Rurouni Kenshin Schools and Techniques.

Good point. If i'm not mistaken (and most likely i am), Miyamoto Musashi mostly self trained, and he won over 60-70 duels.

 

The Art of Kenjutsu is, as you have stated, hugly dependent on meditation, the proper technique, and practice. Self trained Kenjutsu practictioners, true self trained practictioners, can only go on what to them seems rite and what they can conclude themselves. The one reason that self-trained Kenjutsu practictioners have such a high level of skill is that they have independantly aquired the knowledge the Kenjutsu master pass on to their students ( from demonstrations, philosiphies, examples, writen works, etc.) without the need for an instructer. Given, this methode of self-education can become somewhat tedious, it is none the less completely valid and, in some cases, prefered. Give Yahiko from the R.K series for example. Yahiko, though trained in the art of Kamia Kashine, he aquired a quite impressive skill for hiten mistsurugi by imatating Kenshin's moves in battle. This prosess, in this instant, can not be completely satisfactory since the timeing and mind processes have not been honed by individual training, but still it represents the conclusion that self-training, if done correctly, can produce equal results. Remember, this is primarily how Kenshin Himura himself learned; not by studying footwork of technique explanations, but by watching his master and meditating on the philosiphies and advice which he gave. (This means that the Hiten Mistsurugi Ryu that Kenshin learned is, in fact different from the one first developed because of the various modifications and differences in teaching by the consecutive masters.) Both of these facts are of the essence of self-trained practictioners. yes, a master instructer is always prefered, but self-training is a very close second. I, for example, started learning Kenjutsu (from a master) when I was 12. Before this, though, I had devoted years to studying the ideals, philospies, and heart of Kenjutsu, swordsmanship, Japaneese martial arts, and swords themselfs. When I arrived at my first Kenjustus lesson, there were, of coarse, one or to things that I was doing wrong,but from the most part the Master was very impressed at the depth in which I had already trained myself. This supports the point that you can't just meditate and go in the basment and swing a katana around, Kenjustu requires a special study just like any other subject in school. One must relize that when Kenjutsu was created, it was by someone who had to, in all actuallity, self-train. Granted they had previous knoledge of other fighting styles and granted that they had a given goal in which the invention of kenjutsu should fill, but beyond that it was there self training. It seems that the smarter, more resorcefull, and wiser you are, the easier it is to gain the knoledge and skill to self-train at anything. Now, I don't claim to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know I can hold my own with anyone anywhere, this probably contributing to my sucesess. Concludingly, yes, a master is prefered, but for some people who are ready for very hard work ( I'm speeking from experiance here) and the ability to study, watch, and basicly eat and breath Kenjutsu as I do, Self-training can be equally rewarding.
P.S I'm not trying to show off, but from my studies with my master, I have found that Carring a Katana actually begins to feel necisary ( kind of like your naked without it) Now I don't bring it to school or anything, but lets just say that most days, I could be arrested for the posestion of a conceled weapon.

 

True Kenjutsu is passed on from one person to the next. although thought and meditation are necessary, the main and most important part in the learning process is sight. every school is taught by watching someone move and make strikes and defends strikes. although teaching through word of mouth is in the sense, practical, teaching throuh example is much more effective. take a kenjutsu school. the master will often have several "shihandai" or assisstant masters, they will move through the class and help where needed, but the main focus is still on the sensei. his movements are imitated by the class, hence learning by sight. visual reproduction, or the art of imitation is what spawned and continues to hold Kenjutsu and orther forms of martial arts alive. in any given martial art or perhaps even something as simple as making tea is learned faster by watching someone else do it. from a very young age, i first saw someone using a Nihontou. i of course ran home and used a stick to imitate his movements and other such things that i thought would work. obviously, my movements were clumsy and unguided, but i had set on the fact that although i didnt know what i was doing, to some extent i had begun to learn Kenjutsu. years have passed now, and although i have had no previous training with a sensei, i have still proven myself over and over again, that i can and do know how to use a Nihontou. ive defeated many "kenshi" from varying school and other sword arts, and while i dont claim to know everything, i believe myself to be an example that one can learn to do something without being "trained" in it. H,M,R Master, is someone that i have great respect for because he has learned the true essence of Kenjutsu. its greatest purpose is to defeat and not be defeated in battle. truly, Kenjutsu is based on the fact that someone with a weapon is going to attack you and you must do whatever it takes to win. now of course being unfair, such cases being, using a gun, blinding your opponent with sand or perhaps the sun reflected off your blade, the outcome is still the same in its most primal and perhaps, unevolved form, to win. something that many forget is that in battle, ettiquite is lost and kata forgotten and only one thing prevails over all, to win.

