In 2004, while visiting the Dewa Sanzan area, including Gassan Dai Jinja on Mt. Haguro and Haguro-san Kōtakuji Shōzenin Kogane-do in Haguro-machi, I decided to study classical and traditional arts instead of continuing to practice Aikidō and Kempō had learned in NYC between 1989 and 2001.
Around that time I began the Inner Dharma writing project. Much of my earlier writing there was concerned with the process of shifting from practicing modern goshin-jutsu influenced by Aikidō to cultivating internal skill. I also furthered my understanding of the context in which I first trained. As I learned more of Bagua, Xingyi and Taiji I reflected on the relationships between the concept of aiki and internal training.
I began training in internal martial arts in 2004 and became a lineal member of Yin Cheng Gong Fa North America under Zhang Yun laoshi in 2015. Internal martial arts as taught in YCGF North America is what I consider to be my primary martial arts practice.
Over time, as my skill at internal martial arts progressed, I let my original Aikidō and Kempō practice go. I also began learning classical weapons arts from China and Japan.
I am fortunate to have learned portions of several older weapons traditions from China and Japan.
I describe my internal martial arts training above — I also
learned Jiki (
Inner Dharma then served as a place where I could write down my thoughts contrasting approaches like Shintō-ryū and Shinkage-ryū and comparing older to modern methods and approaches. In my own training, as I explored kata, as well as their variation and application, and eventually had the opportunity to pressure test my skill, I decided on a single path to follow.
I began working with a small group to continue my
practice of Shinkage-ryū — I called this activity
the Gassankan [
In 2024, I handed the practice I started in Seattle to two of my
students, Jake Harlin and Nicky Sayah Sina,
as Tōsha Dōjō [
Twenty years after this project began in Dewa, I visited Kyoto, including the seat of Honzan-ha Shugendō not far from the Kyoto Budōkan (the site of the Meiji-era Butokukan) as well as the shrines and temples at Kuramadera, an area associated with several important martial arts figures from Japanese history.
I spent time thinking about my continued endeavors and came to the realization I needed to focus on continuing to develop my skill at traditional internal martial arts instead of trying to rectify my practice with the approach of another Jikishinkage-ryū group, such as a formal lineage in Japan. Instead I realized I should focus on my continued practice as a personal form of shugyō. I began rededicating myself to my meditative and yoga practices, seeking alignment between the two.
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 (
The phrase hyakuren jitoku (
Over time I more strongly feel that each person needs to walk their own path and come to their own decisions about where and how best to train. Looking out from the veranda of the Nigatsu-do, above Todaiji in Nara, I came to the realization that I had completed one chapter and was beginning another.
In doing so, I want to stop and take the the time to thank all the readers of this blog for their feedback and encouragement. I wish you all the best with your training.
