The Iaido Newsletter
A publication of shared distribution dedicated to the Japanese sword arts, Iaido, Kendo and the Koryu A Sei Do Kai Publication (Incorporating the OKF News) http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido	Vol 10/10 #95 Oct 1998 $5.00 per issue PHOTOCOPY AND SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER! http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor

AUSTRALIA David Kolb, 30 Neville St. Kangaroo Point, Qld. 4169 Australia.

BALTICS Tonis Kunnus, Kalatsova kula, Meremae EE2751, Voru maakond, Estonia.

BELGIUM: Erik Pooters Wittestraat 9 Kiel, Antwerpen 2020 Belgie.

CANADA CENTRAL Sandra Jorgenson, 77 Harbour Sq. #3310 Toronto Ont. M5J 2S2.

CANADA EAST Robert Miller, 45 Cedar Cr. Beaconsfield, Quebec H9W 4S9.

CENTRAL EUROPE Zsolt Balassy, H-1046 Budapest, Toth A. u. 19. Hungary.

DENMARK Bjarne Blichfeldt Katholm 210 3670 Vekso Denmark.

ENGLAND Douglas Evans 10 Daglish Close, New Romney, Kent TN28 8XF.

FINLAND Pasi Hellsten, Luuvaniementie 4 D 126, SF-00350 Helsinki, Finland.

GERMANY Klaus Wissmath, Rathenaustrasse 9A, D-91052 Erlangen.

HOLLAND Johan Smits, Dunant Straat 866 Zoetermeer Netherlands 2713 XJ.

JAPAN Colin Hyakutake, Matsubara 4 Chome 6-19, Saga City, Saga Ken, Japan 840.

NEW ZEALAND Hamish Robison 15 Logan Tce. Parnell, Auckland.

SWEDEN Arne Oster, Akerogatan 2, S-417 28 Goteborg.

SWITZERLAND Nicolae G. Bialokur, 18 ch. Champ-Soleil, 1012 Lausanne, Suisse.

USA EAST J.S.S. PO Box 1116 Rockefeller Stn. New York, NY USA 10185.

USA HAWAII Hunter Armstrong, 315 Foothills Dr., Sedona, AZ 86336.

USA S-CENTRAL John Ray, 1909 Archer Trail, Denton TX, 76201.

USA WEST COAST Bill Howell, 2525 NE 23rd St. Portland Oregon, 97212.

SEMINAR REPORTS

Annual Kyudo Intensive in Vermont with Shibata-sensei.

by Raymond Sosnowski, NH

Introduction. A year after our first Kyudo Intensive with Shibata-s. [see "First Shot: Kyudo Intensive in Vermont" in the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts #84, Vol. 9, No. 9, pp. 6-10, September, 1997] and nine months after our second Intensive [see "Second Shot: the Second Kyudo Intensive in Vermont" in the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts #86, Vol. 9, No. 11, pp. 6-8, November, 1997], my fellow Budo-ka, Mr. Brian Moore, and I returned to Karme-Choling for our third Intensive; we had company in the person of fellow Aikido-ka, Ms. Jean Sadlowski of Milford, NH. For the two of us, this Intensive marked our intention to committed practice because we ordered our first sets of equipment -- we spent a good part of the Intensive working with Yumi (bows) of differing strengths in order to find those which best suited us; more on this later. Jean, of course, spent the Intensive in "First-Shot mode," which we had undergone last year.

Instructors. Mr. Kanjuro Shibata XX is the 20th headmaster of Chikurin-ha Heki-Ryu Kyudo, as well as Onyumishi, Imperial Bowmaker to the court of the Emperor of Japan; Shibata-s. relocated to Colorado in 1985. He was accompanied by Mr. Don Symanski, Dojo-cho of Ryuko ("Dagon Tiger") Kyudojo in Boulder, CO, which was established by Sensei in 1980. Mr. Symanski is also a highly skilled Yumi maker, having been taught at Shibata-s.'s workshop in Kyoto, Japan [he is a source for other Kyudo equipment as well; see "New Equipment" below]. Assisting Sensei and Mr. Symanski were the following assistant instructors, instructors and senior instructors: Messers. James Boorstein (New York City), Oscar Garcia (St. Johnsbury, VT), Eric Laufe (Barnet, VT), Dennis Martin (Winterport, ME), Sean Pearson (Pittsford, NY) and Jack Allan Stewart (Danville, VT), and Mss. Tina Carter (Chicago) and Laura-Jean (aka "LJ") Ferenz (Bearsville, NY). [Conspicuous in their absence were Messrs. Marcel Charron (Otterburn Park, Quebec), Philip Ortiz (New York City), Jean-Pierre Poggi (St. Laurent, Quebec), and Marion Taylor (Amherst, MA). All had attended the Intensive for Instructors and Advanced Students on 5 through 14 June at Karme-Choling. Moreover, Shibata-s. would be in Quebec on 26 through 28 June.]

