Updates!

Hello there!  Long time, no see!

There has been a lot going on at Sword Class NYC!  We have been been steadily growing and expanding our class schedule.  Here's what it looks like now:

Beginner Classes
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 6 PM at Joria Productions
**Please email swordclassnyc@gmail.com to make a reservation.**

Intermediate Classes
Monday & Tuesday at 7 PM at Joria Productions
Thursday at 7:30 PM at Ripley-Grier Studios (8th Ave. Location)
**On Tuesday September 6th, Intermediate class will be at 7:30 PM at Ripley-Grier Studios**

We are still on the lookout for a space to call our very own.  Get all the news and updates on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and keep an eye on this page.

To theDealist.com customers... Welcome!

Thank you for your almost overwhelming interest in Samurai sword classes! Because of the large number of purchasers, we've decided to make some changes to our class schedule.

Starting in October, we will be offering Intro classes on Tuesdays from 6-7 and 7-8 and on Thursdays from 6-7 and possibly 8-9. We will start scheduling people into classes once the promotion on The Dealist ends, which is this Wednesday at midnight. Once we start scheduling people, you'll be able to schedule all three of your classes at once, but we would like for you to attend three consecutive weeks (so if you choose a Tuesday at 6:00, you'll be on Tuesdays at 6:00 for the next 2 weeks). The classes will range from 8-12 people. You can schedule them up until basically the day before the class, but the further in advance you book, the better the chances of getting the dates you'd like.

I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Sab Bom Nim Raab Rashi

New class in August!

I'm very pleased to announce that beginning Thursday August 5 Samurai Sword Classes will be adding an additional class from 7-8:00 PM. This will be an intermediate class, for people that are interested in attending regularly and really training intensively. The 6-7 class will continue as a beginner class, and will be open to first-timers, beginning students, and more advanced students that want to practice the basics and/or assist the first-timers.

Also, very soon we will be rolling out the new class website. Once the website launches (sometime in August), we will be referring to the class as swordclassNYC (website will be swordclassnyc.com). Good things are happening, and I'm happy that you, dear reader, are there to share it with me!

Classes are held from 6-8(!) at 260 West 36th St. 3rd Floor (Joria Studios). See you there!

Looking for new space for class.

Spring is here, the healthcare bill has passed and change is in the air. Since I started teaching the sword class in September, the class has been at the Workmen's Circle Building on 33rd St. It seems that soon the space will longer be available and I'm going to have to find a new place to hold classes. There are a few requirements for the next space:

- Must have high ceilings. Most pre-war buildings have sufficient ceilings, as do industrial/loft spaces. It's not fun to swing a sword over your hear and have to worry about hitting a heating duct.

- I'd love to find a space near Penn Station. That's where I come into the city, so that would make it very easy for me to hold classes.

- Not more than $30/hour.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Leads? Ideas?

Schedule updates - FEB 11, 18

There will be NO CLASS ON FEB 11. I will be in the Big Easy, paying my respects to Baccus, and his disciple, Drew Brees.

On FEB 18 class will begin at 5:30, instead of the usual 6:00. The class will run from 5:30 - 6:30. There will be an NYU class coming after that from 6:30-7:30. Any student from the 5:30 class is invited to stay at no cost to continue practicing until 7:30. Please contact me if you have any questions!

Thank you!

Schedule update!

The next class will be on MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 at 5:30 PM. I will be there from about 4:30 to get in some extra training if anyone wants to come early.

New Sword Class in Hoboken, NJ!

Hello everyone, I will be teaching a new sword class in Hoboken NJ on THURSDAYS at 7:00PM. The style is SIL JUN DO BUP, similar to Iaido, but focuses more directly on actual cutting. More details are below. If anyone is interested, you can email me at raabrashi@gmail.com or call me at 201.317.9517

The following is a repost from the Waterfront Weekly Journal, where it was featured as the cover story:

http://www.nj.com/living/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/living-1/1238999118299070.xml&coll=3

Get moving ... with swords

Monday, April 06, 2009

By JAMIE SCHUH

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A new kind of martial arts will soon be coming to Hoboken.

Sil Jun Do Bup is a Korean form of sword practice, which literally translates to mean "real sword training." It is similar to Iaido, a Japanese form of sword practice that focuses on the drawing of the blade from the kneeling or sitting position. Sil Jun Do Bup, by contrast, focuses on cutting and strikes.

But don't worry, the classes being offered by teacher Raab Rashi at Monroe Movement Space are completely safe.

"You begin training with a wooden or plastic sword," says Rashi, 29. But even before the sword is picked up, "we focus on respect."

Rashi began training unofficially seven years ago, later being taken under the wing of Grandmaster Jin K. Seong, a seventh degree black belt from Korea.

"I was always into swords and martial arts, but I never had the opportunity (growing up) to formally train," says Rashi.

He soon took up teaching at Grandmaster Seong's school, The Kendo Academy in Dumont. The school has two other locations in Closter and East Brunswick. Seong was interested in expanding the school, and Rashi thought Hoboken would be a good fit for this unique style of practice.

"It's a community where people are very open to international ideas. There's a real global awareness and consciousness in Hoboken."

During the first class, Rashi will explain the form of Sil Jun Do Bup, the etiquette involved and then begin to introduce basic movements such as bowing, drawing the sword, stance, basic cutting and sheathing.

"(The basics) are things you work on throughout your journey," says Rashi. "Even masters will be working on these things."

And even though the art involves a lot of physical discipline, what is most important is the mental discipline that practitioners of Sil Jun Do Bup will develop.

"You can go into it with some expectations," Rashi says, "but you will find other things in the art that you weren't expecting to find. You can want to improve your stamina and physical well-being, which you will, but you will also improve your mental focus and reaction time. It will make you a more aware person."

For Rashi, who says that studying sword movement has made him more "grounded," he hopes his students will develop "a sense of calm and focus."

Classes in Sil Jun Do Bup are wholly unique to the Hudson County area, which makes it an even bigger draw to anyone interested in martial arts or sword training.

"We're the only program around like this. There's a few wonderful Kendo schools in the area," he says, but none in the county that specialize in Sil Jun Do Bup.

Classes in Sil Jun Do Bup will run Thursdays at Monroe Movement Space, 720 Monroe St. in Hoboken. Prospective students may show up for a free first class, and then sign up for six months, 24 months or a full year. For more information or to register, call 201-317-9517.