An Afternoon of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu with Sensei Tong
Seminar Report
copyright © 2018 Douglas Tong, all rights reserved
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Sensei Tong’s first seminar in Ottawa featuring Yagyu Shinkage Ryu was a great success. Over a 5-hour period, the seminar participants got a good look at some of the fundamental ideas and techniques of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. Here is an excerpt from a report written by Sensei Derek Lo who assisted Tong Sensei at this seminar:
“Life is change. It seems like such an obvious statement, however there is so much depth to those three simple words. Change can take on many forms: from great sweeping events that reshape the world in a matter of moments to minute transformations that happen over time and are only noticed upon reflection. Setting all hyperbole aside, I believe that I was a part of an event that was a catalyst for change in many people…”
The rest of this seminar report can be found on the website of Oakville Kenjutsu (Montreal):
An Afternoon of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu with Sensei Tong: Thoughts and Reflections
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Here is the testimonial from Erika Gaal of Meishinkan, which sheds some light on some of the ideas and experiences from this seminar that resonated with her:
“I am so very grateful and cannot be more thankful for having the honour of hosting an introductory seminar led by Tong Sensei on the beautiful and peaceful school of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. It was an inspiring day to remember and was the first time this art was brought to Canada’s capital. We had a great turnout of people from many different martial arts backgrounds and different sword schools. Tong Sensei showed us his incredible skill and control through numerous demonstrations and taught us all some very valuable lessons in character by teaching us kata in a calm, welcoming and encouraging manner. He and his students that helped oversee the exercises were excellent examples of the lessons that Yagyu Shinkage Ryu offers in integrity. With their patience and understanding, they were able to guide us through some thought-provoking exercises and learning some pretty advanced techniques.
Through his readings of different texts and philosophies, we were able to open our minds to different ways of practicing and a different approach to how we use our swords. By learning the history of this lineage we were able to understand how useful this new life-giving sword approach was in a time of conflict and how we can apply the same philosophy to our everyday practice and life.
This was truly an enlightening experience for many of us, and instilled new hope in the ability to unite and create peace within different groups, different mindsets and within ourselves. We look forward to future seminars and the continuation of learning from Tong Sensei as it is truly an enriching experience.
The underlying principle of the day was ‘Don’t be afraid and keep an open mind’-
Words to live by.”
Erika Gaal
Study Group Leader
Meishinkan
(Tokumeikan Ontario East Study Group)
Ottawa, Canada
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Meishinkan is Tokumeikan’s study group in Ottawa. If you are interested in joining this growing group, please email Ms. Gaal at: Meishinkan
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To learn more about this peaceful school of swordsmanship, watch this great documentary entitled “On the Road to the Sword of Peace”. It documents Canadian kendoka Stephen Nagy’s journey to discover the roots of the “peaceful sword” in the famous Yagyu Village in Japan.
Here is a partial transcript of the ideas discussed in the film:
Nagy: Yagyu Shinkage Ryu’s style of fighting is that, almost all the strikes are to the hands to disable the opponent, not kill the opponent. The purpose of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu is to minimize what kind of damage you do to the opponent… but to stop them from the attack.
Narrator: Thwarting the opponent without hurting him is the ultimate goal.
Hatamine Sensei: We aim for the opponent’s hands and arms. That’s because we don’t want to hurt him badly… let alone kill him. It’s the Sword of Peace.
Narrator: The Sword of Peace philosophy greatly influenced the way the Shogun ruled the country. It formed the foundation of the Edo Period, which continued 250 years without war.
Narrator: It was here that the Master Yagyu Muneyoshi is said to have understood the Principle of the Sword. Muneyoshi had the inspiration for his Sword of Peace when he split open this rock: he determined to use his weapon only when absolutely necessary.
Nagy: My journey to learn about Yagyu Shinkage Ryu has been really interesting. It’s left me with a feeling that Yagyu’s teachings focus on those who are powerful being humble and always trying to help people around you. I think this belief or philosophy has implications for today’s society. With the strong helping the weak, perhaps we can break that vicious cycle of war and conflict that we see in today’s society. With that in mind, what I’d like to do is just stay around here and soak up the atmosphere, and hopefully be inspired by it, like Yagyu.