Articles

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of our Master Saito sensei. RIP sensei sadly missed きょうは斎藤先生死去20周年 Kyō wa Saitō sensei shikyo 20-shūnen 本日は、斉藤先生がお亡くなりになって、20回忌です。 どうか安らかにお眠りください。私は先生に永遠に感謝申し上げます。 Honjits wa Saito sensei ga onakunarini natte nijukkaiki desu. Doka yasurakani onemuri kudasai. Watashi wa sensei ni eien ni kansha moshiagemasu.

I have spoken with some my seito ( students ) occasionally about my own experiences as a student in Iwama, Japan, and how Saito Sensei's teaching methods (and those of other Japanese teachers I have studied under) differ so much from the way I, and other, western teachers, teach at present.

The first principle that must be obeyed in combat is ma ai distance. The ma ai for sword, stick, spear and hand, are all different, as is the maai involving more than one attacker.