The new weapon racks have been put up from 6′2″ to the ceiling to make sure that people don’t smash into weapons while training. We used sweet maple wood scraps from the Board Silly Mill in Connecticut. These racks cost us $3.25 to make.

So I got some heat on our Facebook page for the reason the sword on one of the images seem to be facing the wrong direction,with the handles on the right side, facing to the left – as opposed to the conventional way that a sword should be displayed, with the tsuka on the left and the sword facing to the right. Well, this rack in the image happens to be on the joseki and very near the kamidana. I found it to be extremely inappropriate and imbalanced to have the shinken on these racks facing directly at the kamidana. This happens to be the only place in the Dojo where the weapons are like this. You will notice that the other weapons (naginata, bokuto) are in fact, “handle on the left.” … I could go into much greater detail about this, but I just got done doing a lot of solo bojutsu training outside after teaching all day and am beat. – Adam

So the Blog was inactive over the summer because we were so busy and we had some server load issues as a result of other business that we are sharing our server with. Well, those issues are gone and we’ll be doing very regular updates on the blog. So you can look forward to that! – Adam

We have a tradition at the Dojo. It’s our kobudo twist on Mr. Puxsutawney Phil. During Hatsu Keiko, the first training of the new year, we start the training early in the morning with a warm-up and then the first sword cut of the new year. It’s become a belief of sorts that this cut will set the pace for the rest of the year’s training along with the general direction of the Dojo. As you can imagine, the years we’ve had a clean first cut at Hatsu Keiko are the years that have been fruitful and filled with good times. The ones that have not been so good have set the pace for a challenging year. This superstitious thing that we do is all in good fun…. but oddly accurate. It does set the pace for the rest of the training that day, talked about the rest of the week or so ahead and then recalled frequently throughout the year.

This year’s Hatsu Keiko was GREAT. Last year’s? ..Not so good. 

Hatsu Keiko means “First training” in Japanese. With a new Dojo and a new Dojo name it would only be appropriate to start in the tradition we have shared for the last eight years at the beginning of the new year.

At 7pm a crowd of families from the Dojo began arriving at the new facility to show their support and share in the good times of the evening. I can’t begin to express how honored I am to see this. Shortly into the celebration, Victoria and Dan gave a demonstration of the Gyokko Ryu Joryaku no maki, the first level scroll techniques of one of the hand to hand fighting systems we study. Following Victoria’s wonderful display of power and accuracy, I demonstrated the Sandan Kata of Bojutsu (third degree black belt – six foot staff techniques) with Dan, the Sui no Kata of Jinen Ryu Bikenjutsu (second scroll of sword fencing) with John and a sampling of the Takagi Yoshin Ryu Shoden no Kata (first level forms of empty hand arresting techniques) with Peter. I thought we all did quite well, considering my students had no idea that I was going to call them to demonstrate their budo in front of a crowd. Nothing was rehearsed and they all were spot on! Way to go guys.

Then came the cutting. John had soaked a bundle of mats just for this event, but I wasn’t aware of the bamboo. While I was explaining to the crowd the details of tameshigiri, John went to fetch the double wrapped mat I would use to “Set the pace for the new Dojo.” As I inspected the wrap he delivered, I immediately noticed the large piece of green bamboo protruding from the top and bottom of the rolled mats. John had put a large piece of solid, green bamboo down the center of the wrap. Doesn’t he know how challenging bamboo is to cut alone?  The two together are not often recommended as it can bust up a sword pretty well. Of course I thought this was a joke. Nope. Double wrap with a green bamboo core and a crowd watching, eager to see what the future of the Dojo was to be. I had just explained to them all this great tradition we have at our Dojo. Uh yeah, right now that tradition was pretty silly and I wish it would go away….Ok, so I spend a few minutes to collect myself with my sword drawn and at my side. This is ridiculous I thought… there was a small chance of making it through this target without some margin of error. “This is a tough cut…confidence….tanden, from the center, center…” So I walk to it calmly. I’m focussed on the mat target, but severing the bamboo core. My final thought as I begin to lift the sword with my right hand, “Let them cut my flesh so that I can cut their bone.”  I bring my right hand up over the left side of my head, grip the sword with both hands and cut at a forty five degree angle, right to left….. “Yaaahhhhhh” …..the sword tip stops right on spot and I wait. It seemed my kiai was ten minutes and before I stopped everyone burst into cheer. The top portion of my target fell to the ground a moment after my sword stopped, revealing a perfect diagonol line on the mat and through the bone. To me, the cut could not have been better. The challenge of a target like this, the confidence that my top students had in me to do it in front of so many people and most of all the support of the families there to be part of it all, all of this is what sets the pace for the Dojo. 

Oh, I almost forgot. Yes I did say a new name of the Dojo!

Many years back, the name of our Dojo was given by an old Sensei of mine in a martial art that shares the same traditions as we study. When I received instructor credentials from Manaka Sensei, I thought it best to keep Yasuragi as it would have cost us a small fortune to change all of the marketing materials, accounts and everything within the business. Well I chose to put this behind and wrote Sensei a letter a month back requesting him to give our new Dojo a name. One that will stand a test of time, a name that represents what Sensei hopes the Jinenkan will become into our future generations. So at this point I will leave you with Sensei’s correspondence with me:

Today the ceiling molding and corner moldings were complete and we moved on to the construction of the throwing ranges. There will be two separate ranges for our shurikenjutsu training, one will be with vertical planks of ripped down to fit wood, the other will be horizontal. The vertical planks will be for spike throwing (Boshuriken) and the horizontal will be for “stars” or small metal plates that date back far in the history of our martial arts (Senbanshuriken). I have chosen to use a unique type of maple that many wood people disregard as junk wood, while artists see as gold and use it for extraordinary applications in custom wood craft. This semi soft wood is called ambrosia maple, and is characterized by the grey worm holes that are created by the ambrosia beetle that embed into the wood. The grey streaks offers a unique accent on the pale red of the maple, something that will stand out nicely in the new Dojo. Please be sure to enjoy how this wood looks.

More to come……..

It may not be too healthy, but some of us were losing track of time today. We have been working around the clock for two weeks to make sure the mats are on the ground and the students have keiko tomorrow. Floor molding was put in, ceiling was painted and the back rooms were poly’d. There have been over thirty people who have come to help, some called to ask, some just showed. There have been students who I have not seen in years and students I would have never expected to see offering to help. Each day I find myself quietly say “Is this for real?” It is.  One of my young students realized that with all my time being dedicated to getting the new Dojo set up, I might not get a chance to place my Kentucky Derby bets. He shows up out of the blue with a $5 ticket for me on a 50-1 horse. I may have gotten a little teary eyed.

So, I just arrived home after working 19 hours. Most people would just go crash out, but I am overwhelmed by the efforts of so many members of our Dojo today. I had to write this. Since 7:30am up to midnight, members of our Dojo were showing up to lend a hand. To stain, fill garbage bags, cut wood, sweep, haul mats or pack the neighbors dumpster…So many from the Dojo came today to help out and I did not want that to go unnoticed. Thanks guys. See you in a few hours.

Again we worked into the night.