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Nukitsuke
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...
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Thoughts on Tameshigiri from Famous Swordsmen
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...
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The Myth of Chiburi?
In many iaido ryuha, chiburi is a fundamental part of kata. Chiburi, usually written 血振 in Japanese, literally means “shaking off blood,” and the image presented is that of flinging the blood of a...
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The Itto-ryu Book of Oral Recollections Pt. 1
The importance of the Ittō-ryū school of kenjutsu in the history and development of kendo cannot be overstated. Generations of the most influential kendoka from the Bakumatsu to the early Showa eras...
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The Itto-ryu Book of Oral Recollections Pt. 2
In part one of this series, I presented the first installment of a translation of The Ittō-ryū Book of Oral Recollections (Ittō-ryū Kikigaki, 一刀流聞書). This text was written in the 19th century by Takano...
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The Itto-ryu Book of Oral Recollections Pt. 3
This series of articles presents what I believe to be the first-ever English translation of The Ittō-ryū Book of Oral Recollections (Ittō-ryū Kikigaki, 一刀流聞書). This 19th-century work is based on the...
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The Itto-ryu Book of Oral Recollections Pt. 4
This series of articles presents what I believe to be the first-ever English translation of the 19th Century Ittō-ryū Book of Oral Recollections (Ittō-ryū Kikigaki, 一刀流聞書). Based on the teachings of...
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The Argument for the Revival of Gekken
Gekken Saikoron – The Argument for the Revival of Gekken Editors note: The Jikishinkage-ryu swordsman Kawaji Toshiyoshi (1834-79) was a Satsuma-han samurai who lived during one of Japans most...
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The Flowering Tree of Gekken – Part One
Introduction The Flowering Tree of Gekken is a treatise on shinai and bogu practice, written in 1855 by one Tsutsui Rokka. Tsutsui was a student of Shirai Toru, a renowned teacher of martial arts whose...
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The Flowering Tree of Gekken – Part Two
This article is the conclusion of my translation of The Flowering Tree of Gekken, a secret text on shinai and bogu fencing written in 1855 by Tsutsui Rokka of Tenshin Itto-ryu. Part One can be found...
View ArticleStudent Iai
Whilst nowhere near as popular or widespread as kendo, dedicated iaido clubs can be found at many Japanese universities. University students often have a strong showing in shiai, and student taikai are...
View ArticleKamidana Statistics
Kenpō Nagasaki is a bimonthly kendo publication available to subscribers in Nagasaki prefecture. Each issue features shiai and seminar reports and articles by sensei on various topics. Recently the...
View ArticleThe Art of Drawing a Crowd
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,...
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