SITTING and SWORDS

A beautiful evening in the backyard dojo. First, swords. Then, sitting. Zen threaded through it all.

PRACTICE

My word for 2026 is "practice."

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On a draw, I caught my left hand with the edge of the sword. If it had been a live blade, I would have lost my four fingers and half of my palm (where the blade lies across my hand). I think I know what I did wrong and 舌 gave me a strong bite for good measure (and to remember). Hence the need for practice!

ILLUMINATION

Sunset. Backyard dojo. Sword meditation with 舌 / shita.

"Think about this: You always have your body with you. This makes it a wonderful meditation tool because, guess what? Your body can only be here in the present moment. Your body cannot be someplace else in the future, and it cannot return to the past. You are here. Body and mind are intimately connected. This is why it is precious to have the body to practice with, so make use of it. Be grateful your mind can always follow your body back to the present moment." 

—Illumination by Rebecca Li

SHOULDER the PAIN

The beauty of a broken body. Using sword work to move through pain.

For the past couple of days, I've been experiencing issues with my broken arm, my shoulder, and my hardware. Then, tonight, my main neurological symptoms increasingly "turned on" and are now much more noticeable. So the former provided me a foretaste of what was to come.

Now it's time to lie on my Shakti Mat and then endure a couple days of waiting for symptoms to turn off.

SWORD MEDITATION

The weather today was perfect—76º Fahrenheit and finally a departure from the gray and gloom. It was a good day to get barefoot in the backyard dojo and do some sword meditation and suburi (drills).

It's been five months since I broke my humerus and my arm is starting to feel "normal" again more often than not. It's good to have a sword in my hand again!

棘 / TOGE

A new sword joins the family. Using basic sword strikes from the Filipino martial arts (kali / escrima), I "built" a new sword meditation, 解剖学的研究 / Kaibōgakuteki kenkyū / "Anatomical Study" for the backyard dojo. 

This lighter sword, with its double-edge blade, and only being held with one hand, is allowing me to explore deeper into some of the body mechanics of sword use. And it's an absolutely beautiful weapon: one side is darker than the other, and there are waves of grain running across her blade.

She is a beauty to behold and a beauty to wield.

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棘 / toge / thorn
espada / kamagong ("ironwood") Filipino wooden short sword

Some [seed] fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
—LUKE 8:7

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爪 / tsume / claw
jian / unsharpened Chinese straight sword

Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet.
—DANIEL 7:19

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頤 / ago / jaw
"Musashi oar" suburito / heavy oak wooden sword

Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men. And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
—JUDGES 15:15-16

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舌 / shita / tongue
katana iaito / unsharpened long sword

In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
—REVELATION 1:16

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牙 / kiba / fang
wakizashi iaito / unsharpened short sword

Fire and hail and famine and pestilence, all these have been created for vengeance; the fangs of wild animals and scorpions and vipers, and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction.
—ECCLESIASTICUS 39:29-30

TAIJI SWORD

Taiji sword work is completely different from iaido sword work. First, the sword is much lighter, which affects the movement of the blade through space. Second, the double-edged blade means I don't have to be as aware about which way the blade is facing. Third, the movements are slower and more deliberate, even though they aren't necessarily less powerful or dynamic.

This morning, I started working on "body geometry" (my term for it) with Master Shirley. The primary focuses of these early lessons were economy of movement, relaxed form, the sword as an extension of the arm, and moving along a plane. It has been great to remove rigidity from my stances, to apply circular motions toward the angles of the sword and my body, and to learn (again) how to channel energy as it spirals up from the ground while my body moves but my arms mostly don't (at least in relation to my body).

爪 / TSUME

A new sword joins my family of weapons. The "fourth beast" is different from all the rest, in that she is a Chinese sword rather than Japanese. Also, she is a one-handed weapon and double-sided. She is used in tai chi, qigong, and meditation.

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爪 / tsume / claw

jian / unsharpened Chinese straight sword

Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet.