Location. Karme-Choling was founded in 1970 by the late Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche (1939-1987); it is a Tibetan Buddhist and Shambhala meditation center located in the upper Connecticut River Valley section of VT, just eight miles south of St. Johnsbury. It was Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, who invited Shibata-s. to visit the US for the first time in 1980, specifically to teach Kyudo as an active, physical form of meditation.

The Kyudo Intensive schedule is well integrated into the overall K-C schedule. Although morning meditation is optional, it was a very good way to begin the day before practicing "Zen archery;" we had a choice of sitting with the K-C community in the main shrine room for an hour which included ten minutes of chanting, or sitting for a half-hour of zazen with the Kyudoka at the K-C guest house, Ashoka Bhavan, located near the center of the town of Barnet, which is a short drive from the K-C complex [I prefer the latter]. After breakfast, the morning session went from 9:30 AM to noon. After lunch and free-time/Rota [community volunteer work], the early afternoon session ran from 2:30 until 4 PM; after afternoon tea, generally lemonade and cookies, the late afternoon session went from 4:30 to 5:30 PM. After evening meditation and dinner, the evening talks began at 8:30 PM at Ashoka Bhavan.

Practitioners. All total, there were 38 participants from the United States. We came from the states of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. We ranged from brand new beginners, at least fifteen took "First- Shot" instruction including two ten year old boys, to senior instructors; about a dozen of us were in various stages of post-First-Shot instruction. Of course, the senior instructors provided guidance to the assistant instructors. Many seniors remarked that this was the biggest group of beginners to take "First-Shot" instruction.

The Seminar. This year, one of our biggest concerns was the weather -- there was agreat deal of rain in the Northeast this spring; while driving to K-C, I noticed that all the rivers and streams I crossed, including the Connecticut River between Hanover, NH, and White River Junction, VT, were at various elevated flood stages. Indeed, the weather was a factor throughout the Intensive, but we generally were able to work around it.

This year's General Intensive spanned five days, 17 through 21 June, as opposed to last year's three days. The first day, like last year, consisted of registration after dinner followed by an evening lecture by Shibata-s. The remaining four days consisted of morning and afternoon instruction, and shooting, plus a talk each evening by a senior student of Shibata-s. Seventy-eight years old this year, Sensei was in much better health this year; he overcame throat and stomach cancer (with a less than 5% recovery rate) four years ago -- many of his students believe this is largely due to his devotion to all his students. Unfortunately, Sensei is now prone to digestion problems after eating, but there was only one bout of this during this Intensive.

Day 1 -- Wednesday, 17 June. In somewhat of a tradition, we began the lecture on the first evening with the 11-minute film clip of Shibata-s. teaching Kyudo at K-C in the Fall of 1986 that was filmed by National Geographic [K-C had fewer buildings, everyone looks younger, and there was no Azuchi yet; the Azuchi was dedicated in August, 1992]; "First-Shot" instruction was given in the main shrine room. Even after many viewing it is still quite inspirational. One line that seemed especially telling to me this time was the voice-over of Sensei's translated comment, "A man discovers his true nature at the instant of the release."

The central theme of Sensei's talk was the difference [the "gulf" from Sensei's prespective] between Meditation- or Mind-Kyudo and Sports-Kyudo [unless otherwise specified, I use the term "Kyudo" to mean "Meditation- or Mind-Kyudo"]; in fact, it was a recurring theme throughout this Intensive. Sports-Kyudo focuses on the "outside" elements, competition and rank (generally granted in exchange for money); Meditation-Kyudo focuses on "inside" elements, where "the target is the mirror" [to hit the target is to shatter the mirror, that is, to destroy the self/ego, but only in an egoless state can the target be hit consistently]. In Meditation- Kyudo, the results of shooting reveal the inner state of the archer. The result of Meditation-Kyudo is eliminating the ego; Sports-Kyudo has the rather unfortunate general effect of enhancing the ego.

Mr. Symanski took several questions and made a few comments with respect to Kyudo and the Yumi (bow). The Yumi is asymmetric because of the natural strength of the bamboo -- it is stronger at the bottom than at the top; therefore, the length of the bow above the grip is longer than that below the grip in order to balance the intrinsic strength of the bamboo which makes up the front and back faces of the Yumi. He travels to Louisiana and Georgia to harvest timber bamboo, imported from Japan many years ago, himself from private groves; the drying process alone takes a year, and the bamboo he uses in making the Yumi are from three to five years old.

