3 reasons why you should not use a shinken.

In the past 16 month I have seen in 2 occasions some high ranking Karate people cut themselves with their swords. In Public. Fortunately, their cuts were superficial, no tendon or bone were cut. But the blood spilled in front of many people. 

 

This is unfortunate. Cutting yourself with your sword is akin to shooting yourself in the foot with your own gun. Would you trust a gun instructor who'd do that ?

Sharp swords – also called Live Blade or Shinken in Japanese – were designed to kill people swiftly and effortlessly. The only reason to use them is to practice Tameshigiri – actual cutting of targets. This is done in a particular environment, with strict safely guidelines.

They should not be used for Iaido which is normally practiced with Iaito. Iaito have the same geometry and shape than regular katana, they may be slightly lighter to prevent stress injury, and they are dull to avoid accident. They are designed for this purpose of safe practice.

If Japanese masters use them, so should you. 

For the following 3 reasons :

A dangerous fallacy.

I have heard many people say “I like to practice with a sharp sword, because it forces me to be more accurate.” Invariably, those people cut themselves. And it's just a matter of time before someone cuts someone else. So this is a fallacy, and a dangerous one.

A bad image of Yoshukai

Unless you know what you are doing, you will cut yourself, as long as it happens in private, it is your problem, but if it happens in public, you are displaying a poor image of Yoshukai in front of students or parents.

A serious liability

An other aspect of this is that when you bring to a room, a dojo or a beach a sharp sword and leave it unattended on the ground, you are in effect letting a dangerous weapon in the open for anyone to mess with. Would you leave a loaded gun laying on an open table in a picnic area ?

People, and children in particular, are curious and can be sneaky. If anyone would grab your sword and accidentally cut themselves, or wound or kill someone, you would likely be liable, as would probably be whoever organized the event or own the venue where it happened.

So if you don't have a sword, please purchase a Iaito, there are some good ones available at Cheness. If you already have a sharp sword, dull it. Use a grinder and take the sharp edge out of it or ask someone to do it for you. If you want to keep your sharp sword purchase a Iaito.

If you have questions about sword purchasing, please contact me at Frederic.lecut@gmail.com

Medical Studies of Tai Chi

From a very interesting and well documented article in the New York Times today

The many small studies of Tai chi have found health benefits ranging from better balance and prevention of falls to reduced blood pressure, relief of pain and improved immunity.

Dr. Chenchen Wang and colleagues at Tufts Medical Center in Boston reported in August in The New England Journal of Medicine Tai chi reduced pain and fatigue and improved the patients’ ability to move, function physically and sleep. The benefits persisted long after the 12 weeks of Tai chi sessions ended.

Documenting Tai chi’s purported health benefits is a challenge. As an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine  noted, it is virtually impossible to design an ideal study of Tai chi. There is no “fake” version that could serve as a proper control to be tested against the real thing.

And unlike evaluations of drugs, Tai chi studies cannot be double-blinded such that neither patients nor researchers know which group is receiving which treatment. Those guided by a Tai chi master would undoubtedly know who they are and could be influenced by the teacher’s enthusiasm for the practice.

Still, scientists have come to better understand and appreciate the mind-body connection, which for too long was dismissed as a placebo effect, and most doctors are now more willing to accept the possibility that stress-reducing activities can have a profound effect on health.

There is no question that Tai chi can reduce stress. Tai chi “combines meditation with slow, gentle, graceful movements, as well as deep breathing and relaxation to move vital energy (qi by the Chinese, Ki in Japanese) throughout the body.”

If nothing else, this kind of relaxing activity can lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve cardiovascular fitness and enhance mood. For example, a review in 2008 found that Tai chi lowered blood pressure in 22 of 26 published studies.

Thus, it can be a useful aid in treating heart disease, high blood pressure and depression, conditions common among older people who may be unable to benefit from more physically demanding exercise.

Regular practitioners of Tai chi report that they sleep better, feel healthier and experience less pain and stiffness, though it cannot be said for certain that Tai chi alone is responsible for such benefits.

Perhaps the best-documented benefit of Tai chi, and one that is easiest to appreciate, is its ability to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls, even in people in their 80s and 90s.

Another benefit, again especially important to older adults, is the apparent ability of tai chi to improve immune function. In a 2007 study also financed by the Complementary and Alternative Medicine center, those who practiced tai chi had a better response to the varicella zoster vaccine that can help prevent shingles.

Finally, attending a few sessions or even a 12-week course is not enough to guarantee lasting health benefits. As with any other form of exercise, tai chi must be practiced regularly and indefinitely to maintain its value.

Meditation and exercise - an Eastern Perspective

In Traditional Chinese Medicinen (TCM) Pain is an indication of Chi Stagnation.

Chi normally circulates within the body through lines called Meridians. (this concept is not accepted by Western Medicine - but this is not the point).

If a Meridian is blocked or interrupted (by a cut, an hematoma, a bent limb), the flow of Chi through it is interrupted. One speaks of "Chi Stagnation". The result is a poor irrigation of tissues and organs. Tis, in the short term results in local pain, and in the long term, if not addressed, internal organs might be damaged, and their functions hampered.

For TCM Blood nourishes the body, moistens body tissues and ensures that they do not dry out. Blood and Chi are interdependent and perform many of the same functions.

If Blood or Chi are blocked or stagnant in one area of the body, they will circulate through a different path, creating an imbalance between arteries for the Blood, and between meridians for Chi.

But Blood also contains Shen (Japanese Shin, Kokoro), or spirit, which balances the psyche.

If Blood or Chi are blocked, Shen cannot freely circulate inside and becomes restless. There can be no quieting of the mind.

Long periods of immobility tend to block the path of Blood and Chi. This is evidenced by the pain felt by the practitioner. In the long term, specially for beginners, this may make Shen restless, unbalance the Mind and disturb Meditation.

Which is why we practice Kinhin - walking meditation - between sitting periods.

Proper meditation practice should incorporate exercises promoting Blood and Chi circulation, while at the same time harmonizing the Shen.

Conversely, proper martial art practice should incorporate Spiritual discipline to avoid mindless emphasis on Physical accomplishment - but this is an other story...