The Opening and Closing of Doors

I trained in the art of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū (鹿島神傳 直心影流) at the Hōbyōkan before moving to Seattle in 2016. I then worked with a small number of people in order to maintain my practice. This activity centered around the performance of traditional kata as informed by my understanding of internal martial arts principles, the analysis of kata in a process called kuzushi and pressure testing called tameshi-ai.

I practiced Jikishinkage-ryū independently after moving to Seattle — first distance and then the pandemic made it difficult to receive further instruction. Over time I have taken to practicing kenjutsu more and more with posture and body mechanics drawn from my study of internal arts. However, making changes to the fundamental practice of an art has impacts and effects (even if no art stays entirely unchanged, despite what their practitioners might think). I can't now as easily work with beginners in the way I was first trained. That does not mean that introductory practice was wrong in some way, or needs to be changed. Maybe it is time for others to pass it forward.

I have entrusted weekly kata practice to my two senior students, Jake Harlin and Nicky Sayah Sina. When I visit class held by them, I now do so as a guest and spend my time providing feedback and exploring kuzushi with them. They are the ones who hold the space for intense kata practice as I learned it. I, in turn, provide feedback on their expression of internal martial arts ideas and help them culvitate the proper mindset to conduct their own training as shugyō.

While I think I still attempt to cultivate the spirit of Shinkage-ryū in my practice, I cannot claim what I am doing is true or correct. In cultivating a more withdrawn approach to my study, I am reminded that the final level of practice of Jikishinkage-ryū, called marobashi or marubashi (丸橋), is silent. It is time for me to take that silence as the path.

The phrase hyakuren jitoku ( 百錬自得 ) means that through a great deal of practice you can better understand yourself. My focus has shifted over time more towards this kind of self-reflection than being primarily concerned with self-preservation. I am grateful for the opportunity to know myself a little better for having trained. I am grateful both for the chance to have worked with several people as my understanding has evolved and for my conversations with experts in the field. I am better for those interactions and I am inspired by the progress those around me are making, each on their individual paths.

I would not have been able to do so without the generosity, patience and trust of my teachers:

    お礼申し上げます.