Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo from Let’s ask Shogo, the interpreter of the online lessons and owner of this website.

Since creating this website, we have received frequent inquiries about our online lessons. We are very honored that you are interested in our online lessons. However, there is one question that always puzzles me. That is, “I have ** years of experience in other martial arts/ Ryuha. Can you give me any special treatment?” By special treatment, we mean, for example, that they want to be taught separately from beginners or to skip the dan promotion examinations and suddenly obtain a higher rank. In this article, we want to clarify to those who send us such inquiries.

1. What you do in other martial arts/ Ryuha is completely irrelevant

First of all, what you have done in other martial arts or Ryuha has nothing to do with what you will learn in our school. No matter how much experience you may have had in other Ryuha, what you will learn will be completely unique to the different Ryuha and its teachers. In fact, having experience in other Ryuha is often an obstacle. If you have experience in other Ryuha, you should rather train with beginners carefully and thoroughly from the basics, or you will end up halfway through a mixture of various Ryuha styles. 

2. That’s Not the Right Attitude to Train Budo

What is to be learned through martial arts is not only how to handle a katana. Rather, it is a means, not an end. In the modern budo era, when we do not actually fight with swords, what we should learn from the practice of budo is civility, humility, and respect for our superiors. Through practicing the techniques, one must always look for where one is lacking and strive to make up for it. With all due respect, let me be clear. The attitude that you want special treatment because you have studied other martial arts and Ryuha is equivalent to saying that you have not learned anything that you need to learn from budo. Suppose you think that practicing budo is just a title. In that case, you should not force yourself to take online lessons because your thinking differs from our Seki Sensei’s.

I am truly sorry for my harsh words. However, this is the true intention that I must convey to all of you. Let us work together with humility and devote ourselves to the best of our ability. We sincerely look forward to your participation in our online lessons.

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