Now comes tricky part—put those answers succinctly into words. Compose a concise, impactful statement that captures your answers to the questions above in a way that someone would have at least a bit of insight into what you do and, ideally, have some curiosity to learn more about your tradition.

Existing within our Traditions is unbelievably challenging. They require a level of personal accountability and introspection that is quite intense, not for days and weeks, but for years and decades – for a lifetime. They are more than a bag of physical techniques. They are more than just cutting, throwing, breathing, walking, or sitting; more than Shohatsutō or Ude-osae. They are a way of living, a method that pervades the inmost recesses to improve the Core You, and to forge that thing into something that each day, hopefully, has one less gap than the day before.

The Japanese educational methods and means, tested and applied for centuries, were well understood and fully developed when Japan was still in a period of constant internecine warfare. Today there is no mystery about how to go about this form of training. The real problem is having access to an authentic tradition. This is only found in a true teacher: there is no other repository but a living master.

For six days we explored aspects of each ryū, beginning at 8 am with Zen keiko, and then taking two hours each for Itto-tenshin ryū, Yamate-ryū, and Goseki-ryū. We finished in the evening and enjoyed a home-cooked meal, a cigar, and each other’s company. Each ryū has a different flavor, but the combination brought us closer to the essence of what we do than any keiko I have had to date.

The human, the tool, the environment and the act itself are the four domains of mastering an endeavor. By mastering the human condition, and applying this across multiple skill sets, you reduce the workload.

In a traditional Dōjō we operate in such a way as to test the limits of power beyond what is reasonable. My Instructor requires the class to walk past him without stopping or changing pace. As I pass him his arm blocks my path at chest height. He outweighs me by fifty pounds, and it’s all solid muscle. I feel as if I’ve hit a wall. 

While there is new science around this idea, it is not unfamiliar to practitioners in Budō. Traditional terms-of-art like Mind and Void depict a strikingly similar view, and the physical teachings of the Itto Tenshin-ryu convey otherwise inexplicable truths: the Way that can be spoken is not the Way.