Itten Dojo

08/28/2026

Great books — highly recommended!

No one steps onto a longship and remains unchanged.

In the unforgiving world of the Viking Age, a young seafarer must learn the hard truths of life aboard a longship.

Storms test skill, oaths test loyalty, and survival depends on more than strength alone.

How far would you trust the sea to shape your fate?

Read 'The Lords of the Wind', the opening novel of 'The Saga of Hasting the Avenger' by C.J. Adrien, a vivid, immersive journey where wind and salt drive every page.

Grab your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TWSLWG6

08/28/2026

Stretching after practice last evening. The secret is never stop training.

08/26/2026

Bailey Sensei’s ikebana creations for this week. In the tokonoma the plants were collected outside the dojo. So, technically, weeds. But the funny thing is these arrangements tend to last two to three times longer than those utilizing store bought flowers. Thank you, Sensei!

08/24/2026

The Introduction and Early Development of Iaido in the United States and Canada

In the quiet of the dojo, the drawing of the sword is never merely a technical act. It is a confrontation with readiness, with the self that hesitates, and with the lineage that has carried the practice across oceans and decades. To examine how iaidō took root in the United States and Canada is to follow a path marked less by grand institutional decree than by the steady, often solitary efforts of individuals who recognized in the art something essential. What follows is an account of that introduction and early development, grounded in the documented efforts of those who practiced, taught, and organized in the decades after the Second World War.

Iaido did not arrive in North America as a fully formed export ready for mass adoption. Its transmission was fragmentary, carried by Japanese immigrants, returning servicemen, and a handful of determined American and Canadian practitioners who sought instruction wherever it could be found.

Read the entire essay at https://www.ittendojo.org/articles/early-iaido-us-canada.

08/23/2026

Discover the Way of the Brush at Itten Dojo
Looking for authentic Japanese calligraphy in Central Pennsylvania? Itten Dojo in Mechanicsburg now welcomes students who want only shodo lessons — no martial arts required.

Classes are taught by Rie Hashimoto Bailey Sensei, a 7th-dan master of the Tonan Shodo Kai (Sendai, Japan). Raised in Miyagi Prefecture, she has taught calligraphy across Japan, Europe, and the U.S., earned numerous awards for her work, and in classes at Itten Dojo also shares sumi-e ink painting and insights into Japanese language, philosophy, and culture.

Shodo-only option: $15 per class (pay-as-you-go; $10 for additional family members). Regular dojo memberships include shodo at no extra cost.

Schedule
• Regular classes: Twice monthly on Saturdays, 10:45–11:45 a.m.
• Intro / fundamentals: Twice monthly on Thursdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

Ages 12+ for shodo. Visitors always welcome.

Shodo is more than beautiful writing — it’s a moving meditation that builds posture, breath, focus, and presence, the same qualities cultivated in traditional budo.

Learn more or request details: ittendojo.org/arts/shodo or email [email protected]

08/23/2026

Bailey Sensei’s ikebana creations this week: for the tokonoma, shodo classroom, and shoe shelf. Thank you, Sensei!

08/22/2026

A few more views of kyudo practice this afternoon. We will continue to develop and improve our improvised range to make it increasingly a proper kyudojo. Even as it is, this is the only place to practice kyudo in Pennsylvania. We are an authorized study group under the direction of Sabastian Velilla Sensei of the Florida Budokan and part of the Dai Nippon Kyudo Kai.

08/22/2026

Lee and Michaela this morning at Eishin-ryu practice, working on Suino Sensei’s paired bokken drills.

08/22/2026

I got my first home range hit today. Lest you think it was just luck…well, yes, at our level of inexperience there is luck involved in hitting the target. But it wasn’t just luck. I had multiple arrows hit the base on which the target is mounted. I’m not obsessing about hitting the target; I am obsessing about trying to do everything as properly as I understand at this point and above all trying to be proper and consistent. I figure that if I am at least consistent it will be easier for Velilla Sensei to fix me than if I’m making a new and excitingly different mistake every shot.

08/22/2026

Lessons learned last week; modifications this week. With a bit of breeze last week the backstop frames toppled over, so staked down brace cords were added. More grommets were punched into the tops of the curtains keep the backstop hanging more evenly. We’ll need to reconsider the foam forms the mato (targets) are attached to — as our shots are getting stronger trying to extract the arrows is sometimes resulting in leaving the arrowhead in the foam.