Some of the most popular of classic fighting styles are those that teach classical weapons. The Japanese art of Shinkendo is one particular art and it serves the noble goal of preserving the apparently lost legacy of ancient sword fighting.
Shinkendo involves teaching the classical sword strategies of the samurai. Even though it's been several centuries since samurai warriors existed, their fighting style continues to be practiced even today. And although the sword strategies taught in Shinkendo aren't designed for use in self-defense situations, they give a number of other benefits. Mainly, while individuals who practice the art become proficient, their concentration skills and personal discipline are boosted.
The founder of this art is Toshishiro Obata and he learned ancient Japanese swordsmanship from a wide array of different styles. Just before he created Shinkendo, Obata was primarily a practitioner of Aikido. Because many Aikido moves can trace their origin to sword techniques, it would seem Obata widened his knowledge of Aikido by learning the art of the sword. In time, Obata mastered several more sword arts. In due course, he became an expert in the art of sword fighting.
As a result of his evident skill in the art of sword fighting, Obata was able to introduce his own martial art system. This system is, of course, Shinkendo which is translated as "Way of the Real Sword". You can actually interpret that translation in many ways. It can be defined as the "real" way of the way the art is to be practiced or it may also refer to the "honest effort" of studying swordsmanship and all the benefits that come forth with it.
Training in Shinkendo involves several classical learning techniques. These methods include forms training and one- and two-step fighting. Sword routines are also taught, including movements, drawing, and cutting objects. Students use a genuine sword for the cutting exercises For the other exercises, they use a wooden sword. This is to promote safety and protect against serious injuries in the course of training.
Coordination and precision are necessary in order to expertly handle a sword. Generally, novices ought to start slow and work on perfecting the basic moves before moving on the more intricate moves. You'll find it boring to do the basic swinging and drawing sword moves, but perfecting them is important as they are the foundation for the moves you're going to be doing as you advance in your Shinkendo training. With determination and training, the basic moves will become ingrained in you which means you should be able to use them reflexively and without thinking.
This kind of skill will not develop right away but the dedication required to become very talented will pay off in several rewarding ways. Not the least of which will be your ability to take pride in your accomplishments of learning a unique martial art style of historical and cultural origins.
Japanese sword instruction is a thing of a lifelong journey. Even the masters contemplate themselves to become humble students, continuously striving for perfection and always feeling that they can execute a cut cleaner, more quickly and with a lot more precision.
As such, even the basics are subject to continual refinement, and it really is most absolutely a journey greatest started out with proper instruction under the watchful eye of a certified teacher.
However for those who are curious as to what to anticipate inside a JSA (Japanese Sword Art) dojo, or other people having a purely academic interest, this post is in the really least, a tentative introduction to the mindsets and education methodologies in the arts as a entire.
Partially this can be accomplished for safety factors (right after all, its stands to cause that a dojo full of sword wielding students could be a unsafe spot to become!) and partially it is completed to cultivate the correct spirit of respect and reverence for the art and also the sword itself.
Shinkendo involves teaching the classical sword strategies of the samurai. Even though it's been several centuries since samurai warriors existed, their fighting style continues to be practiced even today. And although the sword strategies taught in Shinkendo aren't designed for use in self-defense situations, they give a number of other benefits. Mainly, while individuals who practice the art become proficient, their concentration skills and personal discipline are boosted.
The founder of this art is Toshishiro Obata and he learned ancient Japanese swordsmanship from a wide array of different styles. Just before he created Shinkendo, Obata was primarily a practitioner of Aikido. Because many Aikido moves can trace their origin to sword techniques, it would seem Obata widened his knowledge of Aikido by learning the art of the sword. In time, Obata mastered several more sword arts. In due course, he became an expert in the art of sword fighting.
As a result of his evident skill in the art of sword fighting, Obata was able to introduce his own martial art system. This system is, of course, Shinkendo which is translated as "Way of the Real Sword". You can actually interpret that translation in many ways. It can be defined as the "real" way of the way the art is to be practiced or it may also refer to the "honest effort" of studying swordsmanship and all the benefits that come forth with it.
Training in Shinkendo involves several classical learning techniques. These methods include forms training and one- and two-step fighting. Sword routines are also taught, including movements, drawing, and cutting objects. Students use a genuine sword for the cutting exercises For the other exercises, they use a wooden sword. This is to promote safety and protect against serious injuries in the course of training.
Coordination and precision are necessary in order to expertly handle a sword. Generally, novices ought to start slow and work on perfecting the basic moves before moving on the more intricate moves. You'll find it boring to do the basic swinging and drawing sword moves, but perfecting them is important as they are the foundation for the moves you're going to be doing as you advance in your Shinkendo training. With determination and training, the basic moves will become ingrained in you which means you should be able to use them reflexively and without thinking.
This kind of skill will not develop right away but the dedication required to become very talented will pay off in several rewarding ways. Not the least of which will be your ability to take pride in your accomplishments of learning a unique martial art style of historical and cultural origins.
Japanese sword instruction is a thing of a lifelong journey. Even the masters contemplate themselves to become humble students, continuously striving for perfection and always feeling that they can execute a cut cleaner, more quickly and with a lot more precision.
As such, even the basics are subject to continual refinement, and it really is most absolutely a journey greatest started out with proper instruction under the watchful eye of a certified teacher.
However for those who are curious as to what to anticipate inside a JSA (Japanese Sword Art) dojo, or other people having a purely academic interest, this post is in the really least, a tentative introduction to the mindsets and education methodologies in the arts as a entire.
Partially this can be accomplished for safety factors (right after all, its stands to cause that a dojo full of sword wielding students could be a unsafe spot to become!) and partially it is completed to cultivate the correct spirit of respect and reverence for the art and also the sword itself.
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