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When I wore glasses to do iai the movement of my arms past the glasses used to blow air into my left eye and I'd want to blink. That's it, as far as I know I simply decided not to blink and don't...

Use of the bokuto for what they were intended is excellent training for iaido. Use the bokuto to analyze the kata with a partner. Knowing what you're striking for, knowing the distance and the timing...

I don't like blinking, having caught way too many punches to the head I know that while a blink takes only a fraction of a second, focusing the eyes after the blink can double or even triple this...

I've written a lot in the last few months on gradings and feedback. Here's one from not too long ago:

You'll find more at http://sdksupplies.com/001blog.html and the archives.

Specifically...

Ah Peter, now you've just cranked up the stress levels of your students magnificently! The only time I ever got nervous in a grading was every single time I thought about failing my teacher. That is,...

I'm trying to remember how big the groups are at the spring seminar, out of a hundred plus on the floor there's usually a small kyu and mukyu group (maybe 15?) but I'm pretty sure it goes down from...

Perhaps all will be revealed here: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nagasaki/ryomaden/en/index.html

Ryoma was a kendo student of Chiba Shusaku's nephew in Tokyo. Been way too long since I've read about him so...

You gotta love it.

"It's OK to step back as you lift the sword into Furikaburi through Ukenagashi."

So.... says the beginner... umm... do we step back or not.

Ask your sensei comes the...

It is what it is quite probably because it's so specialized. No wannabes because who would wannabe what we do except someone who's serious about it. There's just no way to glamourize it, anything...

Some of our beginners who have been to seminars lately have definitely assured me that 1. yes you draw upward sort of like you do in Uke Nagashi and 2. no you do not draw upward, you draw in exactly...

Heh, that's not a change that's you being around long enough to realize there are only so many questions and answers. Neil and more than a few other folks on here will remember rec.martial-arts on...

How did the samurai practice with bokuto.

The operative word is practice, so the answer would be "with care". Both partners would agree on what they would do and follow that script (do a kata)....

Hunter Armstrong, not sure if he's still practicing but he is in the SW USA if I remember right.

Kim.

It's the mess on my shirt collar that bothers me most.

Wow how did I ever miss this thread. Oh yeah, it was in flames and it said combative kenjutsu.

Now like a risen-again zombie it has just eaten part of my brain as I tried to figure out what it...

I'll go with planted left foot then both feet like Peter said. That's how I've been doing it over the years. Think about... you gotta step back a full sword length to make sure you don't get clocked...

Curious to know what you consider a major school. In terms of numbers any iaido school you are likely to discover is going to be "major" compared to other kenjutsu schools. If you mean a koryu school...

So not coming to the Guelph seminar this year Brad?

http://seidokai.ca/iai.seminar.html

Kim.

Your movements in kata are not fixed, you move appropriately to the situation. The same is true of sitting, standing, bowing and every other movement of your day. If you are bowing to someone...

In Sei Do Kai we just throw it over the saya, except when we tuck it under the himo. But sometimes we tie it.

Kim.

MJER lineages don't necessarily wear a daisho, some may, I suspect most don't. If you're curious, stick a bokuto shoto in your belt and do some iai. When I've done it nothing much changed. Since I...

There are things that can be corrected immediately and those that need work for months. More junior ranks get the first kind (step with the RIGHT foot not the left one) and the seniors usually get...

There ya go, rank by pagerank, I like it.

As for the original site, if you've got enough time to read from one end of that page to the other, you've got enough time to drive to a dojo and do a...

Agree with you Tim, I started with a gunto, sharpened crowbar basically and then have spent 30 years trying to "lighten up".

Yes you have to feel the sword, but if you can't feel the weight and...

Another consideration when having to use a light tool to practice is teaching. I am still recovering from a heavily damaged rotator cuff (learned I can't go straight through an aikido student who had...