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Leo Chang
21st July 2000, 06:56
I am interested in learning a sword art in the near future, but do not know where to start....

A sword art that also teaches other martial skills (eg:grappling, self-defence, other weapons, defense against weapons) is what I am interested in, with Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu being the first school that comes to mind.

I know there are other Ryus that offer similar types of curriculum, but how do they differ from that of TSKSR? What are the defferent characteristc(s) of each? And would students with particular characteristic be more suited to one Ryu than the other?

Any answer (or direction to sources with answers) would be very helpful. Thanx

Kennesten
26th July 2000, 02:20
The reading is still sinking in, so I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong. From what I understand, many (or most) koryu martial arts were composite martial arts, encompassing many different weapons, although centered around the sword. The koryu differed from one another (on the ground level) by the heiho (core military principles) upon which the system was based. Koryu bujutsuka could learn many different weapons because many of the principles (physical applications of the heiho) remained the same, regardless of the weapon. Therefore, a certain long sword technique would relate to a similar naginata technique by virtue of the same principles behind the technique. It is likely that much of the taisabaki and ashisabaki were relevant to many of the weapons, not just one. Samurai could face any variety of weapons on the battlefield, and a large part of learning how to defend against a weapon was learning how to use the weapon first. For more information on this, I believe Diane Skoss' "Koryu Bujutsu" (sorry, I don't know how to underline) and Donn Draeger's "Classical Bujutsu" are excellent sources.
As far as begin suited to ryu, I don't have enough experience to answer that; I'm sure other members do. Probably the best thing would be to observe a class and see if you like it. Trouble is, koryu is hard to find, especially this side of the Pacific, and most gendai budo aren't composite martial arts (with noted exceptions, of course). At http://www.koryu.com, Mrs. Skoss has a ryuha guide of extant koryu arts online, but you probably know already.
Good luck finding what you want.

Nicholas Lauridsen

P.S. This is my first non-question post, so please correct me if I'm wrong about anything! Thanks! =)

sinsis
30th July 2000, 19:58
Hai Leo,

I started out some time ago with TSKSR. In my opinion it is a great ryu to a.o. learn to handel the long sword. Maybe you should also look at the quality of the teachers in your neigherhood and let that be of importance in your descision.

Greeting,

Sinsis Stein.

Leo Chang
31st July 2000, 05:58
Thanks to all who've replied to my question, the search for a dojo within driving distance continues... :)

CKohalyk
31st July 2000, 09:54
Mr. Chang,


I see you are from Vancouver way over there in Canada. What are you doing on Saturdays? Next Saturday is the Powell St. Festival, where the Vancouver Japanese community gets together to celebrate Japanese culture. There are also a few demos going on (JJ, sword, and other compo Japanese arts). You could start there. Look for a guy named Alex Kask. His specialty is Tenjin Shinyo Ryu, which has no swords but he's got lots of knowledge of the Van area. I think he is on at about 1:30 PM.

Good Luck!!

CKohalyk

Yojimbo558
31st July 2000, 18:45
Hi there!

If you're looking for a system that integrates the sword as well as other combative aspects then I would recommend looking at Bujinkan ( which I practise ). If however one of our dojo's is not around for you to look at perhaps there is a Genbukan dojo there which would also offer you a wide variety of weapons and skills.

But if you're intending on focusing on the sword, I would also recommend taking a look at Shinkendo ( this system doesn't include other weaponry as you enquired about nor does it deal with hand to hand, but as a sword system it's worth looking at ). One of my friends teaches this, and we have fun noting the differences in use and strategy in our systems.

Good luck with your search!

Eric Bookin