tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223369717840446362012-02-17T00:49:49.305+02:00Living and working in the spirit of the Samurai. Are the Samurai and his Sword arts practical for today?Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-57461642220605515322012-01-12T11:56:00.002+02:002012-01-12T14:13:37.389+02:00

If you have even the slightest interest in the Katana then this link is for you. This video is beautifully presented and the film quality is very good. If your broad band speed is high then the streaming option will work. I chose to purchase the video. It is a 1 Gig download, but after that it is yours. The Japanese sword … prized as much for its exceptional beauty as for it’s deadly cutting

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-82204449675213831472009-07-01T11:00:00.000+02:002009-07-01T11:00:25.049+02:00

Our life in this modern world requires that we are on the go and connected. Your boss expects you to have your mobile phone with you even after hours and on weekends. People expect instant responses to e-mails and I have clients calling at all times of the day and night expecting that I drop everything to look after them even at the expense of my wife and kids.Multitasking has become the buzzword

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-65145152878204010672009-06-25T19:00:00.001+02:002009-06-25T20:23:34.191+02:00

At the beginning of the month I wrote a piece entitled Is it a problem to be big and strong?Well just after that piece was published I was flattened by a diminutive creature. I was taken down by a flu virus.I was feeling well and attended our seniors Kenjutsu class on the saturday morning at seven o'clock. While having coffee after the class at nine o'clock in the morning I first started feeling

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-86257711639356924622009-06-01T20:00:00.000+02:002009-06-01T21:08:35.260+02:00

Is it a problem to be big and strong? Is it a disadvantage to be small? Or does size really not matter. A while back I was chatting to some of the folk who do kenjutsu with me and the one young lady voiced some concern about her petite form. This reminded me of a passge written by Musashi in the Book of Five Rings.Small people must be completely familiar with the spirit of large people, and large

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-23216285896589390792009-05-25T10:02:00.004+02:002009-05-25T11:44:42.313+02:00

In the post Learning outside the dojo I said that with the information being available from so many sources you are able to learn outside the dojo. This begs the question do you still need to attend a dojo at all?I have had the good fortune to visit several martial arts training venues in and around my home town over the last 15 years. Some have had a very traditional feel, complete with kamisa

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-18883942396844419892009-05-20T11:50:00.003+02:002009-05-20T11:50:00.823+02:00

The Samurai never stopped learning. It did not matter whether he was improving his sword technique or practicing his calligraphy or spending time at the temple. He was always seeking more knowledge. Today there is so much information available that the modern martial artist has no excuse for not continually gaining knowledge.The bulk of my knowledge of martial arts has been build up over many

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-41095681831826595582009-05-18T23:18:00.004+02:002009-05-19T00:17:19.840+02:00

There is a special on 'TV series' and James Clavell's Shogun DVD boxed sets are available for £16.98. This is less than half price. Not bad for nine hours of mini-series and one hour of special features. I bought this set a couple of years back and have watched it at least twice. It truly is a spectacle.The complete collection of Shogun tells the story of John Blackthorne (Chamberlain), an

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-10858254177636287962009-05-13T13:06:00.013+02:002010-03-08T14:43:11.582+02:00

Although I will never be a Samurai because I am not Japanese and have not been born into a Samurai family, I do train and work everyday in an effort to grow into the image I have of the samurai. On this road there have been several influences from various teachers and masters. To honour them and give value to the Samurai Today readers, I will, over the next few weeks talk about them.The first

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-30414012795707378552009-05-10T10:38:00.019+02:002009-05-11T21:18:46.897+02:00

I would like to show you some of the useful features on this website and how using them will help you get even more value from Samurai Today.Keep up to date:RSS Feed:- By clicking on the RSS icon in the address bar or the Posts (Atom) link at the bottom of each page you can be notified as soon as a new post is made on Samurai Today.E-mail Subscription:- This is the recommended way of staying up

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-38867851391700887062009-05-04T16:36:00.007+02:002009-05-05T23:04:22.950+02:00

