Yagyu Shinkage Ryu-- a more "non-violent" form of Kenjutsu...

OK, so some more information on the Kenjutsu style Coach Rob and I went to Toronto to study.

Kenjutsu (a component of the Japanese "parent" fighting style of Jujutsu) is the art and science of using and fighting with the katana, or the famous "Samurai sword." There are several sub-styles and also sport versions-- most people passingly familiar with martial arts have heard of Kendo (sport fighting with shinai, or bamboo swords), and some may even know about Iaido (a cross-genre, kata-based art that focuses on drawing the sword and the application of established techniques for quickly dispensing with opponents).

Yagyu Shinkage Ryu is a kata-based sword art that preserves a specific tradition that is related to Taiho-Jutsu, or the martial art of feudal Japanese police and peace officers. It is also a more refined style that was preferred by the court at Edo, once the country was unified under one government. It is therefore considered more of a "gentle way," in that redirecting, disarming, containing and controlling a foe are more important aspects of the tradition than, for instance, cleaving your opponent in two from head-to-toe.

Our sensei is a man named Douglas Tong, a Canadian of Chinese descent who studied in Japan and has been a martial arts practitioner (focusing mostly on the sword arts) for over 30 years. This page (see link) has a brief introduction to Sensei Tong's credentials and lineage, and his work in teaching and preserving this unique tradition: http://dragonfencing.com/kenjutsu.html .

Sensei Tong is a patient, fun, but obviously serious-minded teacher, who is focused on traditional aspects and very detail-oriented. The two hours (actually, he gave us more time than that, so I think it was closer to three) went by quickly, and Sensei Tong and his assistant Scott put a lot of effort into making sure that we had good grounding in the fundamentals of our first kata. In Shinkage Ryu, there is a "teacher" and a "student" participant, or a "good guy/winner," and "bad guy/loser" for each kata. This is basically the same as the concept of Tori and Uke in Judo or traditional Japanese Jiu-jitsu (Jujutsu)-- a "throw-er" and a "throw-ee." In this style, however, the participants are called Shidachi and Uchidachi. I played the role of Uchidachi, and the more-experienced Coach Rob was the Shidachi. By the end of our session, we had a good grasp of the necessary movements and fundamentals of kata number one. We are definitely going back for more instruction, so hopefully we have some time to practice and build fluidity before going back up to Toronto. Anyone interested in Kenjutsu, or Yagyu Shinkage Ryu specifically, should get in touch with Sensei Tong at the Dragon Fencing Academy, 175 West Beaver Creek Rd., Unit 18, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Canada. The telephone number is (905) 764-8388, or you can e-mail for information to info@dragonfencing.com. The website address again is: www.dragonfencing.com . Maybe you can join us for our next training session!

White Belt Out.