With respect to Shichido or the Seven Coordinations, which are the Kihon (basics) of Kyudo [see the past two articles for highlights], he said that the two most difficult aspects of Japanese archery are Hanare (release) and Tenouchi (the gripping [of the bow]). Physically, proper Hanare is executed like a sword cut horizontally back [the types of releases were touched on by Sensei after the morning demonstration on the third day; see below]; timing-wise, Hanare is not a conscious act per se, but rather happens when the time is "ripe" according to a kind of natural, internal rhythm [we experience the release rather than anticipate it].

For those who have not experienced it, Tenouchi is impossible to adequately describe. In my first article, I describe it as a position "in which the Yumi rested on the webbing but is not grasped -- the top of the hand is flat so that a `small tea saucer' could rest on it, while `robin's egg' could fit in the space between the Yumi and the lower palm." This actually describes the "Tiger's Mouth" configuration of the left hand on the grip at Kai, the full draw prior to the release. In the second article, I said, "I realize why learning to grip the Yumi is said to take 10 years; maintaining Tenouchi, that is, forming the `Tiger's Mouth,' is just so difficult during Uchi Okoshi (raising the bow), Hiki-tori (drawing the bow), and Kai (full draw prior to the release [literally "meeting"]), and it is most difficult to maintain during Hanare."

Tenouchi is, in fact, really a dynamic aspect and not a static one as these above descriptions may have erroneouly implied. In Kai, the full force of the Yumi is balanced on the webbing of the left hand; in Hanare, the left hand grip must be loose enough so that the Yumi can rotate in the hand [it does during proper shooting] -- in fact, the Tsuru (string) ends up stopping on the outer side of the forearm, and this rotation of the Yumi in the left hand is called Yugaeri; the Yumi would rotate in a complete circle if the forearm was not in the way.

The draw strength of the Yumi should be a challenge to the user [I spent a good part of the Intensive finding out what this should be for me, since I intended to purchase a Yumi -- more on this aspect below]. Draw strengths are in proportion to the ability of the archer [stronger is not better, just different, according to the present-time ability of the archer]. Finally, like Kenshi (Japanese-style swordsmen), there are no left-handed archers [everyone draws the Tsuru or bowstring back with the right hand]; there are no left-handed Kake (archer's glove for drawing the Tsuru).

Day 2 -- Thursday, 18 June. The first day began in the manner of the proverbial "Chinese firedrill." It was a overcast morning and we had just set up the Makiwara and stands outdoors, having brought them to the front lawn form their storage location in an adjacent barn, but just before Sensei arrived it began to rain; everything that we had set up had to be brought in under the tents [there were three large tents (open on three sides) set up on the lawn in front of the K-C complex: the closest one was the "reception" area, and the farthest one was just behind the shooting platform, and there was a middle one]. Sensei arrived amidst a moderate rain, and we opened the Intensive in the "reception" tent. He commented before we began that we should not think of the rain as a "bad thing;" on the contrary, it was a "good thing."

The morning demonstration of Shichido and Makiwara shooting was given by Mr. Dennis Martin, and in the afternoon by Mr. Jack Stewart. After the morning demonstration, Shibata-s. commented that the ingredients for superior Kyudo are contained in the Japanese phrase "Kin Kae Chuu" meaning "balance-heart-joining" with "heart" implying fearlessness and vulnerability. Mr. Symanski commented that each of the Seven Coordinations increased the level of intent, and that the Third Coordination, Yumi Gamae or "positioning the Yumi" [especially at the end, with Shamen no Kamae or "the stance having shifted the Yumi forward towards the target," and Monomi or "fixing the gaze"] was key, demonstrating the commitment to shoot. By the way, Sensei observed all the groups for the whole day.

We divided into three groups: fifteen beginners for First-Shot, ten intermediate students with post-First-Shot experience, and three advanced students. The beginners spent the day learning Shichido, the Seven Coordinations. Intermediate and advanced students were given a quick review, and then spent the morning doing Makiwara shooting. By mid-morning, the rain stopped and the Makiwara were moved out from under the tents. For the early afternoon session, the sun came out and it was humid; the intermediate students continued Makiwara shooting while the advanced students did platform shooting. Finally, in the late afternoon session after tea, the intermediate students joined the advanced students on the platform for 28 m shooting. I had spent the day, as an intermediate student, increasing the draw strength of the Yumi I used, from 13-Kilograms (Kg) in the morning, to 15- and then 16-Kg in the afternoon [I was so taken with the color scheme of this 16-Kg Yumi that I ordered one with a very similar scheme as described below].

