http://www.uga.edu/ksr/Originally Posted by isby
http://www.uga.edu/ksr/Originally Posted by isby
David Pan
"What distinguishes budo from various sport activities is the quest for perfection."
- Kenji Tokitsu
I am not exactly a short walk from Kennesaw. I am in Indiana for college now, but I do live in Suwanee which is just south of the Mall of Georgia area.Originally Posted by Brian Stokes
As for the website given above, I heard that you have to be a student at the University to join. I am not 100% sure about it, but it's something to inquire about before you get your hopes up.
This is a bit late in the day and I am not sure if you are still looking but I was looking for the same and found a Katori Shinto ryu group in Atlanta. Here is their FB page....
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tensh...97479953627784
I'm not sure if the OP is still interested but I think the Zen Center of GA is a rinzai sect under the lineage of Omori Sogen. Many of their Zen dojo study Jikishinkage-ryu kenjutsu as part of their Zen training. They focus on the Hojo kata, the first kata set. You could do a lot worse than Jikishinkage-ryu
Christopher Covington
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu heiho
All views expressed here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the arts I practice, the teachers and people I train with or any dojo I train in.
Hmmm. That page has photos of and quotes from Bruce Lee, Ueshiba Morihei, etc., as well as some other items that give me pause. I would check with Phil Relnick Sensei at http://tenshinsho-den-katori-shinto-ryu.org/ to verify their legitimacy before training with them.
I'm not saying that they are NOT legitimate, just that one needs to be careful because there are many groups claiming to teach TSKSR that aren't.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
I see and that is a very valid point. Hence I took it upon myself to delve a bit deeper. I did check out whether they were "legitimate" or not and they seem to be. They post a lot of stuff on their public page but I managed to get access to their private page and spoke to the instructor. They train under Sugawara sensei who was given a training/teaching/transmission license by Otake sensei himself. Further, I found other related groups under Sugawara sensei associated with this group all over the US. It also looks like Mr Relnick is not the only one licensed to teach TSKSR in the US and has not been for a while (as they have been around for over 15 years now). Some in their group have also trained with Otake sensei.
Now Sugawara sensei also published the original "manual" for TSKSR authored by Otake sensei so I think they are quite legitimate.
Hope this helps.
Tom
This is an email they sent.
We are under Sugawara, Tetsutaka Sensei who began studying in 1975 and received his 'kyoshi' /instructors license in 1986 from Otake, Risuke Sensei. Sugawara Sensei is also 7th dan in Aikido and affiliated with Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
Hi Tom,
I think the Sugawara/Otake relationship is a bit more deep than it appears. I don't know a whole lot about it but one of the guys I study Jikishinkage-ryu with came from a Sugawara branch of Shinto-ryu (before studying Shinkage-ryu). The dojo politics of even ancient ryu like Shinto-ryu are often very complex. Just look at the thread on Hokushin Itto-ryu.
Christopher Covington
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu heiho
All views expressed here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the arts I practice, the teachers and people I train with or any dojo I train in.
Hi Christopher,
I completely agree. I have no idea about the relationship and no idea about whats going on there. I stated what I found out online and by a few email conversations with the members of the group. But the question I was trying to answer was about the legitimacy. And I think Sugawara Sensei is a legitimate instructor. No denying that.
Now regarding the politics, I will have to leave it to people much wiser than me to delve into and comment on.
Frankly I think we spend too much time debating legitimacy of the groups rather than training. I would prefer to stay out of the politics involved.
Thanks
Tom
Hi Brian
I think you posted this elsewhere as well...and I responded there but to re-state it..
Probably but I believe we were talking about them being legitimate...which they are...Besides one can always debate that they are both students of Otake sensei and hence both part of the mainline. Of course if Otake sensei were to make Mr. Relnick the next soke then his would be the mainline...Until then they are both part of the same organisation or am I wrong in my understanding of how the tradition is passed on?
Then again this is, as you pointed out, in the realm of politics and I know too little of the politics to state more...
If you are training under Mr. Relnick please know that I dont mean any disrespect. Personally I have not had the honour of training with either of these two excellent teachers but have heard great things about them. I am sure if they were to read these discussions, they might go...too much time wasted in discussions rather than training...Hence I would prefer to train and let them sort out what ever it is, if at all there is anything to sort out.
Thanks
Tom
A little bit. Otake Sensei is the mainline's shihan (chief instructor/master teacher), but the soke (hereditary headmaster) is Iizasa Soke.
No, I don't train under Relnick Sensei. I've met him a few times and have a great deal of respect for him, but I'm just an interested outsider. My comments were strictly of an academic intent for any interested readers.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
Sorry, but that is not true. Both the Narita (Otake) and the Kawasaki (Sugino) dojo are authorized by Iizasa Soke to teach Katori Shinto ryu. No Sugino-ha, no politics. At least not in Japan. To say that Mr. Relnick is the mainline is a well known result which occurs when people who are not affiliated to the school (and are living in Japan) try to make comments about the situation of the school.
Michael Reinhardt
Ah I see..My apologies. I meant the shihan-ke lineage and typed out "soke" instead...Yes best to focus on the training and good iai...But again they are there and I am sure the iai-jitsu of the TSKSR is as good as it gets ...afterall how many schools can claim to have tested their techniques in battle and survived....Also a -ha I believe is when the teacher modifies the original teachings and adds in his own understanding and modifications to create a slightly distinctive style but not all that different from the original...unless of course he modifies it such an extent that its very different from the original....I havent trained with these great teachers so I cannot comment on whether its a -ha or separate ryu or the original. But from the readings online, they all state they are transmitting/teaching TSKSR so I assume its not a -ha yet...but then we are outsides and only the Soke and these teachers would know...