obviously, one could self train for many years but until you can defeat your opponent all youve done is swung a piece of steel. obviously, not all will succed in self training but one must also remember that, in all forms of training whether or not its under a master, hard work and dissapointment will always be there. its not unusual to lose, its how we learn. when you lose, you will see why you lost and improve in that area, whether it be a simple mis guided movement or perhaps something as big as not watching your opponent well enough. through these things mistakes are watched and soon youll begin to see what it takes to not make those mistakes. now you cant just pick up a sword and go out into the world and say your the best, it takes many many years to self train. because you dont have a formal master, you have to constantly train and critique yourself. im almost 20 now i started when i was very young and i still cant say that ive gotten very far.

H,M,R Master, when you start training in Kenjutsu, you learn very fast that your sword needs to become part of you. in the same sense as the Samurai considered their swords to be their souls, so should we carry our's with the same respect and awe. im almost 20 now and i still carry my sword all the time. i never stop practicing and i never lay down my sword without respect. and i know what you mean about feeling naked without it. it feels as if a part of me is gone. its an interesting feeling and one that i think defines the difference between true kenshi and people who claim they are kenshi.



As for Musashi Miyamoto, he was completely self trained. from the age of 13 he began his walk a Swordsman. at 13 he beat a man to death with a wooden pole. during his life he fought in over 60 duels never losing a single one. after his 60th duel he put down his katana and began carrying a bokken. even then he killed his greatest rival, Sasaki Koujirou*. now do take note that Sasaki Koujirou may never have really existed, but Musashi Miyamoto was real and an excellent swordsman trained on his own with out a master.

*Sasaki Koujirou was supposedly trained in Tomita Ryuu and was accredited with many duels. his favorite technique was called Tsubame-Gaeshi and was a technique where the katana is brought down and up in a very fast vertical cut. it was so fast that it was said to resemble a swallow in flight.

 

thats right. Everyting you said is right. When I started my Kenjutsu training (with a insructer) i was soo thankfull that I had to no more lay in bed at night after a long day of practice wondering if I would reach my dreams of being a great Kenjutsu master one day. Sometimes I would get sad for days. Then, it all changed. I got a Kenjutsu master and I always knew that from that point on, I was nomore alone. The thing I did not know is that I watched so many films, saw so many demonstrations, and done my homework soo well that the master of my Kenjutsu class was wondering who I had for a previous master! I know results like this are usually not typical, but I can only hope that my determination and insanly hard work finnally had paid off. Now, even though I have a Kenjutsu master, I still teach myself. its realy a delicate art, one that goes back as far as the age of Japan itself. the thing is that I understand what the sword is about, and at the end of the day, anything is possible and there realy is not limit to what I can do, or at least thats what I have myself fooled into thinking.

 

although i dont claim from a school of Kenjutsu, i feel a sense of accomplishment with my Kenjutsu because of my victory over many different Kenshi from different school and even victory over fencers and even Chinese sword arts. and while i cannot claim to ever have been trained by a master i can claim without shame to be a student of Kenjutsu and that i am a swordsmen of worth. which i think is very important to someone who is a self trainer.

one of the greatest people that i look up to is Musashi Miyamoto because of the fact that he had absolutely no formal training and yet was one of histories greatest swordsmen. and while i know that not everyone can become an accomplished swordsmen merely by self training, i do believe that by my accomplishments that i am following in his footsteps.

i even carry a katana patterned after his. a daito with a long handle and the famous two ring tsuba. made by China's best swordsmith, Paul Chen. i have two swords that are very similar to his, the first is the aforementioned daito which is called simply the "Musashi Miyamoto" and the second is a steel iaito called the Gorin Iaito and is also patterned after his blade.

 

I self train in Kenjutsu aswell, but lately i haven't been able to, cuz my doc said to stop, (darn back). Anyways, i don't claim to understand Kenjutsu aswell as u guys do, but i am learning as much as i can. I have my own bokken, and it's become a close parter. Although i would like to get a nihontou, no other blade could replace it.

