Has anyone had a difficult time with how to grasp the bokken ("te-no-uchi")? This is the specific way to grasp and "connect" to the sword. It takes practice to learn to proper keep to-no-uchi at all times.

A fun question for everyone; what is your training space? Is it somewhere separate from where you live? Is it the dojo itself or whenever the mood strikes you wherever you happen to be? What are some interesting places you’ve trained or places you make a point to train at? For me, I travel quite a bit for work these days so usually the type of hotel I find myself in will dictate what I focus on and whether or not I can tune in on class. When I’m home I usually clear a large space in the living room when the house hasn’t woken up yet and for interesting places, I’ve enjoyed finding a quiet spot or two in the mountains after work occasionally. Sometimes changing things up is a gift in and of itself. I think, for me at least, the objects we dedicate ourselves to signal the spirit of training. For example, the bokken/shinken is here, so here I may begin.