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You know what they say ... You can pick your friends, and you can pick your bogu ...

Raquetball court is what we practice in. it's very loud, but the floor is terrific. Six is the maximum number that we can fit for Mugai ryu.

"Katate" in katate maki style of wrap does not refer to single hand useage, and the style of wrap makes no difference in that regard in my experience. Katate is a reference to the fact that a single...

A great many groups use the dan ranking system. In the koryu, I have found that those that have a dan ranking system generally give ranks within the greater organization, and menkyo within the art...

I hear lots of excuses why you can't, so I'll tell you what I always told my Scouts ... Whenever you make an excuse for something, you should stop and figure out what you're not doing right. If...

I agree with Michael. It is very difficult to get that style of wrap tight enough to not move with regular use. Unless you've got a very experienced person doing the tsuka-maki (and even that won't...

Sorry, I assumed that the kendo reference was the same as the iaido reference. That's ok though, I'm used to the taste of my foot in my mouth. :)

That is a fantasy story. Many of the koryu have definite guidelines written long ago regarding just what their bokken look like. None of them looked like a blunt katana with an edge form. The only...

Because Japanese has a great many homophones, words that sound alike but mean different things. When referring to tachi waza in the kendo no kata or in various iaido ryuha, it refers to the upright...

The vast majority of koryu schools train kata with bokken. Bokken are very dangerous, and can easily kill someone. That was the reason that the Itto ryu developed shinai and bogu, to do the type of...

Surely you no longer require all of your brain Kim? You can spare a bit for inane on-line arguments. :)

We don't tie it in our branch of Mugai ryu either. We bring it up from behind the saya and tuck it under the hakama himo in front. This way it doesn't dangle, but isn't tied. Yamada sensei's...

Itto Tenshin ryu kenjutsu was created by Fred Lovret. I've had dealings with the local Tenshin ryu group here on several occasions. Their sword work isn't bad, but the dojo atmosphere is extremely...

Every year I swear to myself that I'm going to go watch, but I've still not made it yet! :)
Hopefully this year!

That is Niina Gyokudo, the head of our branch of Mugai ryu. Shoto is required for practice. I was taught to place the short sword between the first and second layers of the obi, and the long sword...

Both of those are sissy ryu! If you want deadly sword skills, you need to give up those tired old fashioned schools and try something like Modern Kenjutsu

Hi Jason,
It has been my experience that straightening your sword will not cause undue stress to the blade, and is not as difficult as it seems at first. There are a many ways to go about it. The...

While this is a true statement, attempting to cut a swordsman's leg is a very good way to lose your head since you must expose yourself in order to achieve this cut. Cutting off your opponent's head...

That is incorrect. The fellow said that his bokken is 28.5" from tip to tsuba, not munemachi. The distance from munemachi to tsuba is basically the length of the habaki, which is somewhere around 1"....

We insist that all visitors do the 'visitor dance' the first time they enter the dojo.

We don't get many visitors ...

You might take a look at the "Buy, Sell, and Trade" forum. Brad Anderson has several Nosyu iaito that he brought back from his last Japan trip. They are very well made. I've been using mine (OK, one...

You brain's better than mine then (not saying much!) as I have to take copious notes, and I still forget things before I can get them written down! :)

Now I am a bit confused here. Is this how your regular iaido class is always taught, or are you talking about how seminars are taught? They are different animals and should have different priorities...

I see. Several things to think about here ... first, "battle sword" is a bit of a misnomer since swords were strictly backup weapons on the Japanese battlefield, more like a pistol today. Primary...

That really depends upon what you are going to be doing with the blade. If it is a new blade for collection or display, anything you wish to pay for is appropriate. However, you will pay as engraving...