basic practice.

He said, “There was a spirit of, ‘Let’s get some bōgu on and go at it freely, for real.’ Now I no longer have the old dojo, and time is limited, so we first work on the most important things.”[4]

The old Nagoya dojo, part of the Yagyū manor, burned down in the fire bombing of Nagoya in March of 1945, and the land was later appropriated by the city of Nagoya as part of the rezoning and reconstruction efforts. So it was at this point, after the war, roughly 400 years after the founding of the ryū, that Yagyū Shinkage Ryū moved to a kata-exclusive model.

Nevertheless, it maintains a path to shiai, both in the content of the shiai-seihō, and also in how all kata are practiced. I will explore this path in the next part.

[1] 新陰流兵法外伝 Shinkage Ryū Heihō Gaiden, “Shinkage Ryū Heihō Supplemental Teachings,” date unknown, by Nagaoka Fusashige, published in Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, ed. Imamura Yoshio, revised edition 1995.

[2] 正伝新陰流 Shoden Shinkage Ryu, “True Transmission Shinkage Ryu,” 1957, by Yagyū Toshinaga.

[3] 剣道八講 Kendō Hachikō, “Eight Lectures of Kendo,” 1998, by Yagyū Toshinaga, ed. Yagyūkai.

[4] 大先輩に聞く Dai-sempai ni Kiku, “Listening to our Great Seniors,” 2005, by Taya Masatoshi.

32 years ago I used to go to Japan frequently, for work. Being an admirer of martial arts and Japanese traditions, and having read about the famous school, I decided to find it and visit, even not speaking a word in Japanese.

After some time looking and trying to find my way, I ended up at the Katori Shrine where I got written instructions on how to get to the dojo, which I showed around for getting pointed to the correct trains and buses, and finally to the dojo where I knocked.

Ultra polite as are the Japanese, the students brought me in and sat me on a cushion in the dojo. Ōtake Risuke arrived a few minutes later, I didn’t know how important he was but I could tell he was the Master. He sat beside me with a guest and a translator, and I got a three hour complete demonstration of the school’s skills, along with the Master’s explanation of how those translated to actual combat.

I was already feeling in the 16th century, but then the demonstration finished, the guest said goodbye, and I was taken to the dojo adjacent tea house where we had green tea, biscuits and strawberries. The Master asked about me, how I got there etc, with the eldest student and another student present, which I guess was the successor to be.

That experience marked me for life. Not just the Iaido with real swords, not all the skills and explanations, but the kindness and hospitality.

I am going to Japan in December with my family, and would love them to see a practice demonstration of that type (not the tourist things of course). Obviously I know I was incredibly lucky that time, but I wonder if there’s something authentic I could show my kids.

Title.

I do know that Hokushin Itto-ryu lost quite a lot of its curriculum quite recently, but the current Soke restored it.

The cringy samurai quotes is the bane of my existence, so in an attempt to deal with it, I had ChatGPT generate some motivational quotes "in the style of samurai". I must admit, this is just self-harming at this point.

Imo, cringy quotes are even worse than the hordes of youtube sharlatans "teaching kenjutsu". It's somehow even lazier than making up your own sword techniques because the real ones are too difficult. Idk how many knows this, but these quotes are all made by AI, and most of the replies are made by AI as well. I'm struggling to understand why they would both use bots to create the bullshit quotes and images as well as the replies to the posts (writing this, they probably get some sort of revenue from it). Either way, I hate it.

I'm kinda curious how many are able to detect which quotes are bullshit and which are not. I'm going to provide you with ten quotes, and it's up to you to determine which one was made by Musashi. +10 points if you can tell without looking up the quotes.

"Steel your heart, for in every battle, the mind is the sharpest blade."

"Honor is not bestowed; it is forged with every choice you make."

"A warrior’s path is not without hardship, but the storm strengthens the oak."

"Victory is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it."

"The samurai knows that patience is the silent weapon of the strong."

"One cut, one purpose: in life, every action must have its aim."

"The enemy within is stronger than any foe—conquer doubt, and no force can stand against you."

"A true warrior’s strength is not in his sword, but in his unwavering resolve."

"In stillness, find your center; in motion, find your purpose."

