Writing
Inner Dharma is a writing project concerned with traditional martial arts and culture, especially my practice of classical kenjutsu and its relationship to internal martial arts training and Sino-Japanese philosophy and religion.
June 2026
Extensive documents from Kyushu in 1766 and how they relate to the Edo area Yagyū and Jiki Shinkage-ryū densho contents. We find independent corroboration of common Shinkage-ryū influence in these arts at the same time of the writings of Naganuma Kunisato in 1768. Specifically, the gokui section of Jiki Shinkage-ryū mokuroku overlap substantially with the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū Okugi, suggesting a majority of those concepts were preserved in Jiki Shinkage-ryū.
June 2026
Sōjaku-no-koto (相尺之事; mutual distance or measure) is one of the formal matters listed in historical mokuroku of Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu. We examine its relationship to Sino-Japanese philosophical concepts.
June 2026
Detail of Hassō Happa from 1800 Kashima Shinden Jiki Shinkage-ryū densho by Ogawa Yashichi, its place in Hōjō swordsmanship, and how the eight phases may relate to the eight extremes of Daoist Huainanzi geography.
May 2026
Details on choices of romanization of 直心影流 — this project uses Jiki Shinkage-ryū, but other choices are also valid.
May 2026
Last in a series. We examine a seal of transmission of self-protective methods dated 1675 and compare it against a different line of transmission from 1812.
May 2026
Discussion of kodachi and habiki practice in Jiki Shinkage-ryū Seito-ha as informed by an examination of Saitō Akinobu (1901) Gokui Kyōju Zukai, explaining brief oral teachings.
May 2026
Summary of 1800 Kashima Shinden Jiki Shinkage-ryū densho by Ogawa Yashichi, comparing it against other densho I analyzed in my recent book.
A history of the lineage is provided (with additional details about Ogasawara's nittō (visit to China) and early lineage claims), along with details on gokui that differ from other mokuroku, and some commentary on the ten faults.
This article contains links to additional notes on aspects of the curriculum and will be expanded over time.
May 2026
A brief discussion of the seasonal mappings of kata in Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu and how those relate to Daoist complementarity, five phase theory, and partially to Mikkyō concepts.
May 2026
Examining some evidence for the genesis of upper-level Shinkage-ryū teachings based on information available about Aisu Ikōsai's founding vision of Sarutahiko, Kamiizumi's early training in Kashima, and the arrangement of Shinkage-ryū kata over time.
May 2026
Tracing the threads from the legendary Kyō Hachi Ryū and Kiichi Hōgen at Kurama, through the tengu pantheon of Mt. Atago, Kōyasan, and Kotohira, to the eight cipher-names Sekishūsai used to hide the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū Tengushō kata in his picture catalog.
April 2026
A poem by Yu Xin (513-581) evokes some thoughts on training and teaching — the importance of solo practice, the results of different experiments in teaching, why it is best to be cautious before taking on new obligations.
April 2026
Reflections on researching and writing about inner principles of Japanese swordsmanship and relating those back to my internal martial arts practice.
April 2026
Tàijíquán, along with Xingyiquan and Baguazhang, forms the core of the internal martial arts, distinguished by their grounding in Taoist philosophy and Neigong practices.
January 2026
I have collected my notes on Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu into a single volume and expanded them with research into Japanese language historical documents and publications on that art. The result is now available as a small book.
December 2025
Reflecting on twenty years of writing on martial arts, the integration of internal principles into classical swordsmanship, and a concluding pilgrimage to Japan.
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.
July 2025
On 26 July 2025, the world lost one of its most knowledgeable teachers and scholars of classical Japanese martial culture.
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.
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.
May 2025
When people become devoted to a martial art, they are doing so not at a single point in time but in a process that extends through time — the present moment, the memory they have of their training, and their expectations of the future. This can interfere with progress if nostalgia for their first impression of an art is in conflict with its higher-level teachings.
April 2025
Last year I began additional training in the union of Yoga and Buddhism offered through Tibet House. As part of this training, an essay comparing the Astanga (8-limbs) of Patanjali with the Buddhist Noble Eightfold path.
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.
December 2024
Text on Jikishinkage-ryū Hōjō (foundational) swordsmanship, provided for reference based on Jikishinkage-ryū Sōhonbu and Hōbyōkan material. This is typically chanted or recited before performance of the Hōjō kata of Jikishinkage-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.
June 2023
Visiting Tsubaki Grand Shrine America in June of 2023, before it is closed.
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.
September 2021
I provide some information on the organization, goals, and overal training context of my efforts at preserving a practice of Jiki Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu (heihō) and related arts as part of the Gassankan.
October 2020
The Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi taught as part of Yin Cheng Gong Fa includes an extensive curriculum of jian (sword), dao (saber), and qiang (spear).
September 2020
On solo practice, free sparring, entering HEMA competition, and the waning intensity of classical martial arts. A synthesis of reflections from 2017 to 2020 on what it means to keep kenjutsu practice alive.
August 2019
Reflections on a decade of practice in Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, the decision to leave the art, and an analysis of what may lie hidden beneath its surface.
May 2019
Pittsburgh seminar in Northern Wu Style Tàijíquán with Zhao Zeren and Zhang Yun.
June 2017
An important translation of the Taiji Classics has been published. Highly recommended.
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 Aikidō and Daitō-ryū. What interested me about internal martial arts and how I have related that experience to my practice of Japanese budō.
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.
August 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.
January 2015
In the new year, I have decided to focus my martial arts efforts to continued regular participation in two schools — Yin Cheng Gong Fa and the Hobyokan
June 2013
A brief reflection on a demonstration of Araki-ryū and Tenshin Bukō-ryū at the NAMT 2013 Night of Budo by Ellis Amdur a reknowned kobujutsu, Aikidō and internal martial arts researcher and practitioner, demonstrating two arts he has mastered.
January 2013
In Baltimore, after leaving my first dōjō in NYC, I continued to work on refining the modern goshin-jutsu 護身術 methods I had first learned with my colleague Ben Lawner. The result was a smaller curriculum informed by our practice of Gao lineage bagua.
July 2012
Some notes on Japanese mountain religion from the Tōhoku region of Japan and its importance to pracititioners of arts derived from the teachings of Takeda Sokaku.
July 2012
Some notes on NYC area Aiki-jūjutsu from the 1980s and 1990s.
August 2011
Some details on my ongoing practice of yoga and vajrayana.
May 2011
A brief discussion of power generation in internal martial arts.
May 2008
I attended the 2008 summer Yin Cheng Gong Fa seminar in Frederick, MD.
March 2008
In xingyiquan classics there are three levels of practice described: ming jin, an jin, and hou jin. Ming jin is called "visible practice," where skill is evident in the characteristics of movement and motion. An jin is called "hidden practice," where technique is expressed inside the body. Hou jin is called "dissolved practice," where the body is transformed.
March 2008
An examination of baguazhang body mechanics compared to modern kempo. A discussion of power generation in internal martial arts. How training in internal martial arts changed my Aikidō.