This journal is to document my experiences and studies in Japan from December 2005- December 2006. I am studying Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu, Naginata-do, Omote Senke Ryu Sado, and Ikuta Ryu Koto in the Osuka and Nagoya areas.
For those of you who want to continue to follow the adventures of Samurai Gwynne, please look for more posts in the future as I begin to dissect all that I have learned here in Japan back in my hometown in New York. Also, please browse through my dojo blog for information on the White Shadow Dojo and more articles on the martial arts. http://whiteshadowdojo.blogspot.com Thank you to my loyal readers!
posted by Gwynne @ 4:21 AM
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The sun set this evening in a flash of warm yellow hues, but the wind was cold and biting, reminding me of my arrival one year ago. This is the last day of my ten month journey in Japan, an experience that has been unforgettable. This has been a journey of cultural exploration and learning, but it has also been a journey which has tested my innerself and my convictions. I have been overjoyed at some of my discoveries, entirely disappointed at others, but what remains is the fact that you must always know yourself and that you must have a little faith.
posted by Gwynne @ 3:28 AM
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The sword has been a formative element in the establishment of Japanâs cultural and national identity reaching back into their ancient past and beginning with the creation myth of the eight islands. The Yagyu Shinkage Ryu School of swordsmanship was founded in the late 16th/early 17th century. It reflects the discipline, aesthetics, and spirituality of one of the most highly developed warrior cultures in the world. This school provided swordsmanship instructors to the Tokugawa Shogunate for many generations earning them great esteem and respect. Four centuries later Yagyu Shinkage Ryu is still practiced by a small number of people around the world. This method of swordsmanship is unique in that it possesses a responsive rather than purely offensive mentality and there has been significant influence from the philosophical and spiritual principles of Zen Buddhism.
Katsujinken, translated as âthe life-giving sword,â is the focus of my study in Japan. It is both a body of techniques and a core concept in the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu philosophy. In the world of feudal Japan, where violent death was a daily occurrence, Katsujinken was infused with a sense of morality and a respect for preserving human life. Through the intent of the warrior and the techniques used, he could either take life or give life. The Yagyu method of swordsmanship was unique in that it possessed a yin, or responsive rather than offensive, mentality with a significant emphasis placed on philosophical principles. My own interpretation of this theory leads me to believe that Katsujinken is more than a principle of morality or strategy, but a lifestyle. Thus my research has led me to other Japanese traditional arts, which share an ideology similar to that of the Yagyu Shinkage School. By exploring the theory of Katsujinken I hope to better understand the essential interplay and interdependence of spirituality with the arts of war and peace.
Our Martial Arts school in Addison, New York. Featuring information on our recent book "The Rhythm of One", our class offerings, a calendar of events, an edged weapons forum, articles on knife design, and community space for the research and dissemination of Martial Arts.
"Self-Defense Concepts and Techniques Against a Knife Attack" By David & Gwynne Decker ~The art of self-defense is not about brute force or fancy techniques. It is all about who is left standing. For any technique to be effective it has to be simple, and that was our goal, to break self-defense down to its most elemental state. If you hope to have any chance of surviving an attack by a street thug, mugger, or rapist, you should read our book.
IN FOCUS: Vietnam is a series of short films about Vietnamese culture and society produced by Hobart & William Smith Colleges Partnership for Global Education. I edited the films covering religion, economy, literature, and art. I wrote and edited the film on women and composed the study guide to accompany that film.
