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To begin with, an instructional manual of this sort is not really in keeping with the Zen tradition in martial arts. In martial arts training in the past, a student simply learned a technique from his teacher and then commenced to practice it vigorously. A request for an explanation as to how the technique might be used, or the reason for doing it a certain way, would usually be answered with a Zen-type of response: “Train three years and then ask.” If the student still had the temerity to ask at the end of the three years, the answer would be the same. In short, there is no satisfactory way of verbally explaining techniques that compares to understanding gained through self-discovery. