Ka Muso Kai

Upcoming Training Dates

2011-10-30T16:43:00.002-06:00

There will be no class on December 3rd.

Our last class for this year will be December 17th.

We will return to class on January 7th, 2012.

Thanks everyone.
Chris

Training in Iaido

2011-10-10T14:14:00.002-06:00

Hello All!

Well, its been a long time in coming, but I think thats its time that I post on this site and discuss this wonderful art that I have recently discovered.

I am writing this mostly for those that wish to begin in Iaido. Because although there is a lot of information out there, I am going to use this time to write about my experiences with Iaido and what it has done for me.

A little bit about me. I love martial arts. I have my whole life. I have taken so many different arts that its ridiculous. However, the ones that I've stuck with mostly are of chinese origin. I have taken Gung-fu in a couple of different styles for several years now. In my attempts to discover the 'one' martial art for me, I have concluded what many have said all along...they are all excellent and I wish I would have just stuck with one or two different styles from the beginning.

What led me to Iaido was a need to learn more about the sword arts. I have always loved the Katana and the mystery surrounding this sword. It is absolutely beautiful and at first, I just wanted to maybe begin collecting them. However, I decided that if I was going to collect them I wanted to also know how to use one.

I found the club here in Calgary and went to my first class to just watch after contacting Sensei Gilham. Well...this was just it. I didnt expect much upon going to the class? I was excited to go of course, but for whatever reason I went with a lot of trepidation? But for me, I have to tell you...I loved that first class! And I have since totally enjoyed continuing down this journey of Iaido. Because in the short 4 months that I have been there, my own interpretation of the art has changed a ton!

Today, I'm just going to write to you about my first class, the one that I initially just watched. I did this for several reasons. I first wanted to see how the class was instructed by Sensei Gilham but I also wanted to see exactly what I might be getting myself into! How glad I am that I went to that first class.

Sensei Gilham and the rest of the members of the club were more than welcoming. I remember just sitting and watching the class. It was amazing to me. The precise movements of everyone in the class. The 'swoosh' of the sword through the air. The silence in the dojo. It was peaceful to me. I was entranced. And I know it sounds crazy, but I wanted so much to join.

So I was hooked the moment I heard the noise that the Katana made while it sliced through the air. Thats the simple truth. I had a rush of adrenaline pour through me. I do not know why? I have felt it before...I used to be an EMT. So I was well aware of the sensation. I just knew that I needed to explore it more.

Sounds cheesy I know but its what it was for me. As I found out later, making that sound with the sword is oh so much harder than it looks. But that was my hook in the beginning. And I guess thats whats important. What made me want to get up and go to class? It was the sound of the Katana, but it was also the fact that I was holding and learning how to use this insturment of war. The almost 'coolness' of it all. And yet heres the thing. It is something that I didnt pick up on until a few weeks into my training. It wasnt all about the visceral sensations. There was something so much more that I was slowly beginning to see. It is something that became more important than swinging the sword around and learning the amazing Kata that I am a part of now. It was that I was getting more in touch with me, my center, my soul in a way. It is hard to explain...but everytime I leave class I feel rejuvinated and a sense of peace.

Its crazy! Because here I am learning about how to defend myself with an antiquated weapon in this day and age? Yet, I was walking away with a huge sense of well being, peace, calm, and overall happiness. And my journey has only yet begun. I am so grateful for finding this club to be a part of. It has become a major part in my life. I try to practice 2-3 times per week. Believe me, that is difficult enough when raising a family. But the truth is that I wish I could train more. If I miss it, I feel that loss during the week.

If anyone is reading this and thinking of training...I urge you to give it a try. But give it a real go. Really 'see' what it offers. I know that if you take a good hard look, you won't be dissapointed. For my Sensei and club mates I only want to say thank you so much. All of you have made this a wonderful journey for me so far and I am deeply honoured to be training with all of you.

Ill write some more in the future as things come to me.

Anyways, for all of those looking to take this martial art. I wanted to write about my first experience. Thats just it! I keep coming to an amazing club where I am taught about the art of drawing the sword. Its fantastic!

Jodo Training

2011-10-02T08:07:00.001-06:00

We will now have 'official' Jodo training nights, once per month which will occur Saturday nights from 7:30 - 9 pm at our usual training location.

Alex Cook will be leading these classes. He will be joining us from out of town so we deeply appreciate his time!

Our first official Jodo classes will be October 29 and December 3.