The evening talk was given by Mr. Eric Laufe on "Mind-Kyudo" [Sensei chose both the speakers and the topics during this Intensive as a part of his instructors' training]. Mr. Laufe related his experiences at K-C where he is a resident. His initial reaction as a resident, circa 1992, was hostile -- Kyudo was an "outside" activity which disturbed what he expected were the normal K-C activities. However, arrogance turned to wakefulness with the realization that Zazen (seated meditation) with Kokyu (breathing) and Kyudo (Zen archery) were two different tools that are employed to discover the "nature of the mind." In Kyudo, the Yumi is the teacher, and the practice is a kind of mirror -- "the mind comes into balance" upon release, that is, there is a personal joining/integration in which "the path is the goal." Furthermore, in our mindfulness and awareness, the [Kyudo] form dissolves into formlessness. [I find that it is difficult to put down words for any of these ideas, whether they are understood or not; in all cases, the words are inadequate, that is poor approximation for powerful concepts that can only be experienced.]

Day 3 -- Friday, 19 June. Friday morning was partly cloudy, and we were able to open the day's practice on the platform. Several passing sprinkles were ignored, and we shot all day under open skies. Intermediate and advanced students did Makiwara shooting while the beginners reviewed Shichido. I got a lot of personal corrections on my form from several of the instructors, including Messers. Symanski, Stewart, and Pearson. In my quest for the proper Yumi draw strength, I went from a 16-Kg Yumi to a 17/18-Kg Yumi. In the afternoon, the beginners took First-Shot, and then continued to do Makiwara shooting, and the Intermediate and Advanced students did platform shooting.

The morning demonstration of Shichido and Makiwara shooting was done by Ms. Laura-Jean Ferentz, and the afternoon demonstration by Mr. Sean Pearson; morning commentary was provided by Mr. Dennis Martin, and afternoon commentary by Mr. Dave Harlap [Sensei is using these demonstrations as training exercises for his instructors and assistant instructors]. Again, Sensei observed all he students all day long. Sensei reminded us at the close of the day's practice that Meditation-Kyudo is "high practice," and thus requires a great deal of effort on the part of the practitioners. Kyudo is a method of Tanren (spiritual training/forging); the answer to the question "How often/long should I practice?" is simply "For the rest of my life!"

The evening talk after dinner was given by Mr. Dennis Martin on the informal history of Japanese Kyudo. The Heki Ryu was founded [circa 1483] by Heki Danjo Masatsugu and was the first organized school of combat-style archery; as such, it is a military, as opposed to a ceremonial, style, and was practiced by Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu prior to and during the early Tokugawa Shoganate, founded in 1603. [Ironically, the introduction of firearms into warfare by Oda Nobunaga in 1575 marks the end of the effective use of Kyujutsu, combat archery; however, the decline of Kyujutsu precipitated the birth of Kyudo (Zen archery).] The style then passed to the Yoshida family [Yoshida Shigekata received the transmission of the Heki Ryu directly from Heki Danjo]. Our variation, the Chikirin-ha, comes from the name of a Shingon Buddhist priest, who had studied Heki Ryu. The full name of our style is Heki Ryu Bisshu Chikirin-ha, where Bisshu refers to a region in Japan that our style is associated with.

The first Shibata Kanjuro moved to Kyoto in the sixteenth century; as bowmakers to various Daimyo and the Tokugawa Shogunate, as well as master archers, the Shibata family has maintained an unbroken lineage into modern times. Four generations ago during the Meiji Restoration, Shibata Kanjuro XVIII became Onyumishi, bowmaker to the Emperor of Japan, and that title has been passed on to the succeeding generations. The present Soke, Shibata Kanjuro XX, learned from his "grandfather" (maternal uncle), the previous Soke.

Mr. Martin continued with his personal experiences of Kyudo. All Kyudo practice is based directly on experience; words can only give a flavor. Kyudo is a method of "forging the spirit," of "opening the heart" and of "integrating Body, Mind and Spirit." We start by understanding the mechanics and learning the vocabulary; any preconceived notions become tempered by reality. We experience frustration in attempting to control that which is uncontrollable. Kyudo must be approached with the fullest intention, that is, to make each shot as if it were going to be the last. In the end, Kyudo is all about attitude -- working hard and practicing with awareness.

Day 4 -- Saturday, 20 June. Saturday morning was partly cloudy with a few sprinkles of no consequence. Everyone began shooting on the Makiwara with the intermediate and advanced students, after warming up, transitioning to platform shooting. Sensei observed all the morning sessions. I was given some personal corrections on the platform by Sensei: "Keep the hands balanced during Yumi Daoshi (carring posture with the Yumi and Ya fanning back like a "V")" and "Keep the [left] hand open [a bit] during Hiki Tori (drawing, the Fifth Coordination); don't squeeze hard/tight."

