NOW is your chance to learn traditional Japanese swordsmanship right in the heart of Bendigo.<\/p>\n
Hokushin Shinoh Ryu Iaido Bendigo is taking on new students to share the ancient art, with the particular style involving about 30 specific sword movements called waza<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of beauty to the movements and feeling the flow of it all and the connection to the past,\u201d said head instructor Damien Mason.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about keeping this art alive and knowing if we don\u2019t work on it and ourselves, then the art will cease to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n Beginners are welcome to join, and Mr Mason said classes were conducted at the pace appropriate to all students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very much one-on-one. We don\u2019t have a standard curriculum, a student comes in and whatever they need is what we try to teach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who come to it all come for different reasons. We have some people who just love Japanese history or are interested in swordsmanship, there\u2019s other people who use it as a kind of moving meditation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe youngest student I\u2019ve ever taught was a kid who started when he was nine or 10. My instructor who is still teaching is 86 now.\u201d<\/p>\n For Mr Mason, Iaido has strengthened both his physical and mental health but he admits there\u2019s still more left to learn.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve found it really good for building up confidence, concentration, core strength, calming the mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re chasing perfection but never getting there.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for 17 or 18 years now and I still know a lot of things I need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NOW is your chance to learn traditional Japanese swordsmanship right in the heart of Bendigo. Hokushin Shinoh Ryu Iaido Bendigo is taking on new students to share the ancient art, with the particular style involving about 30 specific sword movements called waza. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of beauty to the movements and feeling the flow of […]<\/p>\n