MU RYU FAQ

Mu Ryu?
Mu Ryu means “No School”.
The flesh is the student. The sword is the teacher. The fight is the test.

Duel When?
Sundays at 1, weather permitting. We usually go until 3ish.
There is also dueling at Zoo Ryu, at the Zoobombers' Monday Funday at Col. Sumners Park.

During season (April 12th to late October), dueling is presumed unless a message is sent - during the off season, dueling is suspended unless a message is sent.

Receive bulletins via a mailing list. Email 1@mu-ryu.net. There is also a derelict Mu-Ryu Myspace.

Duel with What?
Our swords and armor are modified to be heretically practical. So what about tradition - why do what people did just because they did it? Do what works.   Don’t do what’s been done. Fuck what was just because it was.
Mu Ryu Swords:
Bamboo swords called shinai, used in Kendo, are modified to have practical hilts, either expanded in size with duct-tape, metal nuts and washers or a “Western” option using a large soda body for a bell guard (see side window).
The additional weight helps make the sword heavier like a steel sword, which forces real body-mechanics - swords should swing and slash, not snap and flick.
      Duct tape is used on the tip of the sword to thicken the point. This helps bring weight forward on the sword and makes its hits softer. Newer versions have padding on the far end of the "blade".
      Duct tape is used on the hilt to make a fitted grip for the forehand and a pommel shaped like a joystick. Both increase sword dexterity and should be found in steel swords.
Mu Ryu Armor:
People who fight (though maybe not strangers) can opt to wear the following armor: Excellent baseball catcher’s body armor, good Lacrosse Helmet & so-so Cage Baseball Batting Helmet, cheap & great Soccer Shin Guards for Forearm & a Skateboard Elbow Pad. Eye protection is mandatory. Armor is encouraged.
      The present author has a great Lacrosse Helmet, Lacrosse Shoulder/Chest Pads, Soccer Shin/Forearm Guards, Protection for the Jewels and BMX Shin & Knee Guards. You cannot borrow them.

Duel How?
KEN ZEN ICHI. (The Sword and Zen are One)
ICHI-GO, ICHI-E. (One Now, One Here)

Duel Why?
Because it’s FUN! I think most Mu Ryu attendees would say that dueling is exhilarating, great exercise, teaches concentration & self-defense and is a pleasant day in the park.
&
There is no other symbol over all of human culture that has meant as much as the sword. Swords are not realistic weapons - they are idealistic weapons.
&
Fuck playing with balls.

Is this like SCA, Amtgard or LARPing?
No. People generally wear jeans and t-shirts. People can wear whatever they like.

Is this fencing or kendo?
No. Unlike fencing or kendo, Mu Ryu doesn't dictate anything or limit targets and techniques. Fencers and kendoists are welcome to fight and are welcome to shed their sports' restrictions. We don't have them and won't submit to them.

What if I'm a beginner, intermediate or expert in some other martial art?
That's awesome. Come fight.

Is this a "martial art"?

No. It's a group that currently duels together. See the following...

What are you teaching?

Nothing. You'll learn from experience and you're own efforts. Plenty of people in this world would love to tell you what to do. We're not them.

What are you selling?

Nothing. Let others take your money. We'd just like your company and to cross swords.

What are you claiming?

Mu Ryu & swordfighting is fun & I like it & I'd like more cool people to fight with us.

Do I have to learn weird etiquette or foreign words?
Of course not. Just learn to give hits and take them.

What do you require?

We don't suffer fools or assholes. That's it. You can even come and not fight. That's fine.

What if I'm indignant because your antinomian ethos goes against my beliefs that one must have masters/lineage/history to have any authenticity, authority or valid opinion about the sword or martial arts or anything?

I feel sorry for you. See above.

When you are hit, acknowledge it if it’s not obvious. A small cut or glancing thrust that would not impede your fighting does not count as a hit. There are no rules for this other than the consent and common-sense of the people fighting.

If party A strikes a killing blow, say a hit to the head & party B shears off his arm, both count as hits. If party A strikes a killing blow while party B wounds A but A would heal, then B loses. It's not rocket science.