 

your bokken must be more than just a close partner to you. the sword is the soul of the samurai. its existance is something that must become part of you. it must be a physical and spiritual extension of your body. you must understand it to unparalelled exactness. you must know it as well as you know your own hands.

in the hands of the samurai, the Nihontou was literally their life. they lived and breathed by the sword. the very core of their being was intertwined with the sword. very simply it was part of them, just like you wouldnt leave your without your hands or your feet, so they wouldnt leave without their swords.

the sword was more important to the samurai then even their families. there was a time when the wife of a samurai couldnt even touch the scabbards with their bare hands.

in short, your sword whether it be a bokken or a sword made by one the "living legends" of Japan, it must be a part of you and it must be something that is honored.

 

I know. I said partner because i'm not exactly there yet. I know the feeling of my bokken, the balance, the connection, but it's not that deep yet. I should say that i'm 16, and have only been training for about 3-4 years on and off because of my busy work schedule. Besides, if you seek mastery of the sword, you should first seek sincerity of the heart, cuz the former is a reflection of the latter.

 

Iwakura Yoshinori Of Yagyu Ryuu.

interesting, may i ask if youve read any of the texts from Yagyu Ryuu?

as for training, even with work its important to practice a lot. everyday regardless of what has happened that day, i practice for a minimum of two hours. even when im sick i sit and meditate on different aspects of Kenjutsu as well as philosophy.

 

Even if i make the time, i still wouldn't be able to do anything phisical, cuz i have a deformity in my lower back, and my docter said no more untill i have surgery. no heavy lifting, no extreme movement, or anything that could screw my back up anymore worse then it already is. IT SUCKS! (i didn't get it because of martial arts, it's sort of ginetic)

Acctually, i don't remember where i got that. I've been studing philosophy long before i started to study any form of martial arts.

 

hmmm...
well that certainly does put a fix in your plans...well...lifes like that i suppose. there are many accounts of swordsmen still fighting even after losing an arm or losing an eye but obviously thats a bit different. eitherway, youll eventually be able to resume training and its important that you never forget what youve learned in the mean time.

hmmm....i read that in a text on Yagyu Ryuu, but i also found it in a book on Bokken technique. written by...Dave Lowry of Yagyu Shinkage Ryuu. a very good book with some very good points on Kenjutsu.

 

I am 15 and have been whole heartedly practicing the art of Kenjutsu since I was exactly 8 years old. Though I am not japaneese (native born of Miami) I started at the young age of 8 because my uncle saw it fit to teach me. Well, I have come a very long way since those days, but I can be the first to agree with Hitokiri_Gensai that at least two hours a day in necisary. With school, it is somehow hard,but on the other hand it is not for me. Even with one sport, I find plenty of time to practice at least 2 hours a day and still have time for homework ( on the weakdays that is). On the weekends, though, I practice for about 8 hours. Now, this may seem a little drastic, but I disagree. You see, 8 hours for two days in a row is not very much when I concider that being a Kenjutsu master is going to be my job one day. Really, its the only thing I'm good at, and I exept that its god's little way of showing me my destiny. From the time I was 8 years old, all i wanted to do was own a dojo in Japan, nothing could compare to it.
Secondly, I can decisevly speek for anyone I know when I back up the statment by Hitokiri_Gensai that your sword needs ( in a pirtual, and physical since) needs to be an exact extention of your body. When I started training with my uncle when I was 8, I started with the Katana I use now. Yes, it was heavy and yes it was a bit long, but it was necessary. My Uncle seemed to know only too well that a bond with the sword takes time. In fact ( believe it or not, I don't care) the first practice of Kenjutsu I ever had, my Uncle cut my forarm of my drawing arm on the blade of my katana and rubed the drops of blood over the blade. Though this is a private practice of my uncles and now mine, I accept it as completly valid. Doing this passing of blood, as my mentor said, symbolizes the complete bond with the sword that was, at that point, just beginning. From that moment on, that sword has been my very being and realy my most valueble posestion, I neve go anywhere without at least bringing the saya ( wich can actually be used as a defensive wepon). The blade you wield must be as unique and skilled as the one who wields it. All of the blood, sweat, and tears I have spilt on that sword during practicing only adds to its bond with me. Actually, its kind of hard to describe the feeling. As I have said before, that faitfull day one my 8th birthday was realy the end of my childhood and the changing of my life forever. From that point on I would be learning how to kill, no matter what art it was or the beutiful name, the practice of Kenjutsu will always be killing. And kill, as you know, is deffinatly not a childs job. The good thing that came from that day, though is the feeling that I had a missing piece added to me that could never be taken away. From that time on, if I did my part, I would always be proud to have the very most inner part of me be the sword, and the protection that can come from Kenjutsu.

