Tankyūshin Dojo

06/17/2026

The good news is that I got the cardboard ground cover down, all the way through the wild raspberry patch to where the right of way down turns dead east, and a friend has been tromping that path with some regularity. The bad news is that a bear seems to have found the path through the raspberries as attractive as the deer have.

The best news is that there's now an open footpath from from the beginning of the green verge on the road to the head of the steps, and that's the final big connection bringing together the Dragon's Tail.

Time to check the tide charts.

05/28/2026

If you are training in TSYR, how many pieces of the Nairiki can you identify in this simple jump rope workout? (Gift link)

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/well/move/beginner-jump-rope-workout.html?unlocked_article_code=1.l1A.nWXA.4brxL5U04pD4&smid=url-share

05/19/2026

05/19/2026

Vertical drop from the head of the stairs is 210 feet, according to my topo map. Of course, that means that the climb back up is also 210 feet. (Or 70 meters, for those of you in the civilized world.)

05/19/2026

Yoshin Kage Dojo represented TSYR at the re-inauguration of SwordFest after the event had lapsed for some years.

05/17/2026

The dense root system that finally grew out last year is holding the terrace together this year. Stabilization achieved. Next, reinforcing the lower edge and bringing the whole thing closer to level.

05/10/2026

"Well son, your mother and I have been talking about things, and the long and the short of it is that if you don't shape up pdq, we're going to have to send you to live with Aunt Sasha."

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Cw3s4CUL1/

12/15/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DHCwQMMjd/

Most of the additional "strange" helmets they briefly discuss can be seen in "ART OF THE SAMURAI: JAPANESE ARMS & ARMOR, 1156-1868." Out of print but available as a free download from the Met.

Adam Savage thought he knew a samurai helmet when he saw one, but ... nope. At conservator and armorer Ted Hunter takes us through the surprisingl...