New Students ·
What to Expect in Your First Traditional Martial Arts Class
A calm, practical guide to visiting a traditional Japanese martial arts dojo for the first time.
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Notes on practice
Current and selected historical writings on traditional martial arts, learning, kata, etiquette, and long-term practice.
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Training Principles ·
Why We Practice Kata
Kata are more than fixed choreography. They are structured problems that teach timing, relationship, and martial judgment.
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Weapons ·
What Weapons Training Teaches About Distance
Sword and staff practice make range, timing, and commitment easier to see—and improve unarmed movement as well.
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Legacy Writings ·
Don’t Become an Imitation Budōka
A legacy essay arguing that martial identity must be grounded in continued practice rather than talk or appearance.
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Legacy Writings ·
Budō and Proper Practice
A legacy essay on budō as self-directed practice, patient refinement, and the work required to understand principles.
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Legacy Writings ·
The Dōjō-kun: Code of the Dojo
The dojo code and its themes of patience, justice, discipline, loyalty, and balanced cultivation.
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Legacy Writings ·
学習 — Learning
A legacy reflection on the difference between receiving information, understanding it, and embodying it through practice.
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Legacy Writings ·
Great Faith, Great Doubt, Great Effort
A legacy reflection on confidence, honest self-questioning, and sustained effort in martial arts training.
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Legacy Writings ·
The Hidden Aspects of Kata Training
A legacy essay on kata as a study of distance, timing, intention, perception, and the movement behind movement.
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