Sharpening the Sword

Each Winter at the Seikokan, we engage in a practice called Kenshu.  Kenshu is a special class that covers the philosphy and advanced weapons that are required for students to advance to black belt ranks and even to become instructors.  The pace is quick and volume of information is high, so the student is forced to sharpen their martial mind.  However, the benefit of Kenshu goes far beyond the knowledge gained.  Kenshu is fundamentally a transformative experience.

Sensei begins each year's Kenshu with a challenge to refine your life.  Typically he says "Find something about your life that you don't like and change it.  Cut it out.  Forever".  It may be something small, or it may be something big, but the message is the same.  The process of Kenshu is not just a one hour class, once a week for four months.  Kenshu envelops your life.  The refining that occurs with jo, bokken, or kanji also occurs as we proceed through the course of our day.

The form of the class is simple enough, but it is very challenging.  Five  minutes before class is to start, everyone lines up in seiza.  Not knowing what will be covered, our weapons are on the mat behind us, ready.  Sensei arrives, bows in and gets right to work.  For the next twenty to thirty-five minutes, Sensei covers a principle relevant to budo.  He draws the kanji, breaks down the pictographic origin and talks about its meaning.  He always makes a point of showing how it applies to both Aikido and everyday life.  All the while, we sit without moving or adjusting anything.

At the conclusion of the lecture we stand up and let the blood return to our feet.  It begins with a warm rush, and is followed by a feeling of pins and needles and blood flow returns to the nerve endings in our feet.

With 30 minutes or less remaining, sensei demonstrates and takes us through advanced weapons techniques that are too involved to study in an all ranks class.  At the conclusion of the hour, we line up, bow out and Sensei leaves.  However, the work is not yet over.  Working together we immediately wash the mats and then begin copying the kanji from the board, making notes on the lecture and recording the sequence of the weapons technique.  There is no review, however an aspect of the collective mind allows us to support each other in this process.

After the first week or two, things seem straight forward enough, but over the span of about 16 weeks, the amount of information amassed is considerable, especially given the fact that there is no review.  At the conclusion of the course there is a test on the weapons techniques.  In actuality, it is inaccurate  to call it a test.  It is a demonstration for Sensei of what we have learned.  There is no passing or failing, but after having been through the process over the previous months, preparations are dead serious.

There is no one part of Kenshu that affects the transformation, but at its conclusion, everyone's technique is stronger and clearer than before.  The mind and the spirit have been sharpened.