In class I have heard many times "it's all kenjutsu." When I first started that didn't really make sense, I mean in basic terms, kenjutsu is the art of Japanese swordsmanship. Over time I started thinking how our principles of posture, relaxation and breathing can be applied in our everyday lives. For example when cleaning snow off my car I focused on using my hips to move my arm. When driving I think about my posture and when traffic is crazy good time to practice breathing and relaxation. 🙂 What are your thoughts about the phrase "it's all kenjutsu" ?

Hi Everyone, just thought I would drop a note to see how people are doing. What are you working on as far as kenjutsu? I have been focusing on posture and proper walking and opening. Hope everyone is doing well!

Hi everyone. Those who have been training awhile have heard the mantra posture, relaxation and breathing. Those new to kenjutsu, you will hear it. A lot. 🙂 I would like to comment on relaxation. One of the things we worked on in class today was jab and cross. Now for me coming from a Taekwondo background I am used to throwing punches hard and fast. Fist relaxed until point of impact then tense on impact. Relax again after. Tonight we focused on being relaxed the entire time. I was able to generate as much impact going slow as going fast. It may sound counter intuitive but the softer and more relaxed I was the more impact I had. What are your thoughts and experiences relating to relaxation in your training?

Welcome to Nami ryu Kenjutsu online. I'm excited to have you here, and to share your passion for learning Japanese swordsmanship. ⚔️ Please take a minute to introduce yourself and share what motivates you to learn kenjutsu. Maybe you're into Kurosawa movies, the samurai, or Japanese swords, or maybe you've wanted to learn Japanese swordsmanship but don't have a place to train or a community to support you. We'd like to know what brought you here!

Howdy all, I've held a friend's polypropylene katana, about a year ago. He's a beginner, but he's huge, so I was surprised at how small the sword was. I'm not beginning kendo anytime soon—I've just dipped my toe into swords at all, and I'm a curious fella. I have a 29"-blade training dao, the one in my profile photo, that I call the butter knife, and a Chinese straight sword that's intentionally a bit oversized for me, with a 37" blade and space for both hands on the handle. Do you have a rule of thumb, a principle, or a good resource for sizing a katana? I know, you match the tool to the job, and for a beginner, the job is training. Even still, I'd love to hear how you select a sword when you can choose based on feel. Much obliged 🖖