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  Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu — Evolution and Adaptation Our training with Nicklaus Suino Sensei of the Japanese Martial Arts Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is our third attempt to train in Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu (MJER) Iaido (the earlier attempts were in the first decade of this century). Until recently, despite the extent of our previous experience, I would have referred to Eishin-ryu as “the art of drawing the sword to an immediate, defensive technique,” but that is an incomplete understanding. As I’ve learned, the longer phrase that is the reference for the term iai is “Tsune ni ite, kyu ni awasu” (常に居て、急に合わす). This translates roughly as, “Being constantly in the moment, and swiftly adapting to respond.” That philosophy serves as the foundational concept for Eishin-ryu, representing a deep state of mental awareness and the capacity for instant physical reaction. Iaido is training to become fully present in every moment and provides physical and mental tools to restore harmony in t...
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  Prior to the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tosa Province on Shikoku was ruled by the Chōsokabe clan. Unfortunately for the Chōsokabe, the clan was caught on the losing side of the battle against the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and were stripped of their domain. The Yamauchi clan, supporters of Tokugawa, were rewarded with Tosa. The introduction to and establishment in Tosa province of what became Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū was impacted by elements of friction between former Chōsokabe retainers and their Yamauchi clan overlords. Read more at https://www.ittendojo.org/articles/political-impacts . #ittendojo #iaido
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  The June edition of Sword and Spirit has been posted. In “Kyudo Comes to PA,” Itten Dojo chief instructor Robert Wolfe discusses our introduction to kyudo, the art of Japanese archery, and the establishment of our kyudo study group—the only program of its kind in Pennsylvania. Download the newsletter by joining the Sword and Spirit group on Facebook, or directly from our website, at https://www.ittendojo.org/dbfiles/download/swordandspirit/pdf/104. All back issues of Sword and Spirit are available at https://www.ittendojo.org/articles/swordandspirit. #ittendojo #japanesemartialartscenter #iaido #jujutsu #judo #kyudo #shodo
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The May edition of Sword and Spirit has been posted. In “Beneath the Blade,” guest contributor Edward Castillo (Salahuddin Muhammed) Sensei reflects on “Ego, Honor, and the True Purpose of Combat.” Download the newsletter by joining the Sword and Spirit group on Facebook, or directly from our website, at https://www.ittendojo.org/dbfiles/download/swordandspirit/pdf/103. All back issues of Sword and Spirit are available at https://www.ittendojo.org/articles/swordandspirit. #ittendojo #japanesemartialartscenter #iaido #jujutsu #judo #shodo
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  Iaido Keiko: Reflecting on the Ancient to Steady the Modern Soul In these turbulent times, when the world outside the dojo doors seems determined to test every limit of human composure, the practice of iaido offers a quiet but profound antidote. As chief instructor of Itten Dojo in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, I have watched students of all ages and walks of life enter our training hall burdened by the relentless pressures of contemporary existence. They arrive carrying the weight of distant wars, the daily sting of rising gasoline prices and an ever-climbing cost of living, the dizzying upheaval of the AI revolution, the unsettling revelations surrounding the existence of aliens or higher-dimensional beings, the sharp divisions of political discord, and the persistent threats to personal health that shadow every headline. Yet within the simple ritual of drawing and sheathing the sword—precise, deliberate, and utterly solitary—they begin to discover something essential: an inwa...
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  Zanshin: The Remaining Mind in Japanese Martial Arts In the dojo, as in life, the most critical moments often come not during the peak of action, but in the quiet that follows. This is the essence of zanshin —the “remaining mind” or “lingering awareness”—a concept that permeates the classical Japanese martial arts we practice at Itten Dojo. Over more than five decades of training, beginning with Isshinryu karate in 1975 and extending through kenjutsu, aikijutsu and aikido, Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu iaido, and Nihon Jujutsu, I have come to see zanshin not as some abstract philosophical ideal, but as a practical, trainable state of being that separates competent technique from true mastery. It is the calm, alert readiness that persists after the cut, the throw, or the release of the arrow. Without it, even the most flawless execution is incomplete, for the opponent—or the challenges of daily life—does not vanish the instant your strike lands. Read more at https://www.ittendojo.org/a...
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  The April edition of Sword and Spirit has been posted. In “The Life of Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto no Shigenobu,” guest contributor Jack James Sensei shares what is clearly the most extensively researched and documented history in English of Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, the founder of iaido. James Sensei works as a translator and interpreter in Fukuoka, Japan. He has won the Fukuoka Prefectural Taikai across multiple grades and has represented Fukuoka at the All Japan Iaido Championships. He studies Muso Shinden Jushin Ryu and leads the Higashi Wakahisa Iaido Branch of Jushin Ryu Tekisuijuku. James Sensei is currently the only non-Japanese instructor teaching this tradition in Japan. In addition to his training and teaching, James Sensei devotes his time to researching the history of iaido, with a particular focus on Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto no Shigenobu and the art’s development within the Tosa Domain. We are deeply grateful to James Sensei for his permission to reprin...
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