"The path of the warrior is not to seek perfection, but to be better today than you were yesterday."

https://preview.redd.it/0xz6madip0td1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=099500f97aff3cd46806ca173cafc2ab025ad466

• Part 1
• Part 3
• Part 4

Early Historical Record of Yagyū Shinkage Ryū

For this part, we’re going to look at mentions of shiai in the early historical record, stretching from the mid-1500s to the 1700s. One thing I didn’t want to do with this series was just appeal to my authority as a practitioner. So I have tried to as much as possible refer to primary sources. These are available in Japanese due to the work of the late Imamura Yoshio, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Education. In particular, his mammoth two-volume work Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū (Historical Materials of Yagyū Shinkage Ryū), which provided transcriptions of a great number of historical documents related to Yagyū Shinkage Ryū.

 Kamiizumi Hidetsuna

We begin with Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Hidetsuna, founder of Shinkage Ryū. It is often claimed that he invented the fukuro-shinai. Though based in Kōzuke Province, he made a number of trips to Kyoto in the late 1550s and 1560s to demonstrate Shinkage Ryū and meet with those interested in heihō. Per a Owari Yagyū record[1], in 1563 Kamiizumi visited Kitabatake Tomonori, Governor of Ise, and asked if he knew anyone who would like to test their skills in a shiai (仕相). Kitabatake suggested Yagyū Munetoshi, a minor lord and heihō enthusiast in Yamato Province. A meeting was arranged at Kōfuku Temple in Nara, not far from Yagyū Village.

They decided to hold the shiai between Munetoshi and Kamiizumi’s student, Suzuki Ihaku. Their match had three rounds, all of which Munetoshi lost. We know that the shiai used fukuro-shinai, because it is recorded that Munetoshi thought something was up, asked to compare shinai length and was surprised to find that Ihaku’s shinai was three inches shorter than his. This clearly takes the encounter out of the category of “duel” and clearly into the realm of shiai – a match to test their skills. Accordingly impressed by Kamiizumi’s art, Munetoshi asked to be taken on as a student. Kamiizumi and his students stayed in Yagyū Village for the better part of a year, training with Munetoshi and his family and retainers. We’ll come back to them in a bit.

 Around 1570, Kamiizumi sent a letter to Marume Kurando Nagayoshi. Marume became deshi of Kamiizumi in 1558; they demonstrated before Shōgun Ashikaga Toshiaki in 1564. Eventually Marume went to Kyushu, where he would initially teach Shinkage -ryū, and later founded Taisha ryū Hyōhō.

Kamiizumi’s letter contained the following lines mentioning shiai.

• 九州において、他流の兵法皆打払われた由を聞別し満足至り。“I am particularly pleased to hear that all other schools of heihō have been driven out of Kyushu.”
• 当月○○仕合停止せしむ可き旨、上意に候間、貴殿も仕合無用に候。“About shiai (仕合 ) being ceased on [unclear] of this month, as this is the desire of your lord, you have no need to do shiai .”[2]

Yagyū Munetoshi

Now let’s return to Yagyū Munetoshi. Munetoshi stayed involved in the various conflicts of the Sengoku Period for the next 10 years after meeting Kamiizumi., but eventually retired as general to devote himself to heihō. About 10 years after that, he wrote the Yagyū Kaken, or the Yagyū Family Constitution, in 1589. This document essentially laid out what he saw as the correct attitude to have one’s approach to his heihō.

Here Munetoshi writes of shiai in a negative fashion, but what is interesting is the implications those statements hold. Some selected lines (translated by me):

• “What is most lamentable is being ignorant of inner teachings, vain for glory in shiai, and not only bringing shame to oneself, but being known for a certain Way, and thus bringing difficulties to a teacher of a ryū of heihō; this is truly, truly the greatest of faults.”
• “First, in this ryū, there should be no need for shiai. To elaborate, the most important thing is to not abandon all other ryū, but to discipline oneself in the Way, attend to other ryū, and inquire into them.”
• “A man with one letter is the teacher of the man with none; do not overcome other ryū. Determine to overcome today the self of yesterday.”
• “The ways of my house must not be passed on to vain people, that do not diligently practice the Omotedachi*, but enjoy shiai, and deride the ways of other ryū.”[3]

 *“Omotedachi” refers to first three kata one learned at the time, the quintessential, most representative kata of Shinkage Ryū.

So, obviously what Kamiizumi’s letter and the Yagyū Kaken are referring to is what is commonly called taryū-jiai, that is, shiai between practitioners of different schools. And what can see here is a certain ambivalence to them. On one hand, both Kamiizumi and Munetoshi engaged in shiai with other schools; that’s how Munetoshi joined the school, and Kamiizumi praises Marume for his success in the same. At the same time, when Marume’s lord puts a moratorium on such shiai, Kamiizumi is completely fine with that. Munetoshi, perhaps due to some incalcitrant student, has a very negative view of such shiai, at least when paired with a negative attitude towards other schools.

