About
A student, first.
A writer, second.
I began training in 2019 with no particular ambition. What kept me coming back was not the sword, but the quality of attention the practice seemed to require. This journal is what that attention looks like when held to a page.
Mission
To document a slow apprenticeship — honestly, without embellishment, and without haste.
Training philosophy
Small repetitions, held to a high standard. Fewer techniques studied more deeply. The teacher’s corrections are the curriculum.
Current goals
- — Shodan grading in Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu
- — Continued study of the Muto no Kata
- — Cleaner suriashi at speed
- — Ten minutes of zazen before every practice
Currently reading
- — Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- — The Sword and the Mind, Yagyū Munenori
- — Zen in the Art of Archery, E. Herrigel
A favoured line
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
— Laozi