Sannami Budôkai

Ittō Tenshin-ryū®
Rajguru Sensei with the late Mr. Fred Tart, circa 1982.

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To "absent companions" and those still with us, I "offer humble Gratitude for illuminating The Way."
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This time of year brings reflection on what was, what is, and the ryū that endures through time.

We are not what we once were.

What is essential remains unchanged.

A new generation is forging its way.

To those who came before, we raise a glass to absent companions and offer gratitude for illuminating The Way.

Some will never understand that kind of dedication.

They will never understand loyalty beyond the self.

A ryū is not stagnant.

It lives through its ineffable essence, principle, and technique, carried forward by those willing to bear its weight.

This year, while expressing my deepest gratitude to those who came before, I say:

Here’s to the living!

To us and those like us!

Keep going!

We honor those who came before through our actions.

Fredrick John Lovret
July 1, 1941 - May 17, 2015

Savvas Philip Savopoulos
September 25, 1968 - May 14, 2015

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Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645) stands as one of Japan's most legendary swordsmen, philosophers, and strategists. Orphaned young, he won his first duel at 13 using only a wooden staff. Over his lifetime, he fought more than 60 duels and participated in major battles, including Sekigahara. He later founded Niten Ichi-ryū, a revolutionary school of swordsmanship built around wielding a katana and wakizashi simultaneously.
His most famous duel came in 1612 against Sasaki Kojirō on Ganryū Island. Musashi arrived deliberately late to unsettle his opponent, and while being rowed over, carved a makeshift bokken from a boat oar — crafted longer than Kojirō's renowned blade. The psychological pressure combined with superior reach proved decisive.
In his final years, Musashi retreated to a cave and wrote *The Book of Five Rings*, a timeless treatise on strategy still studied by martial artists and business leaders today.

"My experience training in the Ittō Tenshin-ryū has been no less than life changing. The instructors have the experience & expertise that helped me to see what I couldn’t in my own actions and support and guide me forward.
I attribute much of my success over the last 10 years as a person, a husband, and an entrepreneur to what I have learned during the course of training." ─ Mr. Joshua Karrasch
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Ittō Tenshin-ryū® - Experience the Kenjutsu of Ittō Tenshin-ryū for yourself. Many people have no basis to judge what is truly martial.

They have never stood in it.
Never felt it.
Never been tested by it.

Instead of trusting their own intuition, they rely on the opinions of others—who themselves may or may not have direct experience of what is real.

The Ittō Tenshin-ryū has been shaped and reinforced by those with direct experience in conflict—not preserved as theory, but tested, proven, and transmitted across generations.

Our purpose is not to preserve what once was, but to empower our deshi to live fully today.

Join us and experience the teachings of the Ittō Tenshin-ryū directly.

We welcome those with genuine curiosity, a willingness to train, and the spirit to support that pursuit.

Save the date, and stay tuned for registration details.

Learn more about Ittō Tenshin-ryū:
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Join our mailing list:
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. . . . . Always room for more Taikai History ! . . . . .
When people speak of the modern Kyoto Taikai, they are participating in something far older than a yearly martial arts gathering. Its roots reach back to 1895, when the Dai Nippon Butokukai was founded in Kyoto under the patronage of Prince Komatsu Akihito during the fourth centennial commemorations of Emperor Kanmu’s founding of the city. That same year the organization began its first great festival and taikai, intended to preserve martial traditions during the rapid reforms of the Meiji era. Swordsmanship, jujutsu, archery, and other arts were brought together not simply to compete, but to show that older disciplines still had a place in modern Japan.
. . The early Butokukai taikai was more than a tournament in the modern sense. It became a national meeting ground where teachers from former domains and private lineages could compare methods and demonstrate skill before peers, officials, and the public. In the decades that followed, the Butokukai helped standardize titles such as Kyoshi and Hanshi, promoted the spread of gekiken and later kendo, and eventually opened the great Butokuden hall in Kyoto in 1899 as a symbolic home for modern budo. What had once been localized martial traditions were gradually drawn into a wider national culture.
. . Today’s Kyoto Taikai, especially the annual embu gatherings held at the Butokuden each May, is different in structure but deeply connected in spirit. After the Second World War, the original Butokukai was dissolved during the Occupation, and Japan’s martial organizations were later reorganized under bodies such as the All Japan Kendo Federation. When the Kyoto Taikai resumed in the postwar years, it no longer served as a governing center, but as a ceremonial meeting place where kendo, iaido, jodo, naginata, and other arts could be publicly demonstrated.
. . That continuity is what gives the modern event its special atmosphere. A kendoka stepping onto the floor in Kyoto today is separated by generations from those first participants in 1895, yet the essential act remains familiar: entering the hall, bowing with composure, and offering one’s art sincerely before others. The organizations, rules, and Japan around them have changed, but the yearly return to Kyoto shows how traditions survive by being renewed in practice rather than preserved only in memory.

