Hey everyone just curious what people have in their vehicles as far as preparedness. I have basic first aid, bandages, gauze, scissors and knife. For winter I have wool blanket, gloves, jumper cables and shovel. Although my shovel is plastic. I need to step it up and get a metal shovel. Oh, when i first started driving as a teen my father told me to keep $5.00 in my glove box in case i get really low on gas i will have enough to get home. I still have that $5.00 bill in my glove box. 🙂 What do you all recommend?

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.

Happy Saturday everybody! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Here in the U.S. we have a [rare] long weekend from the Labor Day holiday on Monday. I wanted to let you all know that a new folder of videos for Rokudan Giri, our fundamental six cuts, has been added in the Intermediate Kenjutsu course. Many thanks to Alex Taylor for the incredible videography and Kanji+Hiragana overlays on these videos. They're at a whole new level and I'm excited for you to see them and train along. The videos are available to all in-person students and distance students (both distance student subscription tiers).

"You will never plow a field by turning it over in your mind" I relate to this so much! For example when I don't do well with a particular kata in class I go over it again and again in my mind. Why did I screw up, again? What am I doing wrong? It can put me in a negative spiral. It is much better when I take a breath and actually do the kata and feel what is going on. Don't get me wrong, thinking about what I want to improve is important, but ultimately I have to actually do the thing I want to improve. So get out there and plow whatever field you need to work on!🙂

"The easiest way to get rid of a minus is to make it a plus." The Tao of Pooh. I like this quote because it is a reminder of how important it is to have a positive mindset. When something negative happens we can look for the lesson. How can I grow from whatever the situation is? If you have not read The Tao of Pooh I highly recommend it. The book explains Taoism through Winnie The Pooh and you learn how the different characters represent different aspects of Taoism.