Summer grasses,Where warriors dreamBasho (Rexroth translation) David Hall, a senior member of the Shindo Muso ryu, passed away on July 26 of this year. He was a great friend, teacher, and advisor. Because of his inherent generosity and a gift for networking, I believe he was some or all these things to many others in …
Articles carried in the wartime magazine, Shin Budō, give us insight into Shimizu’s emerging art of jōdō. Following the glossy pictorial treatment of Shimizu Takaji and Shindō Musō ryū jōjutsu in the November, 1941 edition of Shin Budō, Shimizu launched a series on the basic kihon practice of his jōdō. I have already addressed that …
“An umbrella can be used to stab an enemy, defeating them with a single blow. A broom handle, bamboo pole or whatever is at hand can be used to punish a thug. When I went to a foreign country or visited a dangerous area with my family, I always had a cane to use in …
Uchida Ryū Tanjojutsu: An Art For Men of Wealth and Taste? Read More »
The Old Secrets of Shindō Musō Ryū The koryū martial arts of Japan–arts that were established prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868– seem to be surrounded with mystery, magic, fable, and secrets. Origin stories often involve days or weeks or months or even years of sacrifice and self-disclipline by a founder, with visits to …
This video shows a practice I call “the sticking game.” It is designed to give the jo player experience in “feeling” what the sword is doing. We use kuritsuke, tai atari, and kurihanashi as exercises for developing a jo that is able to appropriately respond to the sword’s movement. Underlying the game we play is …
Video: Feeling the movements of sword through the jo Read More »
It would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of Shimizu Takaji Sensei in popularizing Shindo Muso ryu. The essence of his story is that he receives Menkyo kaiden in his early 20s, moves to Tokyo in 1930 with encouragement from Kano Jigoro, Nakayama Hakudo, and Suenaga Misao. In Tokyo, he teaches jodo full-time, becomes an instructor …
Shimizu Sensei and “Shin Budo” Magazine, 1941-1945, part 1: Jojutsu and 16 Kihon Read More »
My art, Shindō Musō ryū, is a koryū Japanese martial art. “Koryū” is a term used to indicate a martial school established before the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868.1 As a general matter, all koryū arts contained some material that was considered a secret–inner teachings reserved for a select few. This reliance on …
