<\/p>\n
\n Practising Katori Shinto Ryu is
\n not just developing a certain proficiency with the sword and other weapons.
\n Katori Shinto Ryu is a way of passing on a certain tradition, a transmission
\n that can be traced back from individual to individual to at least 1447, the
\n year of the school’s foundation.\n<\/p>\n
\n But what is it we understand by
\n tradition? In itself a tradition can be an empty shell: a rigid and
\n institutionalised form of rules of conduct that have been passed down and
\n along the way have become absolutised – no longer a means but an
\n end.\n<\/p>\n
\n This is not the type of tradition that is interesting to us. The form in which the tradition is
\n continued, in this case the Ryu, is meaningful to us because it is the way for
\n us to pursue our goal: our further shaping and development of ourselves \u00d0
\n self-development by studying a way of being that is difficult to find in the
\n daily life of our (post-)modern world.\n<\/p>\n
\n A warrior tradition teaches us
\n the meaning of self discipline, honour and loyalty, an open and respectful way
\n of dealing with each other, an appreciation for hierarchical relations where
\n they are functional, like on the tatami, and the meaning of the worth of every
\n moment in our temporary life. Studying the tradition opens to us an inner
\n dimension that is often lacking in a world where prosperity, convenience and
\n comfort seem to be the most important things to pursue. A warrior tradition
\n should however not be confused with a soldier tradition of absolute discipline
\n and obedience, as seems to happen all too often in martial arts.\n<\/p>\n
\n It should be clear that
\n tradition is only continued in a valuable way if it has not has become rigid
\n with formal patterns. Continuation of the ryu does not happen through formal
\n structures, but through personal study and transfer. That is why a live ryu
\n not only adheres to tradition, but also dynamically transforms to adapt to
\n changing times, without losing the essence of its traditions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Every teacher within the ryu
\n appropriates the techniques and transforms them according to his own skill,
\n character and physique (practicing martial arts is, after all, a dynamic
\n process, not an exact science), and every teacher has to be able to convey the
\n essences of the ryu tradition to new and changing generations. Etiquette, for
\n example, is one of these essences \u00d0 not as a goal, but as a means to an end.
\n Martial arts start and end with
\n etiquette, with a way of handling oneself as well as others. From the moment
\n the budoka, the martial artist, enters the training room until he leaves, his
\n behaviour is subject to closely defined lines of conduct. Greeting politely:
\n the kamiza (the “highest point” of the training room, which is the place where
\n the psychic energy is focused), the teacher, the fellow students, the own
\n weapon. Wearing prescribed clothing, which is based on that of the samurai and
\n accentuates the difference between daily life and the training room.
\n Maintaining a correct posture: standing or sitting upright on the floor, in
\n seiza or cross-legged, which not only indicates that the old samurai did not
\n have chairs or benches, but also that they were prepared for battle at all
\n times. Never attacking someone unexpectedly, but practicing in set forms and
\n in a respectful way, mindful of the danger that weapons training entails.
\n Starting on time and not leaving the room without the teacher’s permission, so
\n as not to disturb the concentration of others.\n<\/p>\n
\n Form and content reinforce each
\n other in this way, and are closely related, in the same way that the mental
\n attitude of the warrior is formed in the physical training of the art of sword
\n fighting, even as this mental attitude is the only thing that advances his
\n physical training. A living and meaningful ryu cannot exist where only the
\n exterior of tradition is present.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/p>\n
\n Stephen Snelders<\/b>\n<\/p>\n
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