Inner Dharma Blog
Inner Dharma refers to a practice ( sadhana ) and philosophical investigation concerned with the union of Taoist and Esoteric Buddhist concepts examined alongside contemporary natural philosophy. Below you will find some of my martial arts writing and updates on my travels and training:
☲ Kiai is Not a Sound
6 February 2025
Reflections on my practice of kenjutsu and how it has evolved over time. How internal martial arts has changed my Shinkage-ryū and what riddles remain.
☲ Kagami Biraki at Lonin 2025
3 February 2025
I attended Kagami Biraki at Lonin League in Seattle, Feb 2025. It was a privilege to see the demonstrations of budo from members of Tenshin Buko-ryu, Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu, and Japanese Fighting Arts Northwest.
☲ Visiting Kyoto and Nara
10 October 2024
Visiting sacred places has been an important component of my martial arts training over the years. I recently spent time visiting Kyoto and Nara. While visiting the seat of Honzan-ha Shugendō, not far from the Kyoto Budōkan (the site of the Meiji-era Butokukan), I realized I needed to focus my martial arts practice entirely on internal martial arts, even if that changed my practice of kenjutsu. These changes are not something undertaken lightly. Training earnestly, to purify my body, mind and spirit and recognize my original nature is the goal of my martial arts practice.
☲ Divergence and Unification in Shinkage-ryū
9 September 2024
Comparing different surviving lines of Shinkage-ryū and examining the goals of swordsmanship from armored combatives and unarmored duelling to self-cultivation and beyond.
☲ Kagami Biraki 2024
15 February 2024
Kagami Biraki held at Lonin League in Seattle, Feb 2024. Our group performed selected from the curriculum of Jiki Shinkage-ryu; we were honored to be able to watch the demonstrations by Tenshin Buko-ryu and our guests Japanese Fighting Arts Northwest.
☲ Tsubaki Grand Shrine America
30 June 2023
Visiting Tsubaki Grand Shrine America in June of 2023, before it is closed.
☲ General Qi Jiguans's Jixiao Xinshu and Reflections on Claims of Martial Virtue
16 February 2023
Link to an essay examining some older writings from Japanese koryū that reference classical Chinese military treatises and how practices described in those works may be represented in arts surviving today. Examining the effect an important military classic from China has had on surviving Japanese martial traditions and how traditions describe themselves in relation to one another.
☲ Kagami Biraki 2023
15 February 2023
Our group participated in a Kagami Biraki ceremony to observe the Lunar New Year in Seattle in January 2023. We performed kata selected from the curriculum of Jiki Shinkage-ryu and were honored to watch presentation from the Tenshin Buko-ryu class at Lonin.
☲ Keiko at Seattle Budokan
30 August 2021
In August we conducted group practice at the Seattle Budokan in August 2021 during a lull in the pandemic. We have been training outdoors in the Seattle area for the last year after Lonin League lost its space and it was nice to be back for an afternoon in a traditional dojo.
☲ Gogyō Exegesis
14 May 2020
An essay describing my experience, thinking, and choices regarding attempting to practice multiple koryū and then deciding not to.
☲ Open Steel Longsword
1 October 2019
Some discussion of competing in the open steel longsword tournament held at Swordsquatch in Seattle.
☲ Perspectives and Priorities
20 September 2019
Opportunity can be fleeting in classical and traditional martial arts training. Each art lives or dies in a single generation. Strong arts can become but weak echoes of their former selves without proper training intensity.
☲ 2019 Pittsburgh Taiji Seminar with Zhao Zeren and Zhang Yun
12 May 2019
Pittsburgh seminar in Northern Wu Style Taijiquan with Zhao Zeren and Zhang Yun.
☲ Swordsquatch 2018
16 September 2018
Photos from final matches at Swordsquatch 2018 in Seattle, WA:
☲ Swordsquatch 2017
16 September 2017
Photos from final matches at Swordsquatch 2017 in Seattle, WA:
☲ Taiji Classics Seminar
18 June 2017
Attending a seminar detailing excerpts from the Taiji classics.
☲ Aiki and Internal Training
23 February 2017
Collected thoughts on the historical influence of Chinese martial arts on Japanese jujutsu and how they relate to the topic of aiki in Aikido and Daito-ryu. What interested me about internal martial arts and how I have related that experience to my practice of Japanese budō.
☲ Enbu for Karunakaran
15 September 2016
Memorial demonstration in honor of the late Karunakaran-sensei, senior student of Donn Draeger in Shinto Muso-ryu Jo.
☲ Longpoint 2016
15 August 2016
Photos from final matches at Longpoint 2016 in Ellicott City, MD:
☲ Wu Taiji Quan Seminar with Zhao Zeren and Zhang Yun
23 May 2016
Zhao Zeren and Zhang Yun taught a series of three seminars on the Wu Style Taiji Quan of Wang Peisheng during May 2016 in Princeton, Pittsburgh, and Silver Spring.
☲ Princeton Bagua and Taiji Seminar
15 September 2015
At the end of summer, I traveled to Princeton for a seminar in Bagua and Taiji and was accepted as a formal lineal student by my teacher, Zhang Yun. I also traveled to the Pacific Northwest, where I was able to visit with budo colleagues in Oregon.
☲ Capital Katori
15 December 2014
I practiced in a branch of Katori Shinto-ryu hosted at Capital Aikikai in Silver Spring, until early 2015. Some photos from workshops and seminars from 2010 and 2014 can be found below.
☲ Tian Gang Dao Seminar
31 March 2014
This weekend I traveled to Pittsburgh for additional training in neijiaquan. I attended Zhang Yun's taijiquan class and met up with several of his senior students I had not seen in a while. It was great to train with everyone and get pointers on my body organization. I also had a chance to get further correction of my Yin Bagua Zhang and also learn the remaining sections of the Hebei Xingyi Quan Za Shi Chui (mixed skills) form.
☲ Demo of Araki-ryū and Tenshin Buko-ryū
17 June 2013
A brief reflection on a demonstration of Araki-ryū and Tenshin Buko-ryū at the NAMT 2013 Night of Budo.
☲ NYC Aiki-jujutsu History
1 October 2012
A short essay collecting what I know of NYC area Aiki-jujutsu schools inspired by the teaching of Daito-ryu Kodokai, especially Yonezawa Katsumi.
☲ Dewa Sanzan
30 November 2005
Visiting sacred places has been an important component of my martial arts training over the years. It was in 2004, while visiting the Dewa Sanzan area, including Gassan Dai Jinja (
月山大 神社 ) on Mt. Haguro and the Haguro-san Kōtakuji Shōzenin (羽黒山荒沢 寺正善院 ) Kogane-do in Haguro-machi associated to Haguro Shugendō, that I realized I needed to study classical and traditional arts instead of continuing to teach modern goshin-jutsu.