Category Archives: Reflections Along the Way by Steven Shaw

The inspiration for Iaido is said to have come to Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu during the Nara or Heian period.  Shigenobu is also said to have been born in 1549 in Sagami, an area controlled by the Odawara Hojo but Sagami was adjacent to Kai, the home of Lord Takeda Shingen(1521-1573), a powerful daimyo set onContinue reading “The Old and The New”

From a Western perspective, a teacher and an instructor are synonymous. These words are used interchangeably when referencing someone from whom we are learning. From a Japanese perspective these words are very different in their connotation. It is common in modern, standards-based education to think and plan lessons around the facilitation of learners acquiring skills,Continue reading “Infinite Lessons”

I remember one day asking sensei why he trained in Aikido and Iaido. His response was, “How dare you ask me this question!” My intent was to discover if the same reasons for his devotion to the art were the same as mine, but what I have come to understand is that there is onlyContinue reading “Futile System”

None of us lives in a vacuum.  I am reminded of this daily.  Relying upon others sometimes goes unnoticed and it’s easy to forget how intricately woven together all of our lives are.  The social hierarchy of feudal Japan reflected this by placing farmers above craftsmen and merchants.  If we don’t eat, we don’t live.Continue reading “Simplicity in Connections”

In the study of Iaido, and many things, it is important to copy what the teacher is modeling. Doing exactly what the teacher is doing, or the model student is showing, is the way we learn the proper technique. Matching our bodies to the exact position that is being shown allows us to learn theContinue reading “Preservation”

One of the biggest obstacles to learning anything is its language.  No matter what it is, each career, occupation, skill, family, organization, country, region, etc. has its own language.  For a learner, the vocabulary specific to the discipline must be acquired in order to think about the different aspects of that discipline.  In basic Mathematics,Continue reading “Speaking the Language”

The world is our teacher.  In every moment of every day there are lessons to be learned.  Some lessons are momentous, and others are subtle.  Some people believe that a black belt is an accomplishment, which it is, but it is just the “first step” along the path. When we are born, it takes usContinue reading “To Be a Blackbelt”