Munetoshi’s lament, along with Marume’s lord barring such shiai points to a culture, or perhaps a subculture of shiai among late Sengoku bugeisha. I would go further to suggest that if you have shiai between ryūha, then you likely have shiai within ryūha, as well. Particularly when have the technology to make those feasible, such as fukuro-shinai.

Munetoshi’s note about not practicing the Omotedachi is particularly notable. In a kata-only tradition, doing the kata is training in the school. If the kata were the only training in Shinkage Ryū, then not training the Omotedachi would mean you are not training in Shinkage Ryū. It seems clear to me that Munetoshi is lamenting a bias in training, focusing on getting better at shiai at the expense of diligent practice of the kata.

In 1593, Munetoshi took lay orders and began using the name Sekishūsai. The same year, he wrote a collection of heihōka, poems about heihō. These are in the tanka short verse form, which is 31 syllables, in 5-7-5-7-7 meter. Here are three that I think are relevant to this discussion:

仕相して打たれて恥の兵法と心にたへずくふうしてよし “Consider it shameful heihō to be struck in shiai; constantly innovate in your heart.”

Now this could simply be referring to the same kind of sentiment expressed earlier in the Yagyū Kaken, that it is shameful to be caught up in the glory of shiai. But another, and I think more likely, way to read it is as an admonition to reflect on why one might lose in a training shiai, and work to overcome that. I believe the latter half recommending constant innovation in the heart suggests this reading.

The next two refer to using a kodachi (short sword).

無刀とるつもり位を稽古して小太刀のこころがんみ（玩味）して知れ “Train the spirit and distance of mutō-dori by savoring and knowing the spirit of kodachi.”

兵法のあらそひくらいは、小太刀にてたがひの弟子ぜひしくらべよ “For spirit in a contest of heihō; measure with a kodachi the good and bad of each of your students.”[4]

The received understanding of this last one is that one should test one’s students’ “spirit” (kurai) using a kodachi. What is significant here is that, at this time, there were no official kata in Shinkage Ryū that used kodachi. The first kodachi kata was added to the school by Sekishūsai’s great-grandson, and then this was expanded on in the mid-Edo period. That suggests that what Sekishūsai is talking about is shiai using a kodachi. This is reinforced by a story about the 3rd soke, Sekishūsai’s grandson Hyōgonosuke.

Yagyū Hyōgonosuke

Yagyū Hyōgonosuke Toshitoshi was the third 3rd sōke of Shinkage-ryū, and is considered Kaiso, or founder, of the Owari Yagyū family. He was the son of Sekishūsai’s eldest son, and learned Shinkage Ryū at his grandfather’s knee. He became the heihō instructor to the Owari Tokugawa, in Nagoya, in 1615.

Hyōgonosuke was primarily the instructor of Tokugawa Yoshinao. Yoshinao was the 9th son of Ieyasu, and the first lord of Owari Domain. He received inka from Hyōgonosuke and so is considered the 4th sōke of Shinkage Ryū.

 Kashima Dōen was a middle-aged doctor and student of Hyōgonosuke. He had trained in another ryūha in his youth, and so had some difficulty adjusting to the Shinkage Ryū way of doing things. As a result, he took copious notes about his training. As was the custom, he arranged for these notes, along with all documents related to his involvement in the ryū, to be collected and given to the Yagyū family after his death.

One of the entries in his training diary was as follows:

寛永五年戊辰六月十九日の朝、師小太刀にて、我道円中太刀にて、位を視るぞ。“The morning of July 20, 1628, my teacher (Hyōgonosuke) with a kodachi, and I, Dōen, with a regular tachi, (he said) “I’ll look at your kurai.”[5]

Kurai wo miru zo (I’ll look at your kurai) was Hyōgonosuke’s phrase for doing a shiai with his students. Again, we can be pretty sure this is a shiai because there were no kodachi kata in Hyōgonosuke’s day.

