We have just been informed by the university where we have been training for the past decade or so that, as we no longer have any university students as members, we can no longer avail ourselves of their facilities. This … Continue reading
Early this year, I introduced students to a way of practicing their suburi that incorporated kotodama and a specific controlled form of breathing. One of the senior students suggested the exercise become part of our everyday curriculum. It will not. … Continue reading
There is a danger that when students train regularly with weapons that they become blasé, when the danger should be the weapons training itself. There can be no lasting benefit, physically, mentally, or spiritually, in martial arts training, if it … Continue reading
I noticed in a recent class that even after I corrected a student’s error, they continued to perform the technique just as they had before. Hmmmm. Kai Cho www.warriorway.net
It has been a few weeks now of training under the social distancing rules. We are, in many ways, more fortunate than a number of other martial arts schools. If open hand techniques were all we had, then it would … Continue reading
Not too long ago I was having a conversation with the founder of our School, and inevitably, when two old instructors get together, the conversation at some point will drift towards complaining about the quality and quantity of students, … Continue reading
When I teach a senior battojutsu class, I rarely need to draw my sword. Sometimes, I can go the whole class without unsheathing the blade even once. Recently, it was necessary for me to take the general class. … Continue reading
Whenever I teach something outside the basic kihon curriculum, which is often, I am always amazed at the lengths students will go to, to avoid doing what has just been demonstrated. You can look down the line on the mat and … Continue reading
Whenever we do martial arts demonstrations for schools, we always encourage the children to ask questions. This can have mixed results. At one recent event, for instance, a school teacher came up to us afterwards and commented that the students … Continue reading
It is not unusual for at least one student a class to not attend for whatever reasons: they have to wash their hair, there is a football game on television that night, something I said to them the week before … Continue reading