Chris

2011 AGM and Board of Directors

2011-09-18T10:06:00.000-06:00

Thanks much to the board of 2010 for their support of our club!
Welcome to the new board!

Chris Gilham - President
Alexander Cook - Treasurer
Sohail Thaker - Secretary
Keith Simpson - Director
Riun Rabatach - Director

The Board will be meeting in six months time to create an action plan for our annual summer seminar.

Chris

Updates!

2011-05-29T21:14:00.002-06:00

Congratulation to Colin Pitman for successfully passing his 3rd dan test in Iaido!

Way to go Colin!

Our summer seminar details and registration form are now updated on the website.

Much thanks to Alexander Cook for applying for the CKF development fund.

His work was successful which means we have been provided with funds to help defer some of the costs of having Kim Taylor sensei come here this summer and instruct us.

Thank you Alex!

I removed the club brochure from the website - the training dates on it caused confusion with potential new students. I updated our web page to show that we train Saturday nights year-round.

I also updated the instructors bios to reflect Colin's new rank and as well as his status as a student and Alexander's status as a working engineer. Times have a changed eh boys!

Welcome to our newest member Riun!

As usual, I will be absent all of July.

Keith, Joe and Alexander will be instructing during this month.

Much thanks and see you at training!

Chris

Non-profit status

2011-01-16T18:22:00.002-07:00

Thanks to Alex for doing the necessary paperwork to once again maintain our non-profit status in Alberta.

CKF Fees are due now!

2011-01-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

The CKF has a new website design worth checking out.
Also, they are asking for all members to pay their dues before mid-February.
Please folks, go online and pay your dues.
http://kendo-canada.com/
Look under membership info...

Thanks!
Chris

Ka Muso Kai Wolfeville?

2011-01-09T08:15:00.001-07:00

We met up with Joe last night for sushi and atsukan.
He is doing very well with his new life in residence at Acadia University.

He tells us he has finally got space for training (and teaching) at Acadia University.
Excellent!
So, as a small way of strategically pressuring him to get things going, I've posted this blog.

We miss you Joe and wish you the best this year with your studies AND your martial arts training
and teaching. Please let us know the details for your training times and fees, etc.

Chris

Anticipation's reflective action

2011-01-09T08:11:00.001-07:00

2010 was a very difficult year for club membership.
This phenomenon occured nation wide in the CKF.
Being at training when so few show up can be difficult for some.
I love it because I get to train however, it's more important for us to have active members in training.

Last night Nathan and I reflected on those difficulties.
We were quickly able to reframe our reflection on the richness of our club
and the events we have been a part of:

-We are now in our 6th year!
-Yamamoto sensei has been to our club!
-Watkin sensei has been to our club three times and has taught us Niten and Kage ryu!
-Taylor sensei has been to our club three times and some of us are now ranked in Jodo!
-One of us now lives in Japan!
-Nathan is moving to Japan (congrats Nate)!
-Several of us have earned our undergrad and grad degrees throughout these past few years while maintaining our training!
-Ka Muso Kai Saskatoon came to be!
-We have had 4 summer seminars with people coming from as far away as Florida, USA!
-Some of us have moved from pure beginners, to beginners with Nidans and Sandans!
-We have attended the yearly Guelph seminar almost every year since we started!

We have much to reflect on that speaks exceptionally well of our time together. This opens up anticipation for what may yet come to pass for us. Regardless of numbers, the richness of our experiences in the arts, then, now and future is what matters.

Besides, 2011 is safe: the rent is totally paid :-)

Come train!

Chris

2011 Board of Directors

2011-01-09T08:00:00.002-07:00

2010 - 2011 Board of Directors

President - Chris Gilham

Secretary - Keith Simpson

Treasurer - Alexander Cook

Director - Paul Hrynyszyn

Director - Sohail Thaker

Saskatoon - Colin Pitman

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy and excellent 2011.

I'm looking forward to our new training schedule - Saturday nights from 6 - 9 pm - starting January 8.

Check out this extraordinarily cool video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rDJkjI13HA&feature=player_embedded

One of the early versions of the ZenKen Iai (once known as the seitei iai).
Also, please note the video on MSR there too.
Both videos speak to how rigid the ZenKenIai has become, in my opinion.
You can see how infused this more original version of ZenKenIai is with the koryu which constituted it.

Thanks to Nathan also for reminding me to get back to blogging here a little more in the New Year.
Send me your updates too and I'll be sure to post them!