Another story of shiai in Hyōgonosuke’s day involves the grandson of Kamiizumi Hidetsuna, Kamiizumi Sonshirō Hideaki, who came to Nagoya serve the Owari Tokugawa. He asked Hyōgonosuke for a match, but first had to defeat Hyōgonosuke’s student Takada Sannojō. Sonshirō lost to Takada and became his student, also receiving training from Hyōgonosuke.[1]

Yagyū Renya

Finally, we have stories of Yagyū Renya Toshikane, Hyōgonosuke’s third son. In those days, a third son might be expected to marry into another family, or take orders to become a priest. But Hyōgonosuke’s oldest son, Kiyotoshi, was killed in the Shimabara Rebellion. Toshikata, his second son, and now heir, initially took over from Hyōgonosuke as heihō instructor, but Renya was so skilled at Shinkage Ryū that Toshikata stepped aside. Renya was the 5th sōke of Shinkage Ryū.

As Renya was famed in the Owari Yagyū family for his skill, there were a number of accounts about his skill that were told decades after his death. Not all of these are entirely reliable, but here are two that seem pretty solid.

It is related in Mukashibanashi (Stories of Old), a history of the Owari Domain, that at age 12 or 13, Renya would have shiai with the other children of Hyōgonosuke’s students, taking all of them at the same time. If any of other children struck him, he would give them money. He would come home with his arms swollen from welts, and when he struggled to tie his obi, his mother would turn away to hide her tears.[6]

Then, at age 18 (1643), Renya become heihō instructor to Lord Mitsutomo, the son and heir of Lord Yoshinao. Two different accounts relate that upon Renya’s arrival in Edo, Mitsutomo arranged a gauntlet of 30-some opponents who did Shinkage Ryū or Ittō Ryū. It is written that Renya went “2 or 3 rounds each” (二三本つゞ). This suggests something very much like the modern kendo scoring system. It should be noted, though, that the earliest of the two accounts of this gauntlet was written in 1739, nearly a hundred years after it supposedly took place. Though even that indicates that friendly shiai were considered normal and believable as far back as 1739.[6][7]

 This concludes the review of the early history of Shinkage Ryū. I wanted to present these accounts as neutrally as possible, so people can make up their own minds, but I should note here that there is no question within the Owari Yagyū family that shiai was a part of training at this time. When there is commentary that Shinkage Ryū was banned from engaging in shiai because it was patronized by the Tokugawa family, it should be understood that this applied to inter-ryū contests, and not to intra-ryū training.

In the next part, we will look at the more explicit use of training shiai in Shinkage Ryū in the 19th and 20th centuries.

References

[1] 柳生新陰流縁起 Yagyū Shinkage Ryū Engi, “Origin of Yagyū Shinkage Ryū” (editor’s title), excerpted from the 後悔記 Kokaiki “Record of Regret,” 1718, by Yagyū Toshinobu, published in Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, ed. Imamura Yoshio, revised edition 1995.

[2] 正伝新陰流 Shoden Shinkage Ryū, “True Transmission Shinkage Ryū,” 1957, by Yagyu Toshinaga, quoting 劍道の發達 Kendō no Hattatsu, “The Development of Kendo,” 1921, by Shimokawa Ushio.

[3] 柳生家憲 Yagyū Kaken, “Yagyū Family Constitution,” 1589, by Yagyū Tajima-no-Kami Munetoshi, reprinted in Yagyūkai lecture materials.

[4] 兵法百首 Heihō Hyakushu, “100 Poems of Heihō,” 1593, by Yagyū Sekishūsai Songon, published in Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, ed. Imamura Yoshio, revised edition 1995.

[5] 道円集 Dōenshu, “Collection of Dōen,” 1628, by Kashima Dōen, reprinted in Yagyūkai lecture materials.

[6] 昔咄 Mukashibanashi, “Stories of Old,” 1739, by Chikamatsu Shigenori, published in Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, ed. Imamura Yoshio, revised edition 1995.

[7] 連也翁一代記 Renya-ō Ichidaiki, “Life of the Venerable Renya,” 1847, Iinuma Moriyoshi, published in Shiryō Yagyū Shinkage Ryū, ed. Imamura Yoshio, revised edition 1995.

Maybe discounting World War 2, when was the last time a head of a style engaged in armed melee combat with another trained swordsman? Did he modify his curriculum in light of his experiences?

I don't know which one to choose

I was just curious if in your ryu ha it's sword first then body or body first then sword or all at the same time (as a general rule) for cutting.

The following text is a translation of two chapters from Kempo Ryakki (剣法略記) as transcribed and edited in Bujutsu Sosho (武術叢書, 1915). The foreword is dated and signed:

Written by Kubota Minamoto Segane in the 6th month of Tenpo 10 (1839).

