I find myself getting tangled up in words often, but I think there's a lot of value in unpacking the language we use in our art, and in adjusting our definitions as we learn. Today, we worked on relaxing our back muscles, and "relax" is one of those simple words that I've really had to think about over the years. When I first started training, I found that if I just relaxed my muscles, I would often wind up losing my structure entirely. I thought of relaxing as just "emptying my body of tension," and I'd get really floppy, and I'd be unable to actually perform a technique. Often, I'd just wind up gathering myself. I'm starting to understand relaxing as a much more active process. I am intaking breath, and softening my vision, and yes, relaxing my muscles, while activating my fascia and filling my body with the energy wave. There's a lot of active presence and subtle work required to truly relax. As much as we "do less" with our muscles, we are doing a whole lot more with the rest of our body parts. What are some of the definitions you've had to expand as your training has developed? And what are your thoughts on the complexities of relaxing?

Happy New Year everybody! We're already two weeks into the new year. Hard to believe, right? I've been thinking how time flies, and how important the small everyday routines and practices are for making progress in a focused direction. There's a lot of talk and discussion about discipline, but I like to emphasize the value of "routine" instead of discipline. I used to think discipline was the key, but once discipline fails, progress and mindset can weaken and fall apart. Last week's discipline can turn into this week's regrets. I've had the greatest success with progress and training when I've incorporated into my everyday routine. For example, when I'm in the kitchen getting a snack I practice classical movement, becoming light and relaxed, and moving with proper balance and alignment. I started doing that ever since I began training in Nami Ryu in 2008. Every time I'm in the kitchen, I automatically go into classical movement without thinking about it. It's like brushing my teeth before going to work or bed. What are your thoughts on discipline versus routine. For those of you who are new to the study of kenjutsu, have you started to incorporate any routines in your training?

Welcome to Nami ryu Kenjutsu online. I'm excited to have you here, and to share your passion for learning Japanese swordsmanship. ⚔️ Please take a minute to introduce yourself and share what motivates you to learn kenjutsu. Maybe you're into Kurosawa movies, the samurai, or Japanese swords, or maybe you've wanted to learn Japanese swordsmanship but don't have a place to train or a community to support you. We'd like to know what brought you here!

In class I have heard many times "it's all kenjutsu." When I first started that didn't really make sense, I mean in basic terms, kenjutsu is the art of Japanese swordsmanship. Over time I started thinking how our principles of posture, relaxation and breathing can be applied in our everyday lives. For example when cleaning snow off my car I focused on using my hips to move my arm. When driving I think about my posture and when traffic is crazy good time to practice breathing and relaxation. 🙂 What are your thoughts about the phrase "it's all kenjutsu" ?