The morning demonstration of Shichido and Makiwara shooting was given by Mr. Jim Boorstein. Sensei used this opportunity to expound on the four "styles of release:"

Ken - backfist or "hit the drum,"

Setsu - sword or "cut,"

Betsu - dancing or "Banzai," and

Futsu - "feather duster."

Sensei said that the latter two are inappropriate because the forearm motions are out of proper alignment; initially, the release of most practitioners is in the first style. Ideally, the release should be in the second style.

After lunch, it rained for most of the afternoon. During this time, we were given lectures in Yumi care, and stringing and unstringing the Yumi; then we got to string and unstring our Yumi. After tea, everyone continued with Makiwara shooting under the tents, and I got to try a different 17-Kg Yumi. About a half hour before ending the day, the rain stopped; we quickly assembled on the platform, and managed to get one round of shooting done before "Last shot" was called. [Reiho dictates that when "Last shot" is called, everyone answers (shouts) "Hai." Those who are on the platform finish their two-arrow shooting, and those shooting at the Makiwara complete Shichido, and then retrieve their Ya.] Sensei had been absent during the afternoon, and Mr. Symanski led the closing on the platform.

After dinner, the evening speaker was Mr. Jack Stewart on "Azuchi Etiquette." Opening and closing Reiho consists of a low bow to the East, which represents enlightenment, and a moderate bow to Sensei and the instructors, which also represents bowing to each other, and a short period of standing meditation. The footwork to enter a stance for standing meditation resembles Ashibumi, the First Coordination; the hands join in a standard Mudra, generally fingers resting on fingers with the thumb tips touching to form an "O." We begin with the collective call, echoing Sensei, "Hajimemasu" ("I begin/commence/open"). Similary, we end with collective call, "Owarimasu" ("I end/finish/complete"). The purpose of etiquette is to show respect.

Mr. Stewart went on to relate aspects of Taoism [Chinese philosophy partially attributed to Lao Tsu and his purported text the "Tao Te Ching"] to Kyudo. An old Taoist saying says that we are three people, "Who we think we are, who others think we are, and who we really are." The first two require thinking and are manifestations of ego; the last one requires not- thinking. We should beware of judgments and opinions here, because our senses are good tools although limited, and thinking is also a good tool although limited. Kyudo is a tool for Zen, allowing us to just feel and be who we really are. The take-home message here is to "accept life for what it is."

Day 5 -- Sunday, 21 June. Sunday was a bright and sunny day. During the morning session, everyone began with Makiwara shooting and then transitioned to platform shooting. Right after lunch at 1 PM, Mr. Eric Laufe gave a Kyudo demonstration on the platform for the K-C residents as part of their Mid-Summer's Day celebration [I missed it because I had Rota after lunch, preparing food and drink for the afternoon tea and reception]. In the afternoon, only a short practice session was held between 2 and 3 PM; again everyone began with Makiwara shooting and then transitioned to platform shooting. At 3 PM, Mr. Symanski attended by Mr. Boorstein gave a formal shooting demonstration from the platform [I have noticed that there are two Yumi for formal demonstrations; the second one is a spare in case the Tsuru of the first one breaks]. Finally, from 4 to 5 PM, we had tea and a reception for all the Kyudo students along with Sensei. For the reception, we had cheese and crackers, strawberries, and cookies, along with punch and lemonade. We ate and talked for a while, and then made our farewells to Sensei, his instructors, and our other fellow students.

After the opening ceremony in the morning, Sensei gave an impromptu talk on Shichido. The Seven Coordinations are the same for everyone; the difference is inside -- "heart." Beginners mostly do "sports-shooting" [implying ego, and a competitive spirit: "I WANT to hit the target"]. Intermediate students still do half "sports-shooting;" while for advanced students, they retain a trace at most. At the closing ceremony, Sensei related to us a colloquial Japanese expression which can be translated as "May your neck grow long" which means "I look forward to meeting again." I look forward to seeing Sensei next year, and returning to K-C in September for the next Intensive.

Congratuations. Although we refer to this art as Kyudo, "the way of the bow," there is one aspect of Heki-Ryu Bisshu Chikurin-ha Kyudo that is quite different from other modern "-do" arts: rank. Although the Zen Nihon Kyudo Renmei (All Japan Kyudo Federation) or ZNKR has adopted the Kano-style [after Mr. Jigero Kano, the founder of Kodokan Judo] system of rank, dan & kyu, our Ryuha still uses the older form of Menkyu (certificate/license). These are issued by Sensei without formal testing. At the closing of the Intensive, it was announced that Ms. Tina Carter and Mr. Oscar Garcia were promoted to the level of full instructor. Congratulations to the both of you for years of dedicated practice and hard work.

