The Japanese educational methods and means, tested and applied for centuries, were well understood and fully developed when Japan was still in a period of constant internecine warfare. Today there is no mystery about how to go about this form of training. The real problem is having access to an authentic tradition. This is only found in a true teacher: there is no other repository but a living master.

In a traditional Dōjō we operate in such a way as to test the limits of power beyond what is reasonable. My Instructor requires the class to walk past him without stopping or changing pace. As I pass him his arm blocks my path at chest height. He outweighs me by fifty pounds, and it’s all solid muscle. I feel as if I’ve hit a wall. 

One thing that stands out about a sword is sori. And if it's a good sword, it is also beautiful. But why?

While there is new science around this idea, it is not unfamiliar to practitioners in Budō. Traditional terms-of-art like Mind and Void depict a strikingly similar view, and the physical teachings of the Itto Tenshin-ryu convey otherwise inexplicable truths: the Way that can be spoken is not the Way.

At the November Taikai of the Itto Tenshin-ryu, Rajguru Sensei continued a tradition, reaching beyond previous horizons, and at the same time, back to original essence. With Osae the focus of this Taikai, Mr. Simms proceeded to move the class through the more or less familiar, into the truly esoteric, and beyond.