All Blog Entries

  1. Distraction Vs Focus

    There are some things that really try to distract me while training. It seems like every time I am ready to train, there's some moron right around the house cranking up a leafblower or a lawnmower. It sounds like the noise Jim Carrey makes in Dumb and Dumber. Drives me nuts. I'm not zen'd up enough to 'just ignore it' and most times I just stop in frustration and go inside to wait. I tried using headphones once, but I didn't think it was safe due to the fact that someone could come up from behind ...
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  2. Buffing out the blemishes

    I really need to learn how to polish a sword correctly. I mean, I know how to do the job w/ inexpensive stones and sandpaper, but to truly have an understanding of what happens when you take real time and develop the parts of the blade through repetitive rubbing on the blade itself. For now, I will just be happy w/ a sharp, cutting w/ ease, sword.

    Rook
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  3. Building Strength on the Open Side

    Recently I have noticed that I am extremely weak on my open side when performing one handed cuts on my open side. This is a major problem when performing double cuts from the draw. Often times I will execute the first cut from the draw and leave the mat static, but when I follow up with the second cut I do not cut the severed piece. Instead I bat the piece away, sometimes not even cutting the piece. I can feel a lag from my kissaki to my elbow. I believe that one of the problems is my body ...
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  4. Christmas time is near...

    Its that time of the year...time to get all the gifts needed for family, friends and others. I have decided to get pocket knives for my male cousins and pink katana letteropeners for my female cousins. Inexpensive and obviously from me.
    Happy Holidays.
    Rook
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  5. Soak Times

    Consistent targets are invaluable for cutting. It is difficult to anticipate the reaction of your target if it has lumps, and dry spots. After several months of trial and error the Rook was able to find the perfect soak times for the striped tatami.

    First off, for a single roll split the mats (the mats come in a double roll size).

    Next, roll the mats using a dowel or broom stick. This will not only leave a hole for the peg but also smooth out the roll.

    ...
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