Best wishes.
Chris

Welcome new members!

2010-09-18T13:39:00.000-06:00

September has seen us grow in membership.
Welcome to Tim, Paul and Adrianne!

Expertise and Practice Groups

2010-08-29T19:52:00.000-06:00

For the electronic record, let this act as witness to our club's official status in the arts we mention on our website, just in case (and these cases too often arise) someone thinks we're making claims to expertise we shouldn't be:

I have expertise in Iaido. I have no qualms calling myself an instructor in iaido and taking the lead on instruction in our club.

As for the other arts in our club, they are practice groups, which is to say, although there is/are people in the club who are more experienced than others and thus teach the arts, they are not instructors in these arts, at least not in the sense of having aged over time and training with the arts. Their apprenticeships in the arts have been brief. We work hard to sustain what we have learned and to continue to expose ourselves to the leaders in these arts BUT we are not sensei in these arts like I 'might' be considered a sensei in Iaido. I lived and trained in Japan for 4 years with one sensei and I've been at it consistently for 15 years now. The other arts of our club have seen us exposed once or twice a year for a few years now, for several days at a time, to top leaders in the arts. One of us recently lived for one month with one of the sensei: a definitely intense training period if one were to spread his training time out over our regular training calender. And yet, we are all still just students in practice groups in these arts.

Jodo is mainly taught by myself but several of us are similarly ranked and experienced.
Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu is led by Alex Cook.
Kage Ryu is led by Nathan Morrison.
If Kyudo comes back (we have the equipment!) that woud be led by Sohail Thaker (because David is off to Japan)

There you have it. Iaido is our claim to expertise in our club. The other arts are practice groupings.

Off they go...to return

2010-08-29T19:38:00.001-06:00

Joe is off to the East Coast, to Acadia University, to be precise, to begin his post secondary education, and all that entails (I shall live through his tales to be told!). As Yoda might have said, "Miss him, we will."
Just as I've missed Colin and Alex and others who have become part of our family and have moved on. It's very rewarding to see the young grow as they do, to be a part of their lives, their growth. It's more rewarding to have them come back from time to time - to check in - to show care for those of their past, who in most respects, are always with them, a part of the woven fabric of their lives.
So, Joe is off and I'm both sad and happy at once. Life's complexity makes it worth dwelling upon, I think. Joe, like the others on their paths now, have in many ways moved beyond the intentions I had for them in training. They have not yet met me on equal ground in Iaido however, in many related and other areas, they are my teachers. Thank goodness for the young! Already, I see their ability to teach, to evaluate self and others, to ask questions and think about their arts, as ways of being in the world that require me to re-think, ask again, continue to keep a beginner's mind on its perpetual path of knowing.
They leave and return in cycles reminding me of the work involved in getting to be senior in the art, relatively speaking: I too must always return to a place that keeps me (re-)connected, in order to stay on the path of knowing.
See you when you make it back Joe!
Miss you, I will.

How to Tie Your Sword Bag

2010-08-22T15:10:00.007-06:00

I had a profound realization today while I was practicing suburi with my iaito and watching Chefs vs City. I realized that I didn't actually know how to properly tie my sword bag! Wuh? I had always just improvised some quick method so I could get out the door and grab an Aero Chocolate McFlurry before I headed home.

So today, while I was watching Red Cliff pt. 2 (big day amirite?), I thought I would look online and see if there was a particular method to tie the swordbag. I came up with this website.

Though they use a tanto in their example, the same method applies to any sword bag.

Hope this helps you as much as it has helped myself.

See ya'll, Thursday!

Joe

September to June schedule

2010-08-20T13:40:00.001-06:00

See our main page for the new schedule for September to June.
Senior students will teach (and train) mainly the Seitei Iai on Thursday nights.
I will train and teach both Seitei and Koryu Iai on Saturdays, as well as Jodo.
Niten and Kage ryu will be offered both training days depending on who is present to instruct and practice.

Thanks.
Chris

Delta West Academy Jodo training

2010-08-20T13:36:00.000-06:00

Pictures of our training with the students at Delta West are now posted online.
They were eager and intense groups.
It is very rewarding to see young people improve so quickly at endeavours, especially when
they are keen to do well.
Perhaps we planted a few seeds which may one day bud and blossom into martial artists!

Thanks to Sohail and Amanda for their support during our training!