This translation was done with readability in mind. Sentence breaks were added where they fit the English and paragraph breaks are entirely the work of the translator. Although care was taken to maintain consistency of terms throughout and across both chapters, occasional liberties were taken to better convey the overall meaning according to the understanding of the translator. Additionally, notes were added in parentheses where necessary and possible, with footnotes for more lengthy annotations.

Note that the translator is not a practitioner of this extinct lineage or the extant cousin branches of Tamiya Ryu.

###Arguments for Kata Training (形まなびの論ひ)

In teaching swordsmanship, no matter which branch of which ryuha^0, there are none without kata. Although there are many variations, this method of teaching uses techniques for striking, thrusting, and evading to teach the core principles of the winning blow. Across various actions and techniques, while learning movement and timing^1, there are some in which the application of principle, spirit, or mental aspects is exaggerated and some that are not.

Among those who try to teach these things in detail, there are some who regularly train with kata but, so that there is no doubt that they are valid, will engage in shiai or other types of sparring^2.

There are others, however, who deride shiai as useless and without merit and quote philosophy and spiritual texts^3 as pretext and espouse this as their core practice. There are those who see teachers who do not teach principles deeply as merely training sword strikes centered around aggression and force. They see shiai training as only techniques only applicable to shinai^4 and debase it as too focused on competition.

There are yet others who speak ill of those who teach principles deeply through kata training, saying the theory cannot be put into practice. Others will teach kata enough to pass them on but treat shiai training as the true practice. Although they transmit the kata, they treat it as something foreign.

The discussion can be broken into these three camps. Although each has its merits and demerits, none are without reason.

When expounding on the reason for kata training, while I cannot speak in detail for other ryuha, in the tradition of my^5 lineage it is done to teach the following: how to break the koiguchi (opening of the scabbard); how to use the saya hand (left hand); how to grab with the tsuka hand (right hand); the width between the hands; the tightening and loosening of the grip; how to use the long (tachi) and short (katana) sword^6; how to swing the sword; how to hold the sword when cutting, blocking, and evading; footwork; how to use the soles of the feet; and how to strike, thrust, evade, sheath, and block, etc. Through kata we first teach what is natural and what is not. Then, as the form splits into ten thousand^7 techniques, we teach the how and why of winning and losing. As the techniques become engrained, various principles are attached and the reasoning of movement, timing, stances, and distance are taught. The principles are illustrated thoroughly and even how to still the mind is taught.

The techniques to teach these core principles come from the kata. The teaching of the base kata is fixed in the form which is the wellspring for an unlimited number of variations. This is why we name the base kata. Ten thousand things can be called a kata because, from that kata, all true things are derived. Therefore, in the study of the sword it is necessary to transition to undetermined and alive techniques based on that kata. Thus no matter one’s experience in kata and how much one argues the logic of only studying kata, if sparring is not done often, one will be unaccustomed from the variation and movement of the technique.

In kata a standard fixed form is used to teach the overall movement with the purpose of teaching the principle in detail. Without shiai training, it is difficult to learn in detail how the movements and timing break into unlimited variations. From there, how to use the breath and voice. Finally, how information is passed clearly from the eye to the mind while keeping the mind calm.

Thinking that it is possible to learn all this through only kata training is like trying to console the heart with just a utsushi-e (silhouette art). No matter how well the spring and autumn foliage or the mountains and rivers are copied, it is not the same as the real thing. Even if it is copied well one still cannot hear the rustle of the pines or the flow of the water. The heart of the mountains and water and the heart of those who see it are different. Even if someone told you to look at the women drawn by Tsurayuki you would surely understand this mind.

Utsushi-e and kata have a lot in common. No matter how complete the kata is, because it is limited to a single aspect, when met with true variation they will be confused and struggle to act in accordance with the principle. The teaching of kata puts technique into form, defines things, and perfects the principle. Because this method is based on aliveness, the principle becomes the core and following the principle the teaching becomes the variation that can be performed just like the lesson of the kata. Therefore, one should take care that kata training does not become haphazard.

From the structure of kata, one can achieve deep mastery of ten thousand things. Mastering that principle and making that one's model, one can master applications in the same way. What we call kata is the natural human form. Aliveness follows the structure of muscle and bones, following the principles of heaven and earth^9. Though it is a teaching method of learning the why of these things, it is likely to turn into something else if done by somebody who does not understand.