Duelists can count their hits during matches or not bother. Depending on rules, variable to the parties’ consent, fights go longer or quicker. Generally matches go from 5 to 10 points. Sometimes ties don’t count for points. Sometimes ties count as points for both parties, though not for match point. Try to not talk about points. Fight.

Etiquette:
Don’t try to hurt the other person.
If the other person doesn’t have a helmet, then no head shots or neck shots. Be careful about this as the neck and head are vulnerable to even modest blows.
Try to win. Don’t give up. Each point is a matter of life & death (in theory).

DANGER!!!
People get bruises every week. So far, the only thing that has bled is a hand blister, and that’s when we were starting. We used to not even wear armor except for goggles.
What are ways people could get hurt?
Though I doubt anybody could break a bone, the knee, the fingers, parts of the face, the neck, the groin, armpit or internal organs if struck with sufficient force could leave you in considerable pain & possibly with a broken hand, a crippled knee, broken jaw, nose, teeth, spine, a crushed neck, busted nuts, ruptured organs. You could be maimed, paralyzed or die.
Of course so far nobody has gotten hurt but for bruises and sore fingers. To live is to risk. People can get hurt during football, baseball, hockey, soccer, skiing, basketball, running, boxing and just about any other sport or everyday when driving a car or walking down the street.
I hope nobody does get hurt. Me included. (note: I have since broken a rib - which healed just fine)

THEORY
Ken Zen Ichi by Mushashi, Muneyoshi & Takuan. Edited by Zephriam von Kolt.
Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue.
Secrets of the Sword - Baron Cesar De Bazancourt.
An Irish Airman foresees his Death by W.B. Yeats
& PRACTICE
Mu Ryu by Zephriam von Kolt. Free upon in-person request.
Bokken by David Lowry.
Northern Shaolin Sword & Tai Chi Sword DVD by Dr. Yang.
Tai-chi Swordplay & Eight Diagram Palm by Sing Yen-Ling
& HISTORY
The Secret History of the Sword: Adventures in Ancient Martial Arts by J. Christopher Amberger.
Secrets of the Samurai by Ratti & Westerbrook.
By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen.
& PEOPLE
Duelists, Swordsmen & Swordswomen – Miyamoto Mushashi, Yagyu Muneyoshi, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Saint Ignatius Loyola, Rene Descartes, Handel, Goethe, Michelangelo, Baldassare Castiglione, Cyrano de Bergerac, Sir Walter Raleigh, El Cid, Karl Marx, d’Eon, Joseph Conrad, Alexandr Pushkin, Boudica, Julie d'Aubigny, Emilie de Breteuil, Voltaire, Belle Star, Calamity Jane, Grace Kelly, Otto von Bismark, Jim Naismith, Ezra Pound, George S. Patton, Tesshu, Yukio Mishima.
& MEDIA
Fight Club.
Lone Wolf & Cub 5 : In the Valley of Demons.
The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima.
Invisibles.
Conan.
The Duelists.
Final Fantasy : Advent Children.
Romeo & Juliet directed by Baz Luhrman
Androphilia.
Papillon.
Liquid Swords by the GZA.
Any Slayer or Digital Hardcore Album.
& QUOTES
“The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpeneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgment, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, in perfect healthe, and long life.” - George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, 1599

“The Way of the Sword and the Way of Zen are identical, for they have the same purpose - that of killing the ego.” - Yamada Jirokichi

“Every sword is like a small bird. Hold it too tightly and it will suffocate. Too lightly, and it will fly away.” – Enzo Greco

"War, which used to be cruel and magnificent, has now become cruel and squalid. Instead of a small number of well-trained professionals championing their country's cause with ancient weapons and a beautiful intricacy of archaic maneuver, sustained at every moment by the applause of their nation, we now have entire populations, including even women and children, pitted against one another in brutish mutual extermination, and only a set of bleary-eyed clerks left to add up the butcher's bill." - Winston Churchill

"Yes, these are bruises from fighting. Yes, I'm comfortable with that. I am enlightened." - Fight Club