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Emily Egan
3rd January 2002, 06:26
FYA - For Your Amusement

A few weeks ago someone who knew I did Iaido gave me a copy of the 2002 January issue of Martial Arts & Combat Sports magazine which had an article by Scott Shaw on Kumdo, a Korean sword form. I don’t know the first thing about Kumdo, and thus can’t address the accuracy of the article on that subject, but in a section of the article he compares Kumdo & Iaido and has some funny things to say about Iaido that I thought the rest of you might find as amusing as I did. I showed this to my sensei and fellow Eishin Ryu students, -- their reactions ranged from shocked disbelief to uncontrollable hilarity. Here are some gems:

"In Japanese Iaido, which is also a modern martial style adapted from ancient applications, all of the techniques are based in metaphysical reasoning."

"The Iaido practitioner, on the other hand, views the sword as an extension of his soul, not of his body."

Perhaps there are some styles of Iaido that agree with Mr. Shaw, but the above is quite contrary to the particular ryu (MJER) I belong to.

--Emily Egan
www.clear-lake-iaido.com

ghp
3rd January 2002, 09:00
Hello Emily,

I just visited your website and left a very short note in your Guestbook. A nice start, but you really need some "eye candy."

Cheers,
Guy

John Lindsey
3rd January 2002, 14:45
Emily,

Welcome to E-budo! BTW, E-Budo HQ is located in Webster, Texas, just a few miles from you. I have lived in Clear Lake since 1963 :).

Emily Egan
3rd January 2002, 16:24
Hi Guy,
Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit my site, and leave an entry in the guest book. The color scheme (black & white) and the layout is deliberate,-- I wanted the site design to reflect something of the art itself. The result may be a bit boring (no animation, flashy lights, or colorful graphical backgrounds), but it will load quickly. And yes, there are photos, lots of them, but you have to start clicking on links to find them.
Thanks again for writing.
--Emily

will szlemko
4th January 2002, 01:06
Hi,

Scott Shaw put out a book (Samurai Zen) a while back with some very.. um.. interesting photo sequences of iai. Don't waste your money but if you are at the book store and feeling depressed give it a look, it will raise your spirits or possibly your anger.

will

joe yang
4th January 2002, 08:25
Ah, kumdo! One suspects any traditional Korean sword arts are long gone, that kumdo is a modern sythesis. This from very subtle answers from my Korean TKD GM, when queried on the subject.

A grunt, a wooden stare, and "Go use the heavy bag." I.E. don't ask stupid questions. It would be interesting to read what Mr. Shaw has to say on the subject, if I was inclined to read MA magazines.

ScottUK
7th January 2002, 00:48
Hi Emily,

Congratulations on your site. Very nice. This post would probably be better in 'Language' but as we started discussing your website, I'll continue. At the head of your page, you have the kanji for MJER Iaido:

http://www.masamunedojo.com/mjer02.jpg

Whereas I thought the kanji for MJER is :

http://www.masamunedojo.com/mjer01.jpg

It's the 2nd and 4th characters that elude me.

Anyone clarify this?

Scott

Kit LeBlanc
7th January 2002, 03:01
In yours, the 2d and 4th characters are the simplified versions.