Authenticity in traditional Japanese arts is not determined by the number of published books, number of students worldwide, or most YouTube videos. Nor does a flashy website make a style more legitimate. Choose your dojo based on the quality of instruction and the legitimacy of the lineage. Even in Japan, here are many newly created styles that have no real ties to Japan's long samurai history. There are teachers with questionable background and skills, even in Japan. Just because they look the perfect stereotype of of a Japanese "master," does not mean that they have achieved a sufficient level of technical and spiritual mastery. Choose your style and your instructor carefully. The first mark of a good instructor is humility. If they have to sell it to you, you don't want to buy it.
The Yamato Yagyu-kai is a organization dedicated to quietly practicing and upholding the traditional style of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Heihou, which has a 400+ year history. We are a tiny organization that is not interested in growing McDojos. We choose not to participate in the Kendo Renme and Iaido Renme of Japan, in order to maintain our autonomy and preserve the sanctity of the style. We are all about daily practice, reflection, and then more practice, with the goal of polishing our skills and our spirits. And we are about perseverance, longevity and tradition.
The Yamato Yagyu-kai is a organization dedicated to quietly practicing and upholding the traditional style of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Heihou, which has a 400+ year history. We are a tiny organization that is not interested in growing McDojos. We choose not to participate in the Kendo Renme and Iaido Renme of Japan, in order to maintain our autonomy and preserve the sanctity of the style. We are all about daily practice, reflection, and then more practice, with the goal of polishing our skills and our spirits. And we are about perseverance, longevity and tradition.