New Equipment. During lunch on Friday, I bought a Kake (Kyudo shooting glove) in a size 9 (the largest available without a special order), and a long, unfledged Ya (a little under 41 inches, also the longest available without a special order) for Makiwara shooting. After the Saturday evening talk, I placed my order with Mr. Symanski for a 17/18-Kg Yumi, similar in color (outside strip of blond bamboo, inside strip of smoked bamboo, and dark brown tips and middle strips between the two bamboo strips plus a black hand grip) to the first 16-Kg Yumi that he lent me [the maximum draw for the class Yumi was 15-Kg; all those of higher draw strengths were "loaners"], and a pair of heavy-duty [to stand up to the robust draw strength, which will be transferred to the Ya upon release] fledged Ya for platform shooting. I also ordered a Kake bag, Yumi wrapper and cover, a rain cover, and an extra Tsuru (bowstring), and an extra unfledged Ya. The Yumi would take about 9 weeks to make and deliver [around the second half of August].

Lessons Learned. I received a number of personal adjustments for Shichido. In the Fourth Coordination, Uchi Okoshi (raising the Yumi), be sure that the left shoulder and elbow are moved forward first, and then pivot the left forearm up around the left elbow. In the Fifth Coordination, Hiki Tori (drawing), be sure to pull back with the right elbow; just before completion, draw the elbow down a bit. In the Sixth Coordination, Kai ("meeting"), the Ya touched the corner of the mouth -- it will not cut since upon Hanare (release), the first part of the Seventh Coordination, the Yumi flips out to the right, away from the face. The thumb of the Kake should point to the target. Over-rotation of the Kake causes the Ya to visibly flex; I need to back off to a point where the Kake just holds the Tsuru during the draw [use only enough energy to get the job done, and no more].

And now for a few random items gleaned from various sources throughout the Intensive. The Yumi is never "dry-fired" [released from a full draw without a Ya]; to determine the strength of a Yumi, take Ashi-bumi, and draw with the four fingers of the right hand, but do not release -- instead, just ease up slowly. Besides alignment, Ashi-bumi sets the "state of the body" for the rest of Shichido: a firm foundation from the waist down (earth), and relaxed torso above the waist (heaven). In platform shooting, it is better to "aim" higher because a lighter Yumi requires a bit of elevation to the Ya in order to reach the Mato (target). The two lower fingers of the Kake [right] hand are likened to two cooked "baby shrimp" -- keep them curled up at all times.

Ms. Jean Sadlowski, who took First-Shot, came up with an interesting observation that resonated well with me: Shichido has a strong sense of [Hatha] Yoga Asanas (postures). Finally, a personal obervation that the rounded arms in first three Coordinations are strongly related to Chan Chuang, Chinese standing meditation, especially Yu Chou Chang (Universal Post).

ARTICLES

HOW AND/OR WHY I MAKE SHINKEN

When people ask me what I do for a living, this is what I tell them. It's a long answer, but I've found it bores them into a false sense of acceptance; that I'm not really crazy. This is good, since I may have to borrow money from them some day.

I make Shinken for a living. That, along with Honami Ryu polishing of art swords. From what I've seen on the net, I could provoke an argument about any or all of the above, so first let me offer a definition for Shinken and we can agree to disagree from there. To me it's a real or live sword shaped in the Japanese form and mounted in traditional Japanese style mounts. Everything is handmade and hand fitted. As a weapon defines the technique(s) for using it, I consider these points elemental. Now if this seems obvious, consider the Japanese never used hollow ground blades, nor plastic same`. See, you thought I was kidding about that disagree stuff.

That said, some personal background. I was trained in the basic techniques of Honami Ryu polishing, habaki making , shirasaya carving and stock removal manufacturing by Francis Boyd, the sword smith. He in turn was trained in the sword related crafts by Nakajima Muneyoshi , the man brought to the US in the 1970s by the embryonic JSSUS to teach and perform sword restoration. I serve as a deshi or hammerman to Francis (read slave labor) when he forges blades in the traditional manner .( I was going to say something about "pain building character", but I'll save that for the belt grinder discourse.) I began mounting Gunto, or WW II army swords, for martial arts use in the 80s. In the early 90's, I bought some blades made by Bob Engnath ,saw the difference between Gunto and stock removal blades and soon started making my own swords.