Lifted from some silly "Viking" post . . . "How to 'be brave'." . . . Samurai taught another version.
1. The core secret — make your exhale longer than your inhale.
Inhale for 4 counts. Exhale for 8. Through slightly clenched teeth, almost like a soft hiss. After 90–120 seconds, your body gets the signal: there is no danger. Fear doesn’t disappear — it dissolves.
2. Vikings didn’t “motivate” themselves. They muted panic.
Before battle, they didn’t shout about bravery — they slowly exhaled through their teeth while clenching their jaw. It sounds primitive. But the jaw is directly connected to nerves involved in the fear response.
3. In 2017, MIT researchers showed that breathing rhythm influences emotional states. Their findings suggested that slow, extended exhales can reduce activity in the brain’s fear center — the amygdala. Not thoughts. Not willpower. Breathing.
4. The second part — muscle tension for 5 seconds.
Clench your fists. Tighten your abs and shoulders. Hold. Then suddenly release. The body “resets.” This kind of tension-and-release technique is often used to reduce physical trembling under stress.
5. The third detail people rarely mention — focus on the horizon.
Don’t look down. Lift your gaze slightly above eye level. The brain reduces its threat-scanning mode. Panic doesn’t thrive in openness.

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“You do hachimaki; you don’t wear a hachimaki.”

Rajguru Sensei and the late Mr. Fred Tart. Photograph circa 1980.

The hachimaki is not decoration—it’s intent made visible. It reflects commitment, mindset, and the willingness to step forward without hesitation.

Within Ittō Tenshin-ryū, its use is reserved for moments of intense commitment, so as not to dilute purpose.

Mr. Tart was the Kaichō and founder of Sandia Budōkan in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year, the Ittō Tenshin-ryū Taikai will be held there on the weekend of October 17–18, 2026.

Join us and experience the impactful teachings of our tradition of swordsmanship firsthand.

Save the date and watch for registration details coming soon.

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Sen
In kendo, sen (先) is often translated as “initiative,” but in practice it refers more to controlling timing and pressure than simply attacking first. It describes who governs the exchange, both mentally and physically, before and during a strike. The ideas of sen no sen, sen-sen no sen, and go no sen are ways of understanding that control rather than fixed techniques.
. . Sen no sen (先の先) is taking initiative at the moment your opponent commits to an attack. You sense the instant intention becomes movement through posture, breathing, or footwork and strike as they come in. This is commonly expressed as debana-waza, but speed alone is not the point. The key is accurate reading and decisive action at the moment of commitment.
. . Sen-sen no sen (先先の先) means acting before the opponent even begins to attack. Through strong seme and presence, you limit their options and create hesitation or predictability, then strike into that moment. From the outside, it can look as if the opponent never moved at all. This form of sen is often considered the most advanced because it relies on mental control rather than visible action.
. . Go no sen (後の先) is initiative taken after the opponent attacks. You receive or evade the strike and respond immediately, turning their committed movement into your opening. Techniques like nuki-waza and kaeshi-waza are typical here. Although it appears reactive, true go no sen still reflects control. You are not chasing the opponent’s attack, but using it to take the moment back.
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