The principles are the one true path. Alive technique is the one true path. Humans are capable of this by nature. If the teaching is based on this capability, there are no difficult techniques. There is a difference between one who learns the correct lessons in detail and those who do not. Good and bad technique comes from this. Those who learn shallowly, different from the true logic, cannot perform without difficulty. Ponder well about this and repeatedly train the kata that are the wellspring. When you have mastered the essence of that, go to the very end of the stream and you will reach the ocean. However, if one does not understand the source well they will stray from the end and things will be difficult.

Even if one has mastered the techniques taught by kata, if they cannot perform them just like the kata in sparring then there is no merit. Make kata the base and shiai the core. Returning to the base kata and mastering their mindset is the true purpose of kata.

Footnotes:

• ^0 Ryuha (流派) - the organizational structure for transmitting an art. Colloquially, a school or style.

• ^1 Shintai dosei (進退動静) - literally advancing and retreating, movement and stillness. While both terms can be individually translated as “movement”, this translation chose the word “timing” to represent the dynamic change between motion and stillness.

• ^2 Shiai (試合) - although not clearly defined here, shiai is the opposite of kata with the main distinguishing feature of allowing for variations. In the translation, the term for “sparring” comes from uchiai (打ち合い), meaning mutual striking, which is also not clearly defined. However, it can be surmised from the text that shiai does not refer to competition.

• ^3 Eki-ri, Butsu-ri (易理仏理) - literally the principles of the I Ching (易経) and Buddhism (仏教).

• ^4 Shinai (撓) - a bamboo sword simulator. At the time of writing (1839), the shinai was a common tool. In modern Japanese, it is usually written as 竹刀.

• ^5 Kubota Segane (窪田清音) - the author and namesake of Kubota-ha Tamiya Ryu (窪田派田宮流). Although Tamiya Ryu is a descendent of Hayashizaki Ryu and is primarily thought of as an iai school, it is clear that some lines trained more than just iai. For example, early to mid-19th century texts show shinai and bogu used in the Kishu line of Tamiya Ryu.

• ^6 Tachi katana (太刀刀) - long and short sword. Kubota covers sword terminology elsewhere in the same text. When used as a set with tachi, katana here refers to a blade of approximately dagger length. This definition is older than katana meaning uchigatana (打刀), the modern meaning.

• ^7 Man (万) - while it literally means 10,000, it figuratively means “an untold number” or “infinite”. Similar terminology for turning a core set of principles into a multitude of techniques is used in other texts, such as Heiho Kaden Sho (兵法家伝書).

• ^8 Ki no Tsurayuki (紀貫之) - a Heian period poet and artist.

• ^9 Tenchi (天地) - the principles of nature, the natural way.

###Arguments for Shiai Training (試合まなびの論ひ)

There are those who make kata training the core^0 training. They present many arguments speaking ill of shinai technique, saying it is a merit-less joke through which it is difficult to reach the true purpose and therefore of no use. In the swordsmanship I transmit, kata is the base and we practice shiai training from sun up to sun down. It is necessary to make our bodies thicker and stronger, train our breathing, become accustomed to the variations of movement and timing, and learn hand and footwork. It is necessary to increase our vision and understand the information passed from the eye to the mind.

However, because there are many different ways to do sparring training, if the teaching is bad, bad habits will appear in one's kata, losing natural form, and different from the proper order one will not be able to move freely. The sword will become disordered, the edge misaligned, and strikes weakened. One will repeat only mistakes and, being unable to calm the mind, one's uncertainty will be apparent even in the tip of the sword. Even if one trains for many years, one will only repeat bad habits and damage proper technique making it difficult to learn and refine the art. If the teaching is lacking and the training is lacking, these methods will only make one a laughingstock.

Training like this, doing shiai in name only, striking and being struck, turning the lessons of the training into a contest of winning and losing, showing pride and anger in both one's expression and one's words, is no different than chickens and dogs fighting. Training this way with no concern for the true path is like traveling in the dark of night.

Training without armor^1, whether doing shiai with kidachi^2 or shinai, is shiai in name only. It is only a mimicry and is without value. Even when training with proper armor, it is normal to feel pain. Without armor, if one does proper shiai they will soon be injured or, in time, likely even lose their life. Training like this would be the same as only doing kata training.

If one wishes to improve their sword technique, they must reflect on the methods, preserve the lessons of kata training, follow the natural order no matter what, train the tightening and loosening of the grip, make the footwork and movement free, and have alive technique in the hands and feet. While flowing through endless variations, see the opening as well as feel it with the mind and spirit. One should train with the goal of mastering the true path without even the slightest deficiency and achieving mastery of technique in accordance with the principles.

