Katreena Baker

Hi everyone, I just uploaded six more videos. Half are in the Fundamentals section and cover sword handling, home practice, and bowing in (2 videos on the latter). There are also detailed videos on sword draws. There are complicated mechanics and timing with draws that need to be practiced regularly, so hopefully these videos will help.

New comment 30d ago

Katreena Baker

2 likes • Feb 3

@Randy George On that note, I have a metal bar that I like to use like a weighted Jo. I feel like it adds a nice challenge to stretches and movement training.

Joanne Hunter

Jan 22 •

General discussion

Are you prepared?

A part of our training is about every day preparedness. With that in mind, many parts of the country are expecting extreme cold, snow and ice this weekend. I am in upstate NY and high temps will be 9 degrees with below zero windchill. In the event i get stuck somwhere, i have in my car a wool blanket, extra gloves and a hat to keep warm. I also have some basic first aid supplies. What do you have in your car and/or home to prepare for weather extremes in your area? I am sure we can all help each other by posting suggestions for preparedness. Thanks in advance!

New comment Jan 31

Katreena Baker

2 likes • Jan 24

I like to prep by expanding my skill sets. Having resources stored is valuable, but I'd also like to be prepared for a longer term situation. In that case, creativity and adaption are required, and that's where you want to give yourself as many options as you can. Tying knots, cooking and baking, food preservation and storage, mending and repair of different materials (sewing, basic leatherwork/care, knife sharpening) will help you out when the stored resources start running out. Make sure you learn your environment too, basic knowledge of what is safe to forage in the area and what to avoid, and where a source of water is will help if hunkering down isn't an available option (such as an evacuation, or zombie apocalypse.) When planning for what resources to store, I like to remember that hope is required for survival. A pack of cards takes minimal space, but can help fill the time and keep spirits light. And personally, I'd include a notebook and some way to write, as my teacher brain reminds me that we only have history to learn from because everyday people wrote down what their everyday lives were like.

Katreena Baker

Jan 17 •

General discussion

Just Relax

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?

New comment Jan 19