 

its interesting to think that ive practiced with the sword for well over 7000 hours. and yet its merely a light session in consideration to a true Samurai. in the time when the Samurai were the true fighting force of Japan, they would train for hours on end. sometimes up to 5 in a single day. and with consideration to the fact that they had no other profession other than a swordsmen, it was simply part of their life and nothing more. they had other tasks and other things to learn but this was all simply rolled into the training of a Samurai. from Tea ceromony to flower arranging it was all part of the learning process that would span a life time. so, im reality, where we practice 2 maybe 3 hours a day, a samurai would never stop practicing, every day was spent practicing, and while there were times of relaxation (its fully necessary for the human mind and body to have periods to relax) they spent a huge amount of time studying and practicing and meditating. to steal a line from "The Last Samurai", "From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to whatever it is they pursue". it is this pursuit that is perhaps the difference between a swordsmen and a true Kenshi.

 

I think i'm begining to understand more by when u said my sword needs to be apart of me, an extension of myself. I haven't been training at all lately, and i'm starting to feel something is missing, like i'm naked. Luckely i finally had some free time, so I started to practice a lil bit (moving slow, as to not hurt myself), and it all felt right. :anger2: now i feel like i'm braging.

When i was much younger, i used to imitate movement of characters i saw in movies and tv. Star Wars, anime, Hercules (don't ask), Zatoichi, Rocketeer (again, don't ask) and many others, but mostly lines, acting out scenes, ect... I self trained most of the time in Kenjutsu, and hand-to-hand, but of course i had no idea what the heck i was doing . When i was about 14 i started training in Isshinryu Karate and Philipino Stick Fighting at the local Karate Dojo. I wanted to learn alil bit more of hand-to-hand combat so that I could get a better hold on martial arts, but Philipino Stick Fighting combined so well with Isshinryu, that i started to learn that as well. The school i go to (or at least will be returning to) doesn't teach Kenjutsu, but i did continue self training in Kenjutsu. When i finish recovering from my sugery (and hopefully with a few less pounds), i'm going straight back there!

 

Self training requires you to push yourself hard. very hard. its the only way for you to grasp the difference between swinging a stick around and wielding a blade. for two hours i stood in the pouring rain in the middle of the winter, (its a warm winter this year...unfortunetly...no snow just very cold rain), for the purpose of meditating and also not allowing things around me to distract me. The rain is extremely cold this time of year and when its pouring its almost like falling through a frozen lake. but you have to stand firm and not let the rain distract what your focusing on.

 

Ya, I know what u mean. But what the heck did u mean by stick? It may be made out of wood, but it's still my sword. It may not be able to cut, but it's a just as dangerous. It's become appart of me, and no other sword can replace it. I have trained hard. I may not be able to do it constantly, but hard is how I train. I have learned the diffrence, and there is no substitute for something that u call ur own. Something that u can't replace that easly, if at all, like an arm or a leg. I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm not mocking ur blade. You may not have meant it to be mean, but it is my blade we're talking about.

 

i wasnt mocking your bokken, believe me. i carry my bokken more than i carry my Shinken. i meant that there is a difference between a child playing with a stick and a true swordsmen. and pushing yourself will show you the difference between them.

 

oh :sad: sorry. I've just been having a really bad day today. I do understand the diffrence though.

 

first of all, hmr master ive sent u 2 messages, pls reply, 2 ive been practicin 4 only a yr and sum of the moves r simple n sum rnt, now i kno its impossible to do the kuzu ryu sen but i found a way around it, if ne one wants to know. i still need a few hints on how to practice if ne one wants to help i'd b much obliged, here's more or less my ?'s:

1) during the 2 n 8 hour practices(4 hmr master only), wut do u do exactly
2)shuld u use a real katana or a bamboo sword to practice w/
3)is it a good idea to practice only or w/ sum1 else, like in battle 4 practice
4) ne certain meditation types that help
5)wut r good warm up practices

ill post more questions if i have em, thanx

 

For the most part, training with a bokken is a good idea. especially when your a beginner. as for Bamboo swords, otherwise known as Shinai, they tend to be extremely light and because of this weightlessness, they can encourage hitting rather than cutting. With my students i have them use Bokken, simply because i think they're a better training weapon. they're weighted similarly to a Shinken and they also have oval grips like a Shinken.

as for sparring, its a necessary part of training but for a beginner its best to stick to solo practice.

its hard for me as a "sensei" to reccomend any certain forms of meditation. i would recommend meditating on focusing...simply because the better focused you are the better prepared you will be for a duel.

as for warm up excercises...i would practice stances, and basic cuts and if your practicing it, walking in the Iaigoshi form.