Thunder Bay 2016 Seminar

 
Thunder Bay 2016 Seminar Report
Hosted by Mushin Kenjutsu
Held at Rai Un Kai Dojo in Thunder Bay, Ontario

copyright © 2016 Kyle Kolodij, all rights reserved

 

We were fortunate to have Douglas Tong Sensei return to Thunder Bay to hold another seminar, held over three days to instruct us in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu kenjutsu. Initially, we were planning to fill the dojo with many practitioners, to take advantage of the opportunity of having Sensei Tong here and to have the beginners get a chance to learn under him. However, it had been determined that it would be a more productive use of his time to continue the training for the select few who already had attended last year’s seminar, the goal focusing more on the ‘quality’ of training and not so much on the ‘quantity’ of training. What I mean is that by being able to expand our existing knowledge base with new information, it gives us the blueprints to continue to grow and, therefore, be able to share more with others that join us in the future, as there is so much to learn and many different levels of every technique to master.

When I look at Sensei Tong’s training resume, who he has managed to train with currently and in the past, I’m inclined to always be attentive to what he has to say. Also, if you have the opportunity to train one on one, you can see his experience on a physical/technical level. A passing reference that stuck with me was ‘this is the Ph.D. level of sword training’. I don’t believe this is meant in any way to detract from any other style but perhaps it refers to the need in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu to integrate a sophisticated philosophy and correct states of mind together with the physical skills in order to become an elite swordsman in this style. This is what makes the style so complex.

Aside from review and learning new techniques, there was a lot of focus on the study of The Sword and The Mind (our preferred translation of Yagyu Munenori’s famous treatise). Although you can purchase this book from any bookstore and read it over a weekend, trying to make sense of it yourself pales in comparison to having a member of the style decipher the many hidden secrets in the book. Much of it is written in a type of ‘Da Vinci code’ to protect its secrecy, an encryption that was a necessity at the time that it was written, and yet this motif has very much been continued to our present time. We just touched on what is contained in this book (if you have opened this book, you can see how much is packed into just one sentence). I look forward to exploring this book further.

In reference to Iaido training that I have done, one of the concepts that we discussed and practiced from the Sword and The Mind has allowed me to see cutting and defense of strikes on an entirely different level; attempting to understand an opponent’s ‘rhythm’ and almost knowing where they are going to strike. One of the concepts of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu that is ‘exciting’ to practice is the lack of regiment regarding distance. There is no set distance and something you must learn to master as every encounter can be at a different distance, a different speed and a different energy, for both uchidachi and shidachi.

We are fortunate to have access to this sword style thanks to Sensei Tong. On the surface you can watch the katas in a video, for example, but you don’t really understand what makes it dynamic until you see what is happening beneath the surface. For those who have had the opportunity to train in this style, imagine for a moment if the availability of this training was no longer accessible for you to take? We are extremely fortunate to have access to it. I would also suggest looking closely at the articles and the writing on Tokumeikan’s website; I have done a lot of research online about different styles of swordsmanship and if you do the same you will see that, for the most part, there is not a lot of ‘quality’ information on specific sword styles on the Internet. The Tokumeikan website has a lot of accurate information to further your studies on the topic.

I am looking forward to the next training event, outside of regular studies. A special thank you to Douglas Tong Sensei for his time and willingness to share his knowledge with us and to Eric Tribe Sensei, my Iaido and Jodo teacher, for his generosity towards the seminar again this year.

Kyle Kolodij
Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido (Canadian Kendo Federation)
Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Jodo (Canadian Kendo Federation)
Shotokan Karate (Tsuruoka Karate Organization * Karate Ontario)
Krav Maga Alliance
Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu (Tokumeikan)

Photo Credits: Mike Pianka Photography