—DANIEL 7:19

•

頤 / ago / jaw
"Musashi oar" suburito / heavy oak wooden sword

Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men. And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
—JUDGES 15:15-16

•

舌 / shita / tongue
katana iaito / unsharpened long sword

In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
—REVELATION 1:16

•

牙 / kiba / fang
wakizashi iaito / unsharpened short sword

Fire and hail and famine and pestilence, all these have been created for vengeance; the fangs of wild animals and scorpions and vipers, and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction. —ECCLESIASTICUS 39:29-30

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 顎

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of 顎 (ago / jaw), my "Musashi oar" suburito.



I took advantage of some rare late-fall sunshine in the backyard dojo today to celebrate with it.



We ran through some suburi (practice swings), as well as shonen sozoku (literally "true awareness," a series of kamae (stances)).

FREEDOM DAY

Freedom Day. Today is the second anniversary of the start of my martial arts journey. To acknowledge it, I freed 牙 / kiba from its decorative knot. (It's a working sword and needs to reflect such.)

I've traveled from the basics of karate in a dojo for about fifteen months to training in qigong and iaido in my backyard dojo for about the same amount of time, with some overlap. I'm now incorporating the practice of zazen (Zen breathing) into my sword work.* This form of "moving Zen" reminds me to stay in the present and particular moment and to be fully present to it. (Much easier said than done.)

Year three begins here and now!

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*I've been slowly working my way through two complementary books: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, which I've read a couple of times prior, and Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken. I'm incorporating the practice of zazen into my sword work, without the sitting (instead, motion) and without breath work (instead, forms and stances). So not really zazen at all. And yet completely zazen.

KOAN

A koan of movement, where solid oak bends like a reed in the wind. Dogiri sword drills.

POLISHED SWORD

A polished sword is a happy sword.

SWORD DRILLS

Sword drills in some beautiful warm late-spring weather.

Time: twilight. Location: backyard dojo.



Stance: waki-gamae.



Cut: gyaku-gesa.

SHADOW WARRIOR

Shadow warrior in the backyard dojo.

牙 / KIBA

A new member of my sword family!

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頤 / ago / jaw
"Musashi oar" suburito / heavy oak wooden sword

Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men. And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
—JUDGES 15:15-16

•

舌 / shita / tongue
katana iaito / unsharpened long sword

In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
—REVELATION 1:16

•

牙 / kiba / fang
wakizashi iaito / unsharpened short sword

Fire and hail and famine and pestilence, all these have been created for vengeance; the fangs of wild animals and scorpions and vipers, and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction.
—ECCLESIASTICUS 39:29-30

ETHER

There is Good, not Evil in the Ether
There is Wisdom
There is Reason
There is the Way
The Mind, Empty

—the close of The Ether Scroll by Miyamoto Musashi

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The weather has been slowly warming up. Winter shifts to spring.

The weather has also been mostly dry, allowing me plenty of time in the backyard dojo.

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I've been working on various techniques, forms, and waza. 

I was recently introduced to reverse grip draws (gyakute-nuki, reverse hand grip draw; and yunde-nuki, bow hand draw, with the left hand!) and enjoy trying to perfect them. Additionally, they provide variation in the draws, which means fewer problems assoicated with repetitive motion.

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Visualization is another "technique" I've been focusing upon—thinking about and dreaming about clean lines earlier, and then implementing them now.

OPPONENT

Sitting in seiza as I prepare to meet my opponent.

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.

THE WAY

I am slowly finding my path, figuring out my journey, along The Way. As much as I liked karate, I love iaido and qigong. Karate provided me fundamentals that I continue to practice, but I enjoy the movements of the yi jin jing series and sword work with my iaito and suburito in ways that I cannot quite properly put into words. I look forward to drawing and swinging and sheathing shita/舌 and ago/顎 each day.

Everything about working with them is prayer. Putting on my belt and gi and hakama is prayer: arming myself with the clothes of righteousness. Preparing to enter the backyard dojo is prayer: gratitude and respect. The meditation of forging a new body and new spirit in repetitive drills is prayer: thankfulness for the opportunity to push back against the void. Routine and ritual. Mystery and mysticism. Dancing before the Lord. Grounding myself in God.