So earlier tonight, this fine Saturday evening, I made a break through (almost literally) in Shinto Muso Ryu jo. We have this student in my group that is as tight as a June bug's butt when it comes to personality. He's shy, introverted and a perfect example of the Japanese school system ripping any inkling of a personality away from you. I've been with him for the last 2 months working on his kata, namely because we are going to demonstrate and I really want him to shine. He always bows to me un-necessarily, ...
So, I am putting up some of the information I have on Kurama Yoshin Ryu, a school that is still practiced down near Kyushu. This entry will hopefully change as I sort things out and get a clearer interpretation of things down the line. Here goes: Introduction: Kurama Yoshin Ryu is a composite martial art school which consists of Jujutsu, Kenjutsu, Hojojutsu and Ninjutsu among other arts. It also seems to have (or had) auxiliary schools. ...
Updated 10-01-2010 at 08:25 by Mekugi
Japan is obsessed with cleaning. They make Mr. Clean look lazy. There is a serious "cleaning cult" in Japan, or should I say "Cultish Cleaning". This probably spans from religion and anyone versed in Nihon-ron would point there first. Shinto, the homogeneous religion of Japan that co-exists and shares turf with Buddhism, is more than likely the culprit as within Shinto there is a obsession with purity and cleanliness. However, I am willing to say most of this as ...
Updated 06-13-2011 at 12:17 by Tripitaka of AA (Proofreading corrections with Russ's permission)
There is an art to crafting a finely made wooden sword (hereafter called a bokuto) in the Japanese style. The process is very involved, from wood cure and selection, to milling, shaping and then fine tuning it to the proper dimensions specific to the school (ryuha) for which it is made for. Not surprisingly this process has has been sped up significantly with modern tools and technology making them much easier to craft. Myself, being one familiar with woodworking in Japan, being a member of a Japanese ...
Updated 09-25-2010 at 23:28 by Mekugi
The end of the year is a particularly special time of the year for Japan. There are several “cultural” group related events for colleagues, businesses and for groups, including martial arts. Respectively, there are three main types of parties surrounding the New Year: before the New Year, New Years and after the New Year, so to speak. Many smaller dojo in Japan do not have official tests to assign rank. In turn, they use the end of the year as a time to assign rank. That is not saying ...
Updated 02-26-2012 at 00:34 by Mekugi
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