If one trains in this way, they will surely reach their goal with alacrity and without trouble. However, if they train contrary to the true path, they will do terrible damage. If one trains without knowing this, their training will be slow and difficult. Because I understand this I teach my students to follow the lessons of kata, to often engage in shiai training and become used to variations, and master actions and techniques that can be performed well.

When training with variation, one will encounter various situations where one is at unrest or, though the mind comprehends, the body does not perform. In order to avoid these situations, one must think about the principles of kata training and apply them, and use techniques that are inline with the principles. See the following chapters for more detailed information or study from various other texts.

Footnotes:

• ^0 Mune (旨) - Core is contrasted with base (moto, 本). See the last paragraph of Arguments for Kata Training.

• ^1 Mono-no-gu (物具) - in modern terms, bogu (防具).

• ^2 Kidachi (木太刀) - a wooden tachi. In modern terms, a bokuto (木刀).

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Part 1 - Introduction

With this series of articles, I would like to address a certain dissatisfaction with the common debates one sees online regarding koryū, kata training, and sparring or what is called “aliveness”. These are typically framed in very binary ways which I find incongruent with my own experience of practice, and my understanding of the history of koryū in general, and Yagyū Shinkage Ryū Heihō (YSR) in specific.

This first part will be an introduction to the argument I am addressing, the terms in which I will address it, a very general look at the history of shiai in classical Japanese martial traditions, and some of my own conclusions and speculations. Part 2 will be an examination of the appearance of shiai in the early historical record of YSR. Fortunately, the historical record is relatively well-preserved, and has been printed in a number of different modern sources. Part 3 will look at the modern (post-Meiji) history of shiai in YSR. Finally, in Part 4 I would like to present the YSR approach to kata and free training, specifically through the lens of what we call the “shiai-seihō,” or “shiai-gata.” I'll note that this material is adapted from private presentations I've made elsewhere.

I suspect that on the whole much of what I am talking about is present in other traditions, if not expressed or thought about in exactly the same terms. So I want to stress that the ultimate goal here is not to boast about the specialness of YSR, but rather to hopefully inspire further study of these ideas in other traditions, and encourage a re-examination of commonly held assumptions.

Let’s begin by defining our terms. I’ll be using the term shiai throughout the series, mostly because that is the term used in the Japanese sources I have. What do I mean by “shiai”? Let’s first define its ostensible counterpart, kata-geiko (form training), as two-person training utilizing certain pre-set parameters, the end result of which expresses one or a few predictable shapes. This would include very simple drills such as pad work, uchikomi-geiko in judo and kendo, and of course the more sophisticated kata of koryū.

Shiai, then, is an engagement between two people with non-lethal intent, typically with semi- or full-contact, for the purpose of training or testing of skill, utilizing spontaneous expression of technique within set parameters partly or wholly outside the parameters of kata-geiko. This includes point-matches, non-point matches, jigeiko and kakarigeiko in kendo, randori in judo, “free practice,” and “sparring.”

I believe these can be seen as a spectrum, rather than discrete items. Indeed, of the examples given above, kendo’s kakarigeiko in particular seems to straddle the line. I hope to provide another, more detailed example in Part 4.

Having defined our terms, let’s now look at the argument. The following represent ideas that I have often run into in discussions online, and even in printed material. The general argument can be summed up as this:

• “Koryū didn’t spar. The masters of the old days didn’t have friendly matches; they had duels. The primary training method of koryū was kata-geiko. Later, in the mid-19th century, matches with bōgu became popular, which lead to the development of modern kendo, and Kanō developed his randori and shiai-system for modern judo.”

I have no desire to to rehash the old “jutsu vs. do” thing, but I think it is fair to say that, in general, classical schools are seen as kata-centric, conservative, and focused on either battlefield combat or dueling. Modern budo, then, is seen as shiai-centric, relatively innovative, and focused on physical and mental fitness. In terms of history, kendo and judo are seen as new innovations of the Meiji era, distinct from classical schools, many of which have died off. It is also generally assumed that the classical schools that remain are representative of their respective eras.

All of the above strikes me as perfectly reasonable given the information that we have. The problem, however, lies in that very last assumption, that extant classical schools are representative of their eras. It underpins everything else. But I would submit that we have a survivor bias issue. Extant classical schools, far from exemplars of Edo period and earlier ryūha, almost assuredly represent only the most conservative traditions.

