Instant gratification permeates all aspects of our culture, but that is not the way of the dojo and training. When we are given time to train on our worst technique, that’s what we should do. It is singular focus. Last week I posed this approach to my students and I received varying responses. One learner ran through Inyoshintai, and then followed with Ryuto, another worked on Shohato, one worked on three techniques repeating them 1, 2, 3 again and again, and another learner still ran through several techniques. Only one managed to follow instruction. Technique is singular, and to work on one technique for the time given follows the wisdom: “I do not fear the man who has practiced 10,000 techniques, but the man who has practiced one technique 10,000 times.” Keep training!

A Japanese sword is designed to slice. An ax is designed to chop. The mass and balance of a sword is designed to slice at the tip, instead of chopping near the hands. Since this is the case, a sword’s tip should move along the greatest arc from a center point. By applying the principles of math, the longer the radius of a circle, the longer the arc. If the sword takes the same amount of time to travel a greater distance, greater radius=greater circumference, then the sword is moving faster with the greater distance.

A swordsman contributes his mass to the mass of the sword to increase the penetration of the cut. The strongest part of a human’s body is the hips and center, which means if we integrate our center into the cut, we are able have greater penetration and a larger radius. By cutting from our centers we employ both of these principles to create a more powerful cut. Keep training!