Chris

Volunteering for 2010 - 2011

2010-08-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

Despite what should be an insanely busy schedule starting September, I've committed myself and anyone else in the club (or outside of it!) to volunteer once again at the Calgary InterFaith Foodbank.
This will happen once again, the second Tuesday of every month from September to June.
I'll be sure to contact club members before each night to see who might join me.

I'm glad I've set this up again because I have always felt really positive after volunteering.
Hope you might join us and share in that hope.

Chris

Reflections on our 4th Annual Summer Seminar

2010-08-19T09:51:00.004-06:00

The family resemblances among the martial arts of Japan continues to remind me of the importance of lineage.
We would not be able to experience this genealogy among the arts we practice quite so directly, I think, without there having been those who have gone before us and on down the line, attempting to keep the schools alive. I say this with goodwill, for there are those who abuse and misunderstand lineage and also those who disparage its worth.
The consistency of fundamentals between schools like the Kage, Muso Shinden, Hyoho Niten Ichi and seitei jo (SMR) are a testament to the importance of lineage. Of course, the goodwill I speak of includes headmasters who chose their successors wisely, believing that the fundamentals of the arts would continue to be transmitted.
Our weekend seminar drove the above idea home for me, in part thanks to Taylor sensei's thoughts about lineage and proficiency, thoughts I believe are largely grounded in a view of the arts as utilitarian, as proficient, as pragmatic: they need to kill. Lineage as transmission requires the transmitters to have understanding and proficiency, however far that can be tested without actually engaging in the acts of violence they have been based upon. It is too simple to debunk lineage as a homily to one's abilities or lack thereof, exclusively. So, when Yamamoto sensei tells me about the time Mitsuzuka sensei came to him, after three years of training together six and sometimes seven nights per week, and told him to leave, to go start his own dojo, because he was ready for this, I believe I have been witness to hearing about an act of inheritance. An inheritance based on the wisdom of Mitsuzuka sensei, perhaps a wisdom developed through his relationship with Danzaki and Hakudo. This is the goodwill I carry in talking about lineage. When the day comes for me to tell my students to get lost, it will be because I believe I've got some insight into their preparedness to carry on the fundamentals of Muso Shinden we have been given from Yamamoto sensei. That's important, I think. And this wouldn't happen if I didn't believe the youth around me were going to surpass me.

Moving on...

A student made a comment very similar to a comment I made many years ago when I first moved to Japan. I understand that comment now, in both contexts. The comment, then and now, was to the effect that our visiting instructors gave so much detail, so much in depth instruction, that it surpassed what we were typically used to. Hmmm. Yes, this is why the young need the old, and why we must all embrace being beginners. And we must also, at the same time, not forget the depth of instruction we have already received, and are yet to receive. Visiting instructors open the flood gates usually, because of the limited time they have with us. They also give understanding that the home instructor will take this information and decide how best to bring that to students, case by case. There is also care and caution needed, and I have been very guilty of this over the years, to not forget the reasons already explained in detail, for the things we do. How we hold information and express it in the arts is one of the most difficult tasks there is, I believe. I struggle with this all the time! I try to whyle away on new information. Dwell on it, roll it around, think about it, remembers what came before, compare, assimilate, throw away. In short, do what Foucault and Kant and many other great minds have asked us to do as we live in the world 'Dare to know!' So, years ago when I unintentionally disparaged my first sensei while training in a dojo in Japan, I did not consider that I was there because of him, and that I was being told what I was being told because of him. Today, I can still do a pretty solid front kick, and that's because of him.

I'm deeply grateful for the patience and persuasion of those around me. Without doubt, Taylor sensei and Watkin sensei are living treasures of martial being. We are honoured and privileged to have them with us every year. We continue to grow because of them. And while we grow we must continue to think for ourselves, as they would expect of us. They are where they are because of such thinking. Thankfully, lineage has brought us all full circle, I believe. The fundamentals are there - they are the same - and so we continue to polish ourselves on the same stones, sometimes guided by different hands.

I look forward to our training in September and bringing into the fold of our lives that which has been shared with us this past weekend.

Chris

Pictures!

2010-08-02T20:49:00.000-06:00

Notice the changes?
A mini-slideshow and a link to public folders with lots of pictures of us over the years.
Enjoy!

Chris

Introduction to Iaido Article

2010-07-23T12:27:00.000-06:00

Rhona-Mae, former student of ours, recently published an online article about Iaido:
http://martialarts.suite101.com/article.cfm/iaido---the-art-of-traditional-japanese-swordmanship

Check it out!

Well done Rhona-Mae!