It’s believed that there were some 1,400 martial arts ryūha existing by the time of the Meiji Restoration. Together, the Nihon Kobudō Kyōkai and Nihon Kobudō Shinkōkai account for less than 80. While not every extant ryūha belongs to those organizations, it’s unlikely that there also exist 60-some other traditions needed to get us to even 10% of the number that once existed. I suspect that many, probably even most pre-Meiji kenjutsu and jujutsu schools had a strong shiai tradition, perhaps even being shiai-centric, and that these schools eventually became subsumed into kendo and judo.

In my opinion, the real primary difference between classical and modern budo is not necessarily based on its approach to real combat, but rather that classical budo was proprietary, while modern budo is largely open source. And rather than a break at an inflection point in Meiji, I think there was simply a gradual shift from the classical paradigm into the modern one. Certainly, some events accelerated this shift, particularly the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era.

The thrust of this series will be kenjutsu, but let’s take a quick look at other schools.

And as far as jūjutsu you have the very obvious example of sumō as one way that the grappling arts engaged in shiai. And far as I’ve been able to determine, the randori of Kano’s judo was taken from Tenjin Shin’yo Ryū (founded in the 1830s).

In terms of sōjutsu, there’s the very obvious example of Owari Kan Ryū. It was founded in the late 17^(th) century, before the invention of the kind of bōgu that it currently uses, so its shiai tradition may date back to the invention of bōgu as we now have it.

With naginata, at first glance this seems to actually fall very much in line with the general argument. Maniwa Nen Ryū, for example, has shiai for its kenjutsu practice, but not for its naginata practice, as noted in Ellis Amdur’s Old School. However, a researcher named Maehata Hiromi has noted that some woodblock prints show wooden naginata vs practice spears, as well as short shinai fixed to naginata hafts, so perhaps there actually were shiai at one time.

Even just taking a very broad view of kenjutsu history, we find the following:

• The fukuro-shinai is invented sometime in the mid-16th century. Extant schools that use the fukuro-shinai today include Shinkage Ryū, Nen Ryū, Kashima Shintō Ryū, and Tatsumi Ryū. These are all very old schools.
• Historically, we know that there were shiai in Shinkage Ryū and Nen Ryū. Might this not suggest a much more widespread use of shiai among bugeisha?
• Bōgu dates back to the 18th century and Jikishinkage Ryū and Nakanishi Ittō Ryū.
• The modern yotsuwari shinai dates back to the 19th century with Ōishi Shinkage Ryū.
• And then you have the Three Great Dojo of the Bakumatsu period. Each represented a different koryū, while also being known for shiai. The All Japan Kendo Federation draws a straight line from them to modern kendo.

This is a very potted history of kendo, but I think we can already see the basic arc of kendo history stretching back centuries, interwoven with the history of koryū. I think I could go far enough to say that kendo as something distinct from koryū is, for all intents and purposes, actually a post-war thing!

Of course, it is no great revelation that the popularity of shiai at the end of the Edo period led to modern kendo. The case I want to make is that this interest in shiai goes back centuries further. We have shiai in schools dating back to the 16th century. Or, alternatively, older schools at least adapting to new fukuro-shinai technology. I would argue that where there are fukuro-shinai, there is almost certainly shiai. I personally think that they are a great tool for kata practice, but they are not a necessary one. Particularly in pre-bōgu days, they must have held a strong lure for those who wished to test their skills in relatively safe conditions.

Then we have bōgu development at turn of the 18th century. I think this indicates demand during at least the 17th century. And Maniwa Nen-ryū’s bōgu suggests alternative models that never caught on.

And of course, once these tools were first developed, development was rapid afterward. Therefore, rather than kata vs shiai being a distinction between classical and modern budo, I actually think that shiai should be part of the conceptual image of koryū. as much as two-man kata and battōjutsu. Not necessarily present in every extant school, but at one time pervasive enough to be the norm.

There seems to be two groups claiming for legitimacy. Is there anyone here that knows what's happening?

Hello! Anyone aware of any kenjutsu dojo that focus on fencing techniques with bokken? I am willing to travel to most countries within Europe to practice. Anything from katori shinto ryu to Yagyuu, niten ryu etc is of interest.

Yoroshiku!

From my limited knowledge, Hakudo Nakayama was imprisoned briefly due to his involvement with the army, and some involved with the Butokukai were banned from public office. Were there any other notable ones that were tried for war crimes or even executed after WW2?