Shinbukan Canada

Word of the week: Heijoshin The kanji here are: Hei means calm/steady; jo means constant; "shin means mind. Heijoshin is the state of mind we should aspire to in kendo/iaido, in that we are able to face combat with an unflustered mind. If you've fought a lot (whether in the dojo or the local pub) you soon learn that you will be defeated if you are afraid of your opponent, and also if you allow yourself to get arrogant or angry. Calmness allows you to assess the situation..., react to whatever is thrown at you (often literally), and exploit the openings that your opponent will eventually give you. Kendo talks of 'shikai', which are things to avoid: Kyo (surprise); Ku (fear); Gi (doubt) and Waku (confusion or hesitation). Some say that the relevance of heijoshin to iai, and especially once you get to higher grades, is that showing fear or hesitation in a grading means that you are not in the right 'space' mentally. My view is different - the practice of budo allows you to develop heijoshin in everyday life as well as in the dojo. It makes you more resilient and able to act as necessary. But for now, let's all repeat Master Yoda's lesson on shikai, and make sure you get the voice right... "Surprise leads to hesitation, hesitation leads to doubt, doubt leads to fear, and fear leads to the Dark Side. Mmm."

Want some intensive training for your club? We are now scheduling weekend seminars in Pender Harbour for 2021. Lots of iai, kayaking, canoeing and hot tub. Also, I bought an inflatable SUP. Although, in my case, inflatable FOP would be more accurate

COVID safety guidelines! Hello students While we only have seen a slight uptick in cases in BC, COVID remains a threat to us all. I thought it was worth pointing out the hygiene measures that we will enforce for Shinbukan Canada (and ‘we’ in this case means all of you as well as us)... We will: - Maintain at least 1 sword lengths from others at all times (remember that you should always be 3 metres from people when practicing, even in non-COVID times) - Check prior to opening reiho that everyone is feeling fine We will not: - come to training if we are feeling feverish, sniffly, have a new cough, or even feeling fatigued - come to training for 14 days if we know anyone who has, or has the symptoms of, COVID - come to training for 14 days if we have travelled to the Unclean States of America - practice close-paired work on chuden kata, tachi uchi no kurai or tsume-ai no kurai - kiai - share equipment - allow spectators in the dojo Additional precautions (at your discretion): - wear a gauze or cloth mask while training - bring hand sanitizer and use it regularly Special steps Pender Harbour - shared use of kneepads and obi are permitted (given length of time between usage) - we will ensure that door handles to washrooms and dojo are cleaned prior to training sessions - different arrangements will apply to gasshuku weekends Special steps Nikkei Centre - if possible, change at home rather than in the changing rooms or washrooms - The Nikkei can get very crowded, try to stay away from people wherever possible - Don’t, under any circumstances, go into the old folks’ home Any questions or concerns, raise it with us

Nice photo essay on iaido. Some useful information and a couple of photos of The Boss https://www.behance.net/gallery/60176549/The-art-of-iaido