ON the MAT

Someone joined me on the mat this morning. Is this helping or hindering exercise?

THERABAND FLEXBAR

Training game changer: Theraband FlexBar. It's proven to rehabilitate tennis/golfer's elbow. (Or sword elbow!) I've already experienced relief.

I can feel where it is countering the affected muscles and tendons. I also used it to isolate the nerve pain that accompanies the sword elbow and follow it back to the point of origin in my bulging disc.

ALBUM of the YEAR

ALBUM of the YEAR • 2022

It's a tie for album of the year. These two albums were each introspective and raw and pushed the band into new places.



Radiate Like This by Warpaint. This album is "quieter" than previous albums. It is feminine and beautiful and playful and intimate and vulnerable.



Lucifer on the Sofa by Spoon. Indie rock, blues, stomp rock, alt-country. This may be their best album yet. And I've listened to the title track more than any other single in 2022.

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THREE MORE CONTENDERS



Cheat Codes by Black Thought and Danger Mouse. There is so much goodness here. My only complaint is that I wish some of these tracks were longer than "radio play."



The Tipping Point by Tears for Fears. An album that wears its heart on its sleeve. Personal trauma and grief are universalized. A classic band updated for a new decade.

Stumpwork by Dry Cleaning. (I didn't include a photo of the album art because I find it disturbing.) This sophomore album includes more singing by Florence to accompany her spoken word delivery. And the other band members are loose and wild and playing their best music so far.

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A FEW OTHERS

Metal album of the year. Children of the Great Extinction by Becoming the Archetype. Returning after a ten-year absence, BTA returns to form with this sci-fi death metal concept album.

Electronic album of the year. The Third Chimpanzee by Martin Gore. Yes, it's actually from 2021, but who's counting? Primal scream instrumentals from the primary songwriter of Depeche Mode. I'm sure it's mostly digital, but it feels/sounds analog at times.

Wish I had discovered it earlier (and need to hear it some more). Unison Life by Brutus. Post-hardcore shoegaze that knocks me on my ass! More please.

It was fun for a bit. Wet Leg by Wet Leg. The singles are catchy, but ultimately it felt a bit too gimmicky, too good to be true. But I still really dig "Supermarket."

SAGEO

Sageo is the (umbilical) cord that connects one to sheath and sword. Binds one to the Void. Tethers the world of the temporal to the timeless, the world of order to the primordial chaos, allowing the creative act to be birthed into being.

SWORD DRILLS

Sword drills and draws in full uniform. Uwagi, upper uniform. Tattsuke hakama, trousers with kyahan himo (legging straps). Kaku obi, iaido belt. Jika-tabi, divided toe boots.



Nukitsuke, drawing cut.



Kirioroshi, downward cut.



Kissaki (sword point) tsuki, thrust.



Nōtō, resheathing.

TABI

Jika-tabi!