Kata training is hard.

No matter how long I work at kata, I still come away from the dojo feeling like a beginner. It happened again just the other night. Lately, I have been working on Chuden (middle curriculum) kata. Some of these are new to me, others I may have done a few times before but I don't know them as well as the Shoden kata. So I found myself struggling away, trying to perform the correct movements while maintaining certain TSYR principles of body mechanics and posture. As you would expect, I was failing at both. 

Samurai Jack dueling with the Scotsman.

Just to be clear, kata training in koryu bujutsu is usually a two person affair. One-on one. This is different to the solo forms you might see in another martial art, such as karate. This means you are always working with another person who may be stronger, faster, shorter or taller than you. 

Look around the internet long enough and you find people talking trash about kata. In my opinion, this is often from a place of ignorance. There is a place for this kind of kata training. There is certainly room for other types of pressure testing and competition but there is also room for kata training. 

In its current form, the Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu curriculum involves 346 forms. 346 different kata to learn. Kata hold the riai, or underlying principles at the heart of combat. These principles reveal themselves in layers. In TSYR, the kata are divided into omote, ura and henka. Omote function as the orthodox teaching form. These set the foundation of a student's skills and principles. Ura allow a student to delve deeper into the principles of the forms. Finally, henka represent application of kata principles. This stage should only be developed once the omote and ura have been thoroughly explored.

It is a frustrating experience. But it is suppose to be. My kaicho, Tobin Threadgill sensei, says that kata are not so much fighting techniques but rather a set of principles we are trying to internalise. Kata molds you from the outside in, both in body and mind. 

What does this mean for day-to-day training? Well, just when you think you get the hang of even some of the most simple kata, something changes. It may be that your sensei now wants you doing the movements with better internal dynamics. It may mean it is time I performed the movement under more pressure from uchitachi. This could be an increase in speed, or power or both. Perhaps uchitachi changes the tempo or timing of some of the movements. Can I still match them? Perhaps uchitachi comes in using his best coordinated attack, with good structure and near perfect alignment. Does my technique still stand up to that? Can I still take their balance? Can I still move efficiently around my own spine when the pressure is on. Can I still remain calm under the changing dynamics? 

Ultimately, kata training teaches resilience in the student. The fact that it may seem like you are not making progress or feeling a lack of achievement must be overcome if you are to continue training. 

The old masters had it sorted. They were looking to train the student's mind as much as the body. 

So whether this kata training is something you do or not, hopefully you get an idea about where one koryu bujutsu student is in his journey.

Train safe! 

I'm still here.

I haven't written for a while. There is a reason for this, I have started a podcast. It felt like a natural progression from writing blogs. I still have to put a script together but I can also have conversations with others! 

My podcast is called Musha Shugyo: A Warrior's Journey. On this podcast I investigate the mindset of warriors both past and present. This involves me talking about some of my own ideas, having conversations with interesting people and doing the odd book review here or there. I am enjoying the process immensely. The podcast community appears to be a cool group of people as well. I have made contact with other podcast hosts and have shared ideas and conversations about topics that interest us. The podcast has been going since the start of the year and has received over 500 downloads. 

So does this mean I stop blogging? No. This space is for my own thoughts on my martial journey with both Aikido and TSYR. Think of it as a martial arts diary. The podcast has a different focus.

Okay, where are things at for me right now? Well, so far, this year has been a strange one. Due to Covid restrictions, my work has been rather stressful. Unfortunately, this impacted my health for some time and I found I couldn't train without problems. It turned out I had some issues with my nervous system which seems to be under control with medication. The good news is that blood work has come back negative for anything nasty. The medication has allowed me to get back on the mat and I am both teaching Aikido and training in TSYR at my full capacity again. 

On the up-side, I made contact with my Aikido sensei and he has managed to get my dan certificates organised, these are now up on my wall at my dojo. Its nice to show the parents of my students that I actually have credentials. 

My shodan and nidan certificates.

My student numbers dropped over the last two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. It has always been a small group with the biggest class being 5 children. However, my youngest daughter and a boy from the local community keep on training and as of last week a third student is on board. I have found the biggest challenge to keeping students where I live is high school. The kids grow up and go off to high school, find some new opportunities and drop aikido. 

Still on aikido, my podcasting took me to the Coromandel where I had the opportunity to interview a pioneer of aikido in New Zealand. David Lynch started the first New Zealand aikido dojo in 1965!  It was great to talk to a man in his eighties who still values his aikido training. 

So I am keeping busy around work and family. Hopefully, I will still blog but probably not as often as I used to, as podcasting shares some of my time now.

Train safe!