Surface Area or Depth? – Oct 24, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

Lots of schools and kata or stick to one school and drill down deep? I listed all of the kata we do in our dojo and came up with 240 or so in six or seven different schools. How useful is that? What about sticking to 12 kata and doing them really well, is that … Continue reading Surface Area or Depth? – Oct 24, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

Day one of the Weekend of 01 – 02 Nov 2014 – Koryu Seminar

Great Day today! Busy!! This Morning went to 2014 Kenshokan Koryu Seminar - Peterborough, hosted by Jim-Wilson Kenshokan! Ohmi Sensei led the morning with a critical and detail breakdown of Omori Ryu of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. It was amazing, Sensei related historical details with his own historical experience to explain Omori Ryu's 10 Kata. … Continue reading Day one of the Weekend of 01 – 02 Nov 2014 – Koryu Seminar

Inside Japanese Martial Arts: The True Role of Kata in Karate – October 27, 2014, Dave Lowry

Unfortunately, over the years I’ve noticed that many of those interested in karate and in the budo in general don’t have a solid understanding of what kata actually is or for what it’s really intended. Therefore, their opinions about its worth are often stalled or go off in directions that lead nowhere productive. There are, … Continue reading Inside Japanese Martial Arts: The True Role of Kata in Karate – October 27, 2014, Dave Lowry

Off In the Wilderness – Oct 31, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

One of my long-time internet acquaintances is from South America and has expressed some concerns about his own zen ken ren iai (seitei) practice (is he up to date) what he's teaching his students (are they learning correctly) and his own conservatism (demanding more from his junior students) which might be mirroring the Japanese-led creep … Continue reading Off In the Wilderness – Oct 31, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

If You Can’t Do Seiza You Can’t Do Iai – Oct 14, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

A fairly common assumption from those who are deeply into the grading thing is that if you can't do seiza you can't do the seiza kata and therefore you can't pass a grading and so you can't do iaido. An easy confusion of the meaning of grading. Your skill does not come from your rank, … Continue reading If You Can’t Do Seiza You Can’t Do Iai – Oct 14, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

Sightlines – Oct 3, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan

Further to the idea of the spread of a budo being like sparks scattered out from a fire, I'd like to think about viewpoints. Yes, I use these writings to do my thinking while I'm writing them, hence the messiness at times. From what I've seen there are at least three viewpoints on any of … Continue reading Sightlines – Oct 3, 2014, Kim Taylor, Renshi, CI Sei Do Kai Guelph ON, Nanadan