Thank you so much for showing your interest in joining the Asayama Ichiden Ryu online dojo! We are looking forward to seeing you in class soon.

In this article, we’ll walk you through how and what to prepare to participate in our online lessons.

❶ Find the Necessary Space for Training

Ideally, for training, a space with at least the size of an 8-tatami room (about 13㎡) and a ceiling high enough that you can’t reach it even if you jump would be perfect.

If the temperature is manageable, practicing outside can also be a good option.

However, many of our online lesson students are training in spaces much smaller than this ideal size. 

So it’s not a requirement that you need this amount of space to participate.

❷ Select a Membership Tier on Our Patreon Page

If you jump to our Patreon page you can see there are several membership tiers you can choose from.

Please refer to the table below to choose which class to join. If you are a beginner, we recommend the class with Tsukada & Kurosawa Sensei. However, if Fridays don’t fit your schedule, you can absolutely take Seki Sensei’s class instead with no problem.

Join Our Lessons Today!

	No Dan	First Dan	Second Dan	Third Dan and Higher
Tsukada Sensei & Kurosawa Sensei’s Iai Class	◎	◎	△	△
Tsukada Sensei & Kurosawa Sensei’s Special Weapon Class	◎	◎	△	△
Seki Sensei Iai (Sat/Sun)	◯	◯	◎	◎
Seki Sensei Special Weapon	◯	◯	◎	◎
Higher Dan Rank Class	×	×	×	◎

◎ = Highly Recommended
◯ = Recommended
△ = Less Recommended
× = Not Eligible

The differences are as follows:

1. If you are a beginner, we highly recommend joining the Friday class with Tsukada & Kurosawa Sensei, as the lessons devote plenty of time to building a strong foundation.
2. If Fridays don’t work for your schedule, or if you wish to learn directly from Seki Sensei, you can absolutely join his classes instead.
3. You can also choose whether or not to add the Special Weapons Class (staff and chain ball).
4. Saturday or Sunday can be selected depending on your availability.

Once you’ve made your decision, please sign up and get access to the necessary posts to participate in the lessons.

❸ Purchase the Necessary Equipment

Now you’ve chosen which classes you’ll be taking, let’s obtain the necessary training equipment to participate:

Please purchase an iaitō that is longer than the “recommended iaitō blade length.”

For iaitō longer than 2.5 shaku, please select “Habahiro -Heavyweight Blade” for the “Blade Type.”

Longer katana are of course more difficult to handle, but it’ll be better for your training.

Please watch this video to learn how to wear the training gear, and how to tie the outer obi.

*However at first, as long as you have Bokutō with sheath and Outer Obi (must be WHITE), you can start taking the lessons in sportswear.

❹ Create a Zoom Account

The online lessons will be held over Zoom, so please make an account.

Please join with a name you want to be called from Seki sensei in Japanese Katakana (For example: Shogo ショウゴ).

Before participating in the lesson, please remove all accessories, including watches, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Only wedding rings are allowed.

Please keep your audio muted and unmute to speak only when we call your name.

Feel free to join without video, but we will not be able to give you feedback, and you will not be able to ask questions.

Feel free to join/leave the Zoom lesson anytime.

Taking screenshots and recording video/audio is prohibited.

❺ Read the “How Our Iai Online Lessons are Held” Article

Now you’re ready to start taking our online lessons.

However, you’d like to know how are lessons are held and what we actually train in class, right?

Please read the “How Our Iai Online Lessons are Held” article: we’ve summarized what you’ll actually be doing in each online lesson.

🗡️How Our Iai Online Lessons are Held

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us or send us a message on Instagram.