Making Shinken. (That was the topic before I began the self promotion). The first point is the steel. I use a simple medium- high carbon steel, or in other words, 1050 to 1075 mill stock steels. This means that the ductility, hardness, resistance to fracture, in short all those attributes which are important to a sword, are the result of the variation in the amount of carbon in the steel alone. Just like in the old swords. (More modern steels use alloying elements to increase or decrease these properties) "Mill stock" means I get the steel in great big dirty sheets either ¼" or 5/16" thick and 10 feet long. I cut the steel on a metal cutting bandsaw to the shape of the blade, but straight not curved. I then visit the grinder. I use a 1 hp Wilton belt grinder to flat grind the mune angles, shinogi width and height, the size and arc of the ji and the features of the kissaki and nakago. (OK Here we go, mune =spine, shinogi = upper side of the blade which forms a ridge, ji = side of blade from the cutting edge to the ridge, kissaki = tip, nakago = tang). Belt grinders are the most efficient way to remove steel from the blank, forming a compound curved area in the ji and kissaki. They also are the world's fastest manicure machine. Unfortunately, they only do one style of manicure, severe. A blade at this stage, by the way, is called a sunobe. Poor craftsmen at this stage are called Stubby.

Japanese swords are differentially heat treated. This allows a sword to take a keen edge while having a ductile body to prevent breaking upon impact. This also causes the most distinctive feature of the Japanese sword, the hamon or visible hardened edge. To accomplish this, we cover the body of the blade with an insulative material, a proprietary type of clay. Our mixture has twelve ingredients. The area that is to be hardened is left bare. After application and drying, usually a week's process, the real fun begins. We use a "slot top" furnace to heat the blades, in total darkness, late at night , when the neighbors aren't home. (The slot top sounds like a 737 at take off) Using the color of the glowing steel as an indicator, the blade is withdrawn at the right moment and plunged edge down into the water bath. Then you pray. The blade will curve, sometimes twists in all directions, sometimes goes back to its' original shape. You can't tell. You do listen for the tell tale ping. You see, the entire blade will expand uniformly when heated. When it is quenched in the water, the uncovered edge will be arrested in it expanded size. The covered body will cool more slowly and contract back to its' preheated size forming a curved shape. When that contraction is too quick for the steel, the ping announces a crack. These blades make very good letter openers or sometimes Sushi knives.

Assuming the heat treatment is successful, the next step is to the anvil to correct any twists or bends. It's then back to the belt grinder to redefine the planes and angles and finish the nakago. Final rough shaping is then done with a series of hand files which true up any lapses with the belt grinder. The blade is then polished with the three Japanese water stones that comprise the shitaji togi or foundation polish . When this has been completed, the blade is sent for its habaki and wood work.

Since the blade now has most of its' final shape (sugata), this is a good point to talk about how I do blade design. The sword's form is dictated by its' intended target. In the good old days, that would have been laminar armor or cloth covered flesh. A sword intended to defeat armor had to have more ha niku (niku = meat) supporting the edge. A sword to be used against a "softer" target has a less convex side. Each style cuts differently against different targets. Recently , we tested two blade designs against a "flexible" target, i.e. rolled tatami mats about 5 " in diameter with no core support. The sword with ha niku cut through the mats, but frayed the roll at the exit side. The design with less ha niku cut through all mats with no fraying. I should emphasize that I'm talking about the area of the blade used for cutting, the monoushi, which is the quarter of the blade just below the yokote. Since my blades are not forged with a laminated construction, we retain the "meat" in the lower blade in both designs to prevent bending.

A word about the blade's mountings. Since all our blades are custom order, both wood pieces and the metal habaki are hand made and hand fitted. The tsuka should fit snug in the four directions, requiring effort to be removed from the blade. The saya should retain the blade at the tip and at the habaki, the rest of the blade "floats" within the saya. There should be no evidence of looseness, such as shaking within the saya and it cannot bind on the sides during the draw (these are the usual two problems seen with mass produced or incorrectly carved sayas). Naturally, we use hand carved water buffalo horn for the "horn" pieces of the saya furniture (Please see paragraph 2). Habakis are hand made in the traditional manner, with a wedge insert under the ha machi and a soldered seam, allowing precise fitting to the blade.

The fuchi/kashira (pommel and mouth piece for the tsuka), tsuba (guard) and menuki (parts under the ito) are usually Fred Lohman's steel pieces, although we do sometimes make them as a special design. The same` is fully wrapped around the tsuka using one whole skin per tsuka. The ito (cord) is 100% silk and compressed and shrunk to insure tightness.

Now that all the steps which might scratch the blade are complete, the polish is finished with the final three stationary stones, two finger stones, nugui rouge and hadori stone. Finally, the shinogi and mune are burnished and the yokote is cut at a 90 deg. angle at the tip.

