Kuroda sensei videos

I believe Tetsuzan Kuroda sensei is one of the finest swordsmen alive today. His speed and elegance, as well as his unique style and approach to kenjutsu puts him in the top ranks. His styles are Tamiyaryu iaijutsu and Komagawakaishinryu kenjutsu. Just watch a few of these videos from Enbukai Paris and I think you'll agreee:

Iai do:


Kenjutsu - part 1


Kenjutsu - part 2


Kenjutsu - part 3


Ju Jutsu

Aikido practice

Last year we got a new student in the kenjutsu group, and it turned out he was a Aikido yudansha from another European country.

Although we haven't Aikido practiced regularly, we try to get together as often as we can, now being three people with a background in Aikido. Our styles differ somewhat, but we're finding our way...!

Seminar coming up

Next weekend my club will host a kenjutsu seminar with our Sensei. We're really looking forward to it. It's been a year since the last time she was here. I'm looking forward to getting instruction :)

New students

We've gotten quite a few new students lately - I like it a lot! Kenjutsu is not for everyone, I guess, nevertheless the group is growing slowly, but surely. Fun to work with dedicated persistent people!

Mats in place on Monday

Hopefully, we'll manage to bring the mats to the dojo on monday - looking forward to it!

Interested in Personal growth?

Check out these books on personal growth. I'm very much into this subject these days and it's a natural extension of my search for more knowledge - both as a budoka and in my life outside the dojo (is there another life out there? ;)

Do you have books to recommend? Send me an email: mylifeinbudo@gmail.com

Finally...

we have gotten a solution for storing the mats needed for Aikido practice. That means that we can start practicing Aikido as well as kenjutsu. We have about 50 square meters of mats available at this time, but it should be enough for now. The most important thing is to get started with regular classes.

We won't have a formal club yet, but that might come after a while. Let's just see how it develops.

I'm happy it's finally becoming a reality. I've also gotten a lot of emails from people wanting to practice Aikido. There's actually no Aikido in my county at all, and several people from Oslo have moved down here without any possibility of continuing their practice. I look forward to a thriving Aikido in Vestfold :-)

Added lots of books to the store

I've adde a lot of books to my budo bookstore. Please visit the store at:
http://astore.amazon.com/mylifeinbudo-20

Back on the mat

Finally, I was back on the mat last week, after a long summer with very little practice. Felt really good to be back. Next week the kenjutsu practice starts up again - looking forward to that, too.

Visit my Budo bookstore

I've made a budo bookstore, with books and DVDs that I recommend. Please visit the store at:
http://astore.amazon.com/mylifeinbudo-20

The old pottery and the master - UPDATE

UPDATE: Click here for all of the pictures from our visit to the old pottery

After our visit to the temple park, we went to a small coffee shop nearby for a well earned cup of coffee. The owner was an old friend of Higuchi sensei, and we had a great cup of freshly ground Columbian coffee.

We shared a table with two ladies, and after talking to them for a while, they invited us to visit an old pottery nearby. We gratefully accepted, as this seemed like something you needed an invitation to visit. They called the owner, and soon we were on our way again.

After a short walk, we reached the old pottery, and was invited inside. The place turned out to be a 400-year old pottery with a great history. We were taken on a small tour of the showroom, seeing the unique work of this great pottery master. Suddenly, the master himself appeared, and invited us to have tea with him. He told us the story of the place, and an interesting one it was. As it turned out, the room where we had tea, was the very place where the shogun was received when visiting the area.

The room was adorned with a special Kamon, or seal, which just selected placed are allowed to use. The master told us that he was the 15th master of this special tradition of pottery, which had remained unchanged for several centuries. The pots are not painted, but are dyed naturally from the clay used, and from straw which is wrapped around it. This way of making pots are sometimes called "the way of the Gods", as the potter himself has left the pattern and color of the finished products to the gods.

The master gave us each a small cup made in this way. A special gift from a great, but humble master.



When the tea was finished, he took us through the beautiful garden and showed us his workshop and the oven in which the pots are made. We also saw the graves of his ancestors, and several important priests and historical figures of the region.

We thanked the old master many times, and left the place with a sense of having experienced something out of another time.

Click here for all of the pictures from our visit to the old pottery

New training hours

Finally, we got the new training hours from the city autorities. We're training at a public school, so the hours are assigned on a yearly basis. Happily, we got exactly the hours we wanted, which means I'll be able to attend more classes this next year :-)
I'm looking forward to september! Until then, there's cutting in the air ;) Have a great summer, all!

The book is GOOD!

The book by Otake sensei "Katori Shinto Ryu - warrior tradition" is really good! I like it a lot :) Not only does it describe the technical intricacies of the school, but it also details the more teoretical aspects of Katori Shinto Ryu.

Ahhh..Aikido

Had a really good Aikido training yesterday. Full speed the whole class - I was soaking half way through - guess I need to work on my endurance ;)

Sensei sat us down after the class and asked each one of us what our intention with the training was for that day. The answers differed, of course. The point is - if you have a clear intention about what the purpose of a particular class is, you get so much more out of it.

New book about Katori Shinto Ryu

Just received my copy of "Katori Shinto Ryu - Warrior Tradition" by Risuke Otake sensei. It's an updated version of Otake's classic three-volume series about Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu.

This is a must-have for all serious students of Katori Shinto Ryu, and for all students of classical, japanese budo.

Aikido in the snow

Check out this video clip at YouTube. It features my Aikido teacher, Mouliko Halén (6. dan) and some of his students from Sunyata Aikido Dojo doing Aikido in the snow in Valdres, Norway. Make sure to turn up the volume on your computer before watching :-)

Pictures from Asakusa Kobudo Taikai 2007

Mikko Vilenius has published some pictures from the Asakusa (Tokyo) Kobudo Taikai 23rd of April. The pictures show a wide variety of styles.

I was present at this demonstration last year and enjoyed it very much. Sugino Dojo attended this year too, as they did last year.

Click to see the images

Aikido seminar with Igarashi sensei

12 years after my last seminar with Kazuo Igarashi sensei (7. dan), I finally met this dynamic and fun teacher again. He conducted a seminar in Aikikan Oslo this weekend. Unfortunately, I only had the opportunity to practice with him for one night - 2 classes with emphasis on jo techniques. But they were two good hours indeed.

We did jo dori and kumi jo, which was a nice thing for me as it's been years since I did those techniques.

I really enjoy practicing with Igarashi sensei. He's such a smiling, inspiring teacher. His emphasis this time was on principle rather than specific technique - and through this you really see his experience in budo. Not only from Aikido, but also from Katori Shinto Ryu and other disciplines. He always lets his uke perform the technique on him after showing it to the class - as is custom in the Kobayashi Dojo system. Igarashi sensei has his own dojo, Hashimoto Dojo, but is a long-time student of Yasuo Kobayashi sensei.

As I mentioned, it has been 12 years and he shook my hand warmly and commented on my being a bit larger since our last encounter - smiling from ear to ear :) He didn't look a day older...