*Precepts of our school*
Given that we have some newer members I thought this might be a good time to mention a little about why we do what we do ;)
Of course this is way too complicated for a whatsapp chat but there are some general things worth knowing about.
Kono Hyakuren was the 20th Head of MJER and the direct instructor of Esaka Sensei (Who was the previous chair of our organization, and taught our Sensei). Kono Sensei taught Iaido around a set of precepts which we include on the written portion of examinations. I think they are worth reading and thinking about as you progress (your interpretation may evolve so even us old folks should re familiarize ourselves over time).
https://mjer-iaido.github.io/en/post/20th-head-of-the-mjer-school-of-iaido/
A detail we should also ask ourselves is what are we contributing as part of the transmission of Iai to future generations (a precept). The traditional martial arts are not service provider - client relationships but a more complex community model with some integral ettiquete (Reishiki) that will be passed on over time. In the beginning your contribution could be as simple as having a good attitude. As you progress through the years your contribution could be running a Dojo. In between, there are many ways to not just grow your technical skills , but yourself, and contribution to our group. In general things such as helping to sweep or setup shinzen are all important to the preservation of Iaido it's Reishiki, and your personal journey.
Anyway that's a wall of text and not meant to be prescriptive. Just saying the implied parts out loud ;)
Brad