All that's left now is the final fitting. Filing the seppa (washers) to fit, filing the tsuba or inserting copper plugs for an exact fit and testing for cutting ability.

All in all, about 9 months of fun and frolic, but then you'll probably only buy one of these in your lifetime, it should be as perfect as we can make it.

Bill Latham, USA artsword@ncal.verio.com

IAIDO PRACTICE TOPS

100% cotton, sized to you and supplied at cost through the Sei Do Kai. $70 (includes postage). Black or white, other colours may be extra. Measure the chest size at nipple height, shoulder point to shoulder point, and from neck to mid-thigh. Send your measurements to Sei Do Kai. 44 Inkerman St. Guelph, Ontario Canada N1H 3C5.

KENDO AND IAIDO PRACTICE.

Keith Hazlewood, BKA:

As a point of intrest in Japan only 1% of the membership of the ZNKR study Iai here in the UK 46% of the BKA membership study Iai . It would be interesting to see how it pans out in other countries .

Aad van de Wijngaart, Holland:

Last year the board of the Dutch Kendo Renmei held a survey about the numbers of people practicing kendo, iaido and jodo respectively. Twenty out of twenty-five dojo filled in the forms.

The numbers were as follows.

Only kendo 252

Only iaido 51

Only jodo 33

Kendo + iaido 14

Kendo + jodo 2

Kendo + iaido + jodo 10

Iaido + jodo 42

Total response number 404

Ergo:

Kendo:278 people (69 % of the total response number)

Iaido:117 people (29 %)

Jodo: 87 people (22 %)

While we're on the statistics track, I might as well add the age/gender information from the survey.

Under 18 18 and older Total

Female 6 % 12 % 18 %

Male 14 % 68 % 82 %

Total 20 % 80 % 100 %

Yearly subscriptions (12 issues) to the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts are $36 cdn in Canada, $36 US in USA, and $48 overseas. Subscriptions, stories, news, views, and anything else should be sent to Kim Taylor Editor JJSA, 44 Inkerman St. Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3C5.

519-836-4357

WEB PAGES

Sei Do Kai Iaido homepage:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/

Kim Taylor's webpages

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/

Canadian Kendo Federatin:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/ckfindex.htm

Ontario Kendo Federation homepage

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/okfindex.htm

FROM THE SEI DO KAI PRESS

IAIDO MANUALS

BBI-1 KIM'S BIG BOOK OF IAIDO (I):The Manual

8X11" 108 pgs. Kim Taylor:

BBI-2 KIM'S BBI (II): Seitei Gata

8x11" 100 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-3 KIM'S BBI (III): Omori Ryu

8x11" 94 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-4 KIM'S BBI (IV): Eishin Ryu

8x11" 127 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-5 KIM'S BBI (V): Oku Iai

8x11" 100 pgs. Kim Taylor

OTHER BOOKS

PH-1 SONGS OF THE SWORD

5X8" 100 pgs. by Kim Taylor

SD-1 RESISTING SEXUAL ASSAULT

8x11" 130 pgs. by Kim Taylor

SD-2 STUDENT GUIDE TO SELF DEFENCE

8x11" 150 pgs. by Kim Taylor

VIDEO TAPES

VHS/NTSC format only.

VID-1 SEITEI GATA IAI 1993

VID-2 SPRING SEMINAR/TACHI UCHI NO KURAI

VID-3 THE 1994 SENIOR CLASS, SEITEI GATA

VID-4 THE 1994 SENIOR CLASS, KORYU

VID-5 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1991, 1992

VID-6 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1993

VID-7 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1994

VID-8 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1995

VID-9 THE 1993 UG SUMMER IAIDO SEMINAR

VID-10 THE 1995 JOHN RAY SEMINAR AT UG - 1

VID-11 THE 1995 JOHN RAY SEMINAR AT UG - 2

VID-12 1994 SEMINAR WITH HARUNA SENSEI

VID-13 OMORI RYU AND SENIOR CLASS 1995

VID-14 1996 SEMINAR WITH HARUNA SENSEI

VID-15 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1996

VID-16 TACHI UCHI NO KURAI (includes material from VID-2)

VID-17 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1997

COMPANION VIDEO TAPES TO THE BBI MANUALS

VIDBBI-1 BEGINNING IAIDO I

VIDBBI-2 BEGINNING IAIDO II

VIDBBI-3 SEITEI GATA IAIDO

VIDBBI-4 MUSO JIKIDEN EISHIN RYU SEIZA NO BU

VIDBBI-5 MJER TATE HIZA NO BU

VIDBBI-6 MJER OKU IAI IWAZA

JJSA Journal of Japanese Sword Arts $36 Cdn in Canada,

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JINX-1 IAI JINX WRITING CARDS

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