Chris

Summer schedule

2010-06-18T19:20:00.002-06:00

July and August

Thursdays
6-9 pm: all arts

September - June 2011
Thursdays 6 - 9 pm
Saturdays 8 - 11 am

Grading: Coveting, Pride and Perseverence

2010-06-02T09:51:00.002-06:00

Kim Taylor sensei sent me this link very shortly after I recently failed my first attempt at fifth dan in iaido.
http://social-issues.org/community/node/255
It is interesting and worth reflecting on.
It is also brief, and in its briefness runs the risk of simplifying what it is to persevere with iaido, versus persevering with standardization and gradings. I believe that the two, although complexly connected, do not need to be in order for one to persevere with iaido.

Persevering in iaido does not require one to grade.
My dear friend, Nobushima san, has been practicing Iaido in the Koganei Iaido Group in Tokyo, Japan for more than twenty years. Our sensei is Yamamoto, Shotaro and his sensei was Mitsuzuka, Takeshi, and so forth goes our lineage. This lineage is quite direct to some of the more infamous sources of modern swordsmanship, including the standardized forms of the All Japan Kendo Federation. Training with Yamamoto sensei is an experience close to the primary sources of modern iaido. Despite 20 years of training close to this source, Nobushima san has never graded. He is opposed to gradings. He is also an excellent technician in iaido, and his knowledge of the sword and Japanese culture and history, continues to amaze me to this day. I always learn something new from our ongoing correspondence. I suggest that Nobushima san defines perseverence in iaido. I suggest that he surpasses it in his steadfast position on standardization and gradings and unswerving loyalty to Yamamoto sensei and his teachings.
I will not grade again in iaido until I find the humility to fully submit to the wishes of the Canadian sensei. My grading failure was a failure of pride, I believe. Technically, I believe I was at a fifth dan level for Canadian Iai. Also, my contribution to Iaido in the CKF, in the local region of Calgary through our club events, volunteering, summer seminars, and article writing is appropriate, I believe. But I fail on giving up fully to the Canadian and visiting sensei. I respect them deeply. I listen to them when they advise, but I do not submit fully. I do not submit fully because there are fundamentals of iai I have been given by Yamamoto sensei that I will not give up. And there are variations on a theme that should not require change for the sake of interpretation. I am not in the state of mind to be a mini-version of the iai of other sensei. I once did that when I travelled across Japan visiting various dojo. When I returned to my dojo in Tokyo and began practicing iaido in front of Yamamoto sensei he asked me where I had learned what I was doing. I told him where I had picked up various tips and interpretations of the seitei iai. This was the only time I saw him angry. He told me that I did not understand the heart of budo. This painful experience which happened beyond my wanting and doing, beyond my expectation, revealed that there is a knowledge about budo practice which precedes a standardized set, which I think can sometimes get lost in the striving to do what everyone else is doing.

So I covet what has been given to me, what I worked for while I lived in Japan (1996-2000). I treasure my lineage and the fundamentals within that lineage. It is more important to me than the yearly shifts in standardized iaido that come about once a year to Canada. I am passionate about iaido and I persevere in Iaido and I give to my students what has been given to me.

But this course is a fine balance between doing what is best for my students to progess in gradings, and sustain what Yamamoto sensei has given me. Last year while visiting he implored me to grade for the sake of my students. So I did. And I submitted to the weekend interpretations given us by the president of the iaido division of the ZNKR. I did my best to submit, despite not wanting to, despite not liking the idea that I was performing variations on themes, variations that arise every year with every new and ongoing interpretation. No wonder I failed.

Now, we must connect with the Canadian sensei more if we wish to progress in the CKF. We will. I will do this for my students, and for my iaido. As for grading in iaido for another attempt at 5th dan - I may - and I also may not. I'm not ready to fully submit as is necessarily required within standardization. Until I am, my responsibility is to balance this standard with my learning from Yamamoto sensei. Perhaps I will ultimately end up on a similar path to Nobushima san. Taylor sensei was right when he told me that my issue is not with sensei but with the idea of a standardized set. Perhaps in the near future I will share my concerns with standardization. For now, being like Nobushima san would be to persevere in iaido, and this is what I have done for 15 years, and hope to do for life, whether or not I grade.

Most would agree that Iaido is a means of self-understanding. I would like to think that this post reflects an ongoing commitment to that arduous, ongoing, ceaseless, often troubling task.

