Hey there! I've been lurking mostly. With school being out for the summer, I'm going to give me best effort to help my brother with the site. I'll be visiting him this July 4th to get some hands on training. To answer your question I'm studying kobudo. Kobudo literally means "old martial way" and refers to any number of schools of classical Japanese martial arts pre-dating 1868. These arts were developed and intended for use on the battlefield or in personal combat. My school offers training in six of the nine lineages that our headmaster in Japan, Hatsumi Masaaki, is grandmaster of: Gyokko Ryu kosshijutsu, Koto Ryu koppojutsu, Kukishin Ryu happo hiken, Takagi Yoshin Ryu jutaijutsu, Shinden Fudo Ryu taijutsu, and Togakure Ryu happo hiken. Most of my non-black belt training takes techniques from Gyokko Ryu and Koto Ryu and perfecting their basics. It takes about five years to reach black belt in my school. What I take most from my training is not the fighting moves but rather the philosophy and way of life. After each training session, my sensei, who happens to be a ordained Buddhist monk, talks a little about the samurai mentality, how to live in the moment, and be observant and aware. It has been a transforming experience. What about yourself?

These pics were taken in 2006 at a Japanese festival where my dojo demonstrated. My war face.