United States Tamiya Ryu Iaijutsu _Gennankai

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Kotoshimo, yoroshiku onegai itashimasu!

As we mark the end of 2021, a year that saw both change and a return to something like normal for the United States Tamiya Ryu Iaijutsu Gennankai, I’d like to express my gratitude to all the Gennankai members for their commitment and dedication to Tamiya Ryu. Tamiya Ryu is a lineage that has persisted for 400 years. With all the current challenges in the world it would be easy for training to become less than a priority but the Gennankai has held together. It was great to see so many deshi at our Fall All Member Practice, old and new. While practicing Inazuma, I was moved by everyone’s effort to re-dedicate themselves to their practice. Thank you for your perseverance during these interesting times.

Looking forward, 2022 will see the resumption of mostly normal Gennankai’s annual activities. With a few modifications, this will include a Spring and Fall All Member Practice, as well as the Summer Shinsa-Koshukai. Dates and further details will be provided in the future but I’d like to briefly discuss each event this year.

The Spring All Member Practice will mainly act as a Shinsa checkpoint and rehearsal. Of course special attention will be paid to those seeking to take their next shinsa, however, all members will be asked to perform an enbu whether or not they are planning to test. This will allow the instructional staff to get a general impression of the group’s position so further training plans can be made for the future.

The Summer Shinsa-Koshukai will be the main event of the year. A large portion of the Gennankai may end up taking their shinsa, including several kodansha. Therefore, arrangements are being made to record the shinsakai and send the video to Tsumaki Soke Sensei. This means our usual custom of presenting successful shinsa candidates with their menjo at the end of the day’s events will have to be suspended.

The Fall All Member Practice will act as a recapitulation of the Shinsakai where comments and corrections will be discussed and menjo will be presented.

Another Gennankai activity that will be resuming is Branch visits by the Head Instructor. Ideally these visits will take place once a quarter. I’m greatly looking forward to visiting each branch and spending some more time with and getting to know each deshi in the organization.

In closing, let’s use the new year to reinvigorate ourselves and our practice to prepare for a successful Shinsakai! I wish you all a healthy and happy 2022, the year of the tiger!

James Russell (Gennetsu)
United States Tamiya Ryu Iaijutsu Gennankai
6th Degree, Jokyō
Gennankai Head Instructor
Brighton Branch Manager