兵法

Japanese Swordsmanship

The Gassankan [ 月山館 ] is the name of my ongoing training activity in traditional Japanese swordsmanship.

I studied several approaches to classical Japanese swordsmanship before moving to Seattle in 2016. Chief among them was an unofficial line of Kashima-shinden Jiki Shinkage-ryū maintained at the Hōbyōkan following the teachings of Namiki Yasushi and Itō Masayuki. I received a Hōbyōkan chuden menjo from Dr. David Hall in 2018.

Since that time I have continued traditional katageiko, conducted analyses of kata in a process called kuzushi and performed combative pressure testing called tameshi-ai. In doing this, my practice has become increasingly influenced by my continued study of internal martial arts.



Lonin League Kagami Biraki

 



Gassankan Keiko 2021

Where To Train

From 2018 to 2025 I worked with a small number of people at Lonin League in Seattle on traditional Jiki Shinkage-ryū kata and free practice called jigeiko — for those interested, some video is available online.

Related study groups include:

  • The Ryūzukan is led by two of my Hōbyōkan sempai: Brian Wagner and Chris Covington; they are senior pracititioners of Daito-ryū aiki-jujutsu in the line of Tokimune Takeda and Kondo Katsuyuki.
  • >David Sims, another of my Hōbyōkan sempai, is now a formal member of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū Naganuma-ha holding the rank of reikenden. He lives in North Carolina.
  • Tōsha Dōjō [ 闘者道場 ] is the practice led by my senior students Jake Harlin and Nicky Sayah Sina under at Lonin League in Seattle. They focus on hōjō, tō-no-kata, and jigeiko.

There are a number of formal lines of Jikishinkage-ryū surviving in Japan. I have collected video clips of Jikishinkage-ryū practice from Japan.

Resources

Below is a selection of essays, articles, and updates written as part of the Inner Dharma project on the topic of Shinkage-ryū and related arts:

  1. Comparing Classical and Modern Methods and Mindsets, October 2025:
    We examine some features of armed and unarmed grappling and small weapon styles from the medieval period to modernity and draw some parallels and distinctions between them, especially as related to combat sport and contemporary military practices.
  2. Modern Masters of Jiki Shinkage-ryū, September 2025:
    Survey of contemporary research on the modern transmission of Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu.
  3. In Memorium: David A. Hall (1947-2025), July 2025:
    On 26 July 2025, the world lost one of its most knowledgeable teachers and scholars of classical Japanese martial culture.
  4. From Kodachi to Kogusoku, June 2025:
    Examining the role of kodachi kata in the progression of skill in Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu, with a description of application to close quarter armed grappling.
  5. Raito and Sente, June 2025:
    Examining the relationship between combative posture and initiative in a portion of Jiki Shinkage-ryū. What is first observed may be quite different from hidden layers of meaning and practice.
  6. Koryu-wa Koryu-nari, May 2025:
    The title is a pun on a famous saying associated to Shinto-ryu, the art of war is the art of peace. Old traditions are small traditions — it is the content that matters.
  7. The Shin-no-shinkage heihō of Ogasawara Genshinsai, March 2025:
    Review of contemporary research on the formation & transmission of Jiki Shinkage-ryū.
  8. Enren: Circling Continuously, February 2025:
    An example of the deconstruction of kata. Kuzushi is the name for the activity of pulling apart and analyzing kata in Shinkage-ryū, making connections between different parts of its curriculum. It also at times can refer to sudden, spontaneous, change.
  9. Hōjō ken Kokoro-e sho, December 2024:
    Text on Jiki Shinkage-ryū Hōjō (foundational) swordsmanship, provided for reference based on Jiki Shinkage-ryū Sōhonbu and Hōbyōkan material. This is typically chanted or recited before performance of the Hōjō kata of Jiki Shinkage-ryū.
  10. Divergence and Unification in Shinkage-ryū, September 2024:
    Link to an essay on kata, heiho and shugyo, where I compare and contrast different surviving lines of Shinkage-ryū and reflect on my own practice.
  11. Recommended Reading, January 2024:
    Written reference material concerning classical and traditional martial arts I have found both inspiring and informative over the years.
  12. General Qi Jiguans's Jixiao Xinshu and Reflections on Claims of Martial Virtue, February 2023:
    An essay published at Kogen Budo, where I look at some older writings from Japanese koryū that reference classical Chinese military treatises, and then examine how practices described in those works may be represented in arts surviving today.