Niagara Falls 2020
Seminar Report
copyright © 2020 Douglas Tong, all rights reserved
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Sensei Tong’s first seminar in Niagara Falls featuring Yagyu Shinkage Ryu was a success. It was also a unique seminar because of the location in which it was held.
It is the Niagara Falls Armoury and Military Museum. It is over 100 years old and had a lot of history in it.
The physical space where we held the physical part of the seminar was the parade square.
It was quite a large space and to my great surprise, our very own Dayman Perry mopped the entire floor prior to the seminar!
Good training, for sure. And our discussion room was the Officers’ Mess.
This room had a lot of character and had a lot of history in it too.
All in all, it was a very different and special and appropriate place to hold a seminar on martial arts.
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Here is the testimonial from Dayman Perry of Getsumei no Michi Dojo, where he reflects on some of the experiences from this seminar that resonated with him:
“Getsumei no Michi Dojo had the pleasure of hosting an introductory seminar in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu with Tong Sensei. It was an excellent opportunity for a small group of individuals, many with little or no experience, to learn about Japanese swordsmanship for the first time. Tong Sensei shared with the participants the history and fundamental philosophy of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu and guided them in the practical application of these principles through the practice of the kata of the style.
With Tong Sensei’s balance of physical practice with meaningful discussion, as a more experienced practitioner, I found the experience extremely worthwhile and a great opportunity to better understand and appreciate the beauty of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.”
Dayman Perry
Study Group Leader
Getsumei no Michi Dojo
Niagara Falls, Ontario
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Over a 3-hour period, the seminar participants got a good look at some of the fundamental ideas and techniques of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. This was an older group with more life experience. They were all professionals and so our presentation was geared towards ideas and concepts that would resonate with them.
And because they were an older, more seasoned group but with little or no previous experience in martial arts, it was decided to take a different approach to appeal to this group.
We focused more on the unique history of the style and through this avenue, it gave us a better framework from which to examine the historical development of the techniques of the style.
We did practice techniques. However, the techniques were chosen carefully to illustrate key aspects of the Yagyu philosophy.
Aspects such as focusing on escaping and living. Like Kajitsuka Sensei said in his pivotal interview with me in 2008:
“Shinkage Ryu is not a technique for you to win. It is a technique so you don’t lose.”
So, through a historical lens, we saw how the style developed and why the techniques in it are the way they are. In this way, it was more comprehensible for these older folks. Understanding the rationale helped them to understand the mechanics behind the techniques and movements, and consequently aided them in being able to better learn them and execute them.
Everybody got something out of it. For one lady, it was the life lesson from Kajitsuka Sensei of “whatever you do, do it with all your heart”. For another man, the idea of “not winning but not losing” was impactful as he was a manager and this was an idea useful in arbitration. Others loved the actual physical techniques of how to evade a strike. So whether it was technical or spiritual or philosophical, everyone came away from that seminar with something meaningful. And that is what ultimately made it such a success.
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Getsumei no Michi Dojo is Tokumeikan’s study group in Niagara Falls. If you are interested in joining this growing group, please email Mr. Perry at: Getsumei no Michi Dojo
You can also follow them on Facebook:
(click on the photo to go directly to their Facebook page)
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