Chris

Long weekend schedule

2010-05-08T06:33:00.002-06:00

There will be no training on Thursday, May 20 and Saturday, May 22.

Updates and Training Reflection

2010-04-26T22:07:00.000-06:00

May 13th, Sushi Ichiban. 7:30 pm. Todd's farewell dinner.

Hope to see you there.

Tonight was the last Monday night training. Sayonara. Ogenki de...

For May and June we are now Thursday nights and Saturday mornings.

July and August training day and time is now established: Thursdays from 6- 9 pm. Keith and Nathan will take care of things for July while I'm away.

No other training days for those months except our Summer Seminar.

Finished a seven session course on Jodo with kids from the Waldorf school. One of them wrote about how Jodo made her think differently.

Her thought elicited my own recurring thought and I'm grateful that being engaged by other people brings about our own memories of significance.

My thought was this: training always humbles me. It humbles me because no one kata is ever performed identically the same, nor is it ever perfectly

executed. There is always an infinite combination of kata performances and an infinite amount of finite imperfection in training which reminds me

of our existence. I find great humility and joy in this: something about the striving in and of itself as the goal. To simply strive, and whyle away in this

striving, without seeking completion. Actually, seeking completion in savouring striving. Being content with the ongoing yet finite nature of being

human, as it is expressed in the unfettered and silent (sometimes) environment of training. I told Nathan and Keith tonight that as long as the rent gets

paid I will always be happy to show up for training.

Todd's farewell dinner

2010-04-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

Todd is heading west (yes, further west than this, and south)!

Todd will be taking a new working position in California.

Thursday,May 13th will be a shortened class so we can head to our favourite local (Ichiban Sushi) and
thank him for his time with us and wish him well on his new life adventure!

Hope to see you there!

Volunteer night

2010-04-19T21:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Sohail, Arjun, Mai, Nathan and Todd for a great night of volunteering at the Calgary Interfaith Foodbank last Tuesday night. It's always a win win situation being there: best a warrior could ask for!

Two more volunteer nights left: Second Tuesday of May and June.

Chris

New training times!

2010-04-19T21:29:00.000-06:00

For May and June

Thursdays: 6 - 9 pm
Saturdays: 8 - 11 am

April dates

2010-03-22T10:28:00.000-06:00

There will be training on Monday, April 5.

Volunteer night at the Calgary Foodbank is Tuesday, April 13.
Please let me know if you can participate.

Thanks!
Chris

Lineages and history

2010-03-19T20:49:00.001-06:00

It is a result of the complex pathways of thought which led to the enlightenment, according to the German Continental philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 - 2002), that our modern society has come to believe that history has and continues to move in a linear path of progression. Furthermore, these 'ascending' lines of history are constructed and perceived as simple lines, that is to say, as lines with discrete points of progression marked by what are considered to be significant historical figures. This oversimplification of the concept of what history is, is easily seen in the way history is often taught in schools, exemplified in textbooks, and in our conversations about many topics, for example, lineages in the martial arts.
The false idea of a simple, sustained, and unfaltering line of historical progress is often expressed in the arguments, often heated, among martial artists over whose line is more 'pure' or the 'true' line of an art. Although few arts can show a lineage of headmasters which is unbroken from the first record of the art, as Kim Taylor sensei has concisely stressed (http://swordforum.com/swords/nihonto/js-training.html) the living nature of the arts make them arts which exist within the times and places of the headmasters and thus, as is necessarily the case in all human understanding, undergo interpretation.
This is Gadamer's key point: that human understanding is an act of interpretation. Interpretation is not a method, nor a science. It is contingent, complex, multiple and changing. It is also not relativistic: the headmasters do not show up one day at the training hall and teach entirely new techniques, made up over night, within a vacuum of knowledge. Their teaching comes from somewhere, from the traditions they have been immersed in and which have become part of what Gadamer calls their historically effected consciousness. We are all historically effected. Earlier German thinkers brought this idea to us in different terms, though the idea is essentially the same: we are not able to get behind our own history, our immersion in the world, in order to say something completely objective and final, and distanced from it. It is necessarily the case that our understanding of the world is influenced by our place and time in the world, by our own history.
So it is that the arts come to us as traditions which are organic, and like all organisms, somethings die off while others grow forth. And in each presentation of the art, which we might describe as each new generation of headmaster, the art is brought forth both anew, as if for the first time, and yet embraces its heritage as well. It turns out that the martial arts are exemplary forms of what Gadamer spends almost 500 pages arguing for in his tome, his magnus opus, Truth and Method. He argues that the move towards history as progress, as seated in the power of humanity's reason (Immanuel Kant), has shifted our traditional understanding of truth, especially in the human sciences, away from the inheritances we receive in things like works of art, myths, and powerful stories, towards the sterility of method within the empirical sciences. Along the way, the arts became places of taste, merely subjective, as acts of sudden genius, or acts of imagination by those we see as 'different' and not as works which tell us something true about the world, about how we understand in the world and how we understand through a sense of community. For those of us immersed in the martial arts for a few years and more, we know that the arts do have truths to tell us about the arts as lived in the here and know, and about living in the world with one another.
The online forum wars over lineages are often simply sympomatic of the modern idea that a lineage means simple, pure, true knowledge of an art as it was originally, and that the pure line is the 'true' line and all other lines have no legitimacy. Although it may be the case that lines are not given permission from a headmaster to be as they may, this does not exclude them from the truths their studies in the arts offer, and it does not also give them license to claim the only truth, as well as give us reason to not be wary of the lines which have been created overnight, products of the imaginations of those who watch too many movies and wish to be more than what they are.
One should do their homework before signing up with a martial arts teacher, if doing the homework is important to them. One should not expect however, that the instructor is instructing the original art as it was when it first started. An original art is being offered however, as it lives in the time and space of the instructor and the interpretation that instructor necessarily makes during instruction as understanding. As Yamomoto sensei has told me all along, one must also consider that time and space continously changes for a headmaster so that if one watches video of Nakayama Hakudo sensei over the years, one sees different Muso Shinden iai. Each time and space of the performance is true of the art,and thus it changes as it lives in the instructor.

