Overview of Practice

At the Gassankan, the formal kata of Jiki Shinkage-ryū serve as a foundational practice and frame of reference from which we can begin to understand the core principles of swordsmanship and develop our skill.

Jiki Shinkage-ryū has had its curriculum pared down over time, especially in lines (such as our own) that descend from the famous Sakakibara Kenkichi, bodyguard to the last Tokugawa Shogun in the late 19th century. As a result, It is helpful to explore specific approaches from related traditions as an adjunct to our core practice when we conduct the analysis of kata, which we call kuzushi.

In our group, once skill is developed in the core kata of Jiki Shinkage-ryū, we refine our understanding of a broad range of tactics through the exploration of related lines of Shinkage-ryū. We examine adjunct tactics in relation to the foundational practice of Jiki Shinkage-ryū in order to have a broad set of possibilities in our free practice.

The advantages provided by Jiki Shinkage-ryū in the development of posture, distance, timing, body alignment, awareness of angle and centerline, balance, root (stance), power generation, and resolve (spirit) provided by a study of Jiki Shinkage-ryū then serve to amplify the other approaches. Sometimes, we find, beyond what is even possible in the related arts. This is one reason why practitioners of Jiki Shinkage-ryū will regard their art as the "true" or "correct" Shinkage-ryū, and will sometimes simply refer to their practice only as Shinkage-ryū.

Having developed a foundation and then explored variation, we are then in a good position to begin a free practice of sparring called tameshi ai, where students can test themselves in order to bring out the spontaneous and intuitive mindset necessary for developing higher levels of skill. Jiki Shinkage-ryū was famous for its strength in shiai, and I aim to preserve that aspect of the tradition.

Ultimately, our practice is a form of austerity called shugyō that develops the body, mind, and spirit.

Because Jiki Shinkage-ryū is organized around Taoist principles but winds up being a very hard practice at times, there is utility in embracing the idea of balancing its practice with elements drawn from classical internal martial arts. This is in keeping with advice my teacher was given when he was learning the art, and the fact that Jiki Shinkage-ryū's fourth headmaster spent an extended period of time in China in the early 17th century, which had a profound impact on Jiki Shinkage-ryū compared to other surviving Shinkage-ryū traditions.