Jikishinkage-ryū
Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū is one of the most powerful surviving forms of Japanese swordsmanship. Founded in the late 16th century, it has preserved Taoist methods of power development centered around the combative use of the sword that are not often found in contemporary Japanese martial arts. Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū develops a direct and steadfast approach to fencing in its practitioners that relies on a highly developed sense of range, initiative, and line of attack.
I practiced Jikishinkage-ryū at the Hobyokan dojo of Dr. David Hall, in Rockville, Maryland. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I made the decision to continue that practice, despite having no one initially to work with, instead of joining a different branch of another kenjutsu ryū I had studied.
The primary focus of my martial arts practice has been in Chinese internal martial arts, and Jikishinkage-ryū felt at times compatible enough with internal martial arts ideas and possessing a small enough curriculum that its practice is not in principle as overwhelming to maintain while training in other martial arts.
I was eventually able to work with a few people to maintain my practice. When teaching, I presented the foundational walking and cutting practices of the art in a manner informed by my practice of internal martial arts. I also took time to provide analyses and applications of exchanges encoded within the kata of the art, to explore what Jikishinkage-ryū could be. Finally, once enough time had passed for their skill to mature, I introduced a tameshi ai practice they could hold as their own, to better help forge their spirit and resolve and deepen their understanding of budo.
I have since handed that practice over to my students. It continues to meet under their guidance at Tōsha Dōjō ( 闘者 道場 ), which is part of a HEMA cooperative called Lonin League.