4th annual summer seminar

2010-03-14T21:16:00.000-06:00

Details for our 4th annual summer seminar are now online:

http://calgaryiaidoclub.net/summer%20seminar%202010.html

Looks to be another exciting year with Kage ryu being introduced to us for the first time, as well as our standard Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu and Jodo sessions. Absolute beginners and old pros are welcome!

Early registration and payment makes life easier for us and is appreciated!

Chris

Travelling Swordsman

2010-03-14T21:12:00.000-06:00

Joe, who has been running things for us on Thursday nights for the past many months, has now left us for a few months of travel in Europe. While there he plans to visit some Iaido dojo in Italy and England. We wish you safe travels Joe and look forward to your return!

While Joe is away, Keith will once again take over Thursday nights for us. Thanks Keith!

Chris

So You Are Training in Koryu eh?

2010-03-03T16:57:00.003-07:00

I thought I should share a great page from koryu.com, a budo/bujutsu website I visit on a regular basis. It is run primarily be Meik and Diane Skoss, both well-respected and high-ranked martial artists from the states.

http://www.koryu.com/koryu-training.html

The link features a variety of articles by various noteworthy martial artists that provide insight into the samurai culture and perspectives on training in koryu.

I think if you are having any difficulties in your training or if you wish to understand the Japanese warrior, this is a great resource.

Joe

Sei Do Kai Spring Seminar

2010-03-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

Visit this website to see details for this year's seminar:
http://seidokai.ca/iai.seminar.html

The head of the ZNKR Iaido division will be present and he happens to be Muso Shinden Ryu and trained in Nakayama Hakudo's dojo. Excellent opportunity for us indeed.
Kim Taylor sensei is hoping for early registrations...send yours in for pricing advantages.

Dwelling within kata

2010-02-26T12:43:00.001-07:00

It is natural to be hungry for more kata.
This hunger must be resisted, I think.
This hunger represents our culturally influenced desire to have more, and more, and more.
We never seem satiated, satisfied, content with what is.
What is, is what one should dwell within.
The first kata should be a dwelling place for life.
Strive to dwell within the infinite possibilities inherent in one patterned form.
Strive to recognize those infinite possibilities within the confines of a life limited by space and time.
This recognition should help us gorge on one kata, or a handful. Our finitude should
help us to dwell within what is, rather than constantly seek more.
Anticipation flows within the structure of how we experience the world.
We always anticipate what is next. Turn this anticipation from volume to possibility within.
In this way, Iaido can be training for stillness within movement, for contentedness within the singular, or the few, for seeking more from what is.

Niten Night Feb. 27 is a Go!

2010-02-25T11:10:00.006-07:00

Nathan has booked the room at the VRRI from 6-8 pm for another Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu study group practice. We are also going to have a short discussion about the Summer Seminar.