Over the last few years my admiration of the katana, and more specifically the Nihonto has grown. This has resulted in a considerable amount of bandwidth expended in research. ‘Research’ is a euphemistic way of saying that time I should have been working, I spent surfing the Internet.So here is a list of my top 5 websites to drool over the Katana or Samurai sword. Nihonto Australia - This

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-71427235947980927532009-04-27T15:21:00.001+02:002009-05-05T23:06:14.566+02:00

I am busy reading Soul Of The Samurai. This is a modern translation and compilation of three works: Yagyu Munenori’s. “The book of family traditions” and Takuan Soho’s “subtlety of Immovable Wisdom” and “Notes of the Peerless Sword.” What struck me is that Yagyu Munenori’s work speaks about the Killing Sword, The Life-giving Sword and No Sword. I wondered how to practice these three aspects,

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-24957904035443034392009-04-20T11:51:00.000+02:002009-04-20T19:12:19.220+02:00

In feudal Japan, a samurai who had lost his master was an outcast, a ronin, a “wave man” tossed aimlessly by the sea. The reasoning was simple, the samurai had been unable to protect his lord, so what good was he. Another reason for becoming masterless was by deserting your lord. Neither of these is a particularly laudable reason for becoming unemployed and as a result the Ronin was generally

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-40867707194656247712009-04-19T00:19:00.000+02:002009-04-19T01:03:52.006+02:00

On Easter Sunday I decided I would try something I had not done before. I thought I would try my hand at cutting eggs.Interestingly enough the dozen eggs were not sacrificed purely in the name of fun.I found out that I was not as accurate with my cutting as I initially believed. Sure I can break an egg. But the question became can I cut an egg exactly where I wanted to? You see to when cutting

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-40080171069504941052009-04-10T00:05:00.000+02:002009-04-11T00:30:51.979+02:00

by James Williams, Kaicho of the Namiryu Aiki Heiho and is used with permission.Training in various, seemingly antiquated, military arts is becoming increasing common in our 21st century society. Why pursue these arts that require so much effort, discipline, and often pain? Why do we seek to test ourselves in struggle and training for combat? What brought us to these arts, and what do we hope to

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-51251546496672040372009-04-04T21:37:00.000+02:002009-04-11T00:33:09.449+02:00

A reality of being a leader or Samurai today, is that you need to pay attention to far more than simply your martial arts. The Samurai were not only fierce warriors on the battlefield, but also diplomats, businessmen and land owners. In every sphere of their life they were required to excel. Feudal Society can be very intolerant of the weak.27. Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-53880311913039870922009-03-31T20:41:00.000+02:002009-04-11T00:35:05.579+02:00

I had been busy with kenjutsu for a while when I finally decided I needed to get myself a Katana. Till now I had used the bokken for all my training. I new that soon there was going to be a seminar which would culminate in test-cutting, 'Tameshigiri.' This aspiring Samurai needed a Katana.That simple decision had some far reaching consequences. In this article I just want to highlight some of the

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-75356598357288900062009-03-30T15:38:00.000+02:002009-03-30T18:37:30.125+02:00

Why a Samurai blog from a man who has never been to Japan?Well it all started many years ago in a karate class. Seriously. I remember that I can't have been more than six or seven years old when I first learned to count in Japanese. Ichi Ni San Shi Go Roku Sichi Hachi Ku Ju.In truth I did not carry on with Karate. I do not know why, I just know that the next time I was in a Karate class was when

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-72066435547425929072009-03-27T21:24:00.000+02:002009-03-27T21:29:43.696+02:00

This blog is an attempt at generating an outlet for my interest in The Samurai, Japanese martial arts and Japanese in general.Hopefully I'll get some time to actually update this blog.

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1722336971784044636.post-83515511188102098172009-01-03T20:09:00.005+02:002009-05-15T17:48:15.408+02:00

Here is a little about me. I am an Husband, Father, Engineer, Entrepreneur and Martial Artist.I have run my own business since 1998 and actively involved in Martial Arts since 1996. Karate and Kenjutsu are my pursuits of choice. Along with my introduction to kenjutsu came a desire to learn more about the Samurai and understand Japanese culture.And a bit about the site and its links.This blog

Albert Sjoberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14755577173026561678noreply@blogger.com0