Alex will not be able to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

Cost of renting the room will be divided up among those who attend.

The address for The Vocational & Rehabilitation Research Institute (VRRI) is 3304 - 33rd Street NW Calgary.

Hope to see you there!

Joe

BTW, the picture to the right is the famous self-portrait of Miyamoto Musashi, founder of HNIR, circa 1640.

Breaking habits and building new ones

2010-02-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Call it Pavlovian in method.
If you want to break a habit in your training, isolate it, focus on it, and do it repetitively until and beyond it bores you and it hurts. You need to sweat in this stuff.
Then re-apply the isolated technique into the overall form and the newly formed habit should be there.
You must revisit this isolation and intentionality with repetition if you want the new habit to truly deserve the word.
This is iaido. Breaking old habits and making new ones!

Thanks Joe for this conversation last night during training!

Chris

Grading and CKF fees

2010-02-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

CKF online registration and yearly fee payment system is running once again.
I have released, or given permission electronically for members registered and eligible, to grade.
You should be able to apply for gradings when forms become available online.
Please pay your CKF fees to be in good standing for gradings.

School opportunities

2010-02-22T13:57:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the efforts of current students our Calgary club is able to teach Jodo to the students at both the Waldorf School and the Delta West Academy.

The money being earned through this instruction goes directly into our club account, keeping Ka Muso Kai a healthy organizaton financially.

In turn, we get to expose more Calgarians to this exciting traditional art.

Thanks to Sohail and Jean-Matisse for this extra effort to support the organization!
Also, thanks to Joe and Nathan for volunteering their time to help with instruction!

And great thanks to both schools for giving us the priviledge of sharing our art with their students!

Chris

Next volunteer night

2010-02-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 9th
6-8 pm.
Calgary Interfaith Foodbank

Contact Chris or post here for more information.
Carpooling available.

Chris

Summer Seminar

2010-02-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is an unofficial announcement here and now:
Our third annual summer seminar is a go.
We will once again have Colin Watkin, Menkyo of the Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu here to instruct us in that art as well as Kage ryu! This is a singularly exceptional opportunity for those who attend!
Kim Taylor sensei will be here for Jodo and I think we'll ask him to show us the two person or kumitachi set for iaido again. Again, these guys are our wise elders in the arts. It is completely to our benefit to receive their wisdom while they are here!
The dates also look like August 12, 13, 14, and 15.

More details to come officially in late March.

Chris

Website updates

2010-02-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I've linked the new Niten demo video to our main website.
Bob of Sunergos made us a new brochure which is absolutely amazing. With his permission we have posted it on our site as a downloadable pdf. Thanks Bob and Dana!
I have also corrected the email links to myself, Alex and Colin.
Alex's club in Saint John is up and running: days and time posted on the website.
More updates will continue as I find the time!

Kagemusha

2010-02-22T12:45:00.001-07:00

Joe hosted a movie night at his place this past Saturday.
Thanks Joe for the chips, pop and pizza!

Kagemusha, one of Kurosawa's great epics, seems to be a movie worth watching in its entirety.
The gang present were hungry for battle so we skipped a great deal of the movie.
Fortunately, the gang present are quite knowledgable in Japanese history so there running - literally - commentary was very educational. Thanks guys!

I think Joe should add more to this post...so we can learn more about that movie, which we watched in blue-ray by the way - crazy real!

I don't even want to talk about that silly Lady Snowblood movie...
Chris

February volunteer night at the foodbank

2010-02-22T12:42:00.001-07:00

Our February volunteer night had a great turn-out. Thank you Joe, Nathan, Sohail, Arjun and Mai for your two hours of volunteering. There were many volunteers besides ourselves that night and so we were able to put together quite a formidable number of food hampers for the needy. At the end of the night we were told we had provided food for 690 people!
It's solid work for the time we are there and afterwards, I find it feels just amazing to know I've helped those in need this way. Volunteer work is giving to others while giving to one's own soul, I think.

I look forward to the next one and hope we can have another fantastic turn-out!

Chris

New and most excellent Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu video

2010-02-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7LDXpAohjQ&feature=player_embedded

Welcome!

2010-01-23T19:48:00.002-07:00

It'll take us some time but we hope to place a great deal of content from our previous website - The Calgary Iaido Club - onto this blog.

This blog is the place to get updates on club information for members and non-members.

Members should sign up to receive email notification when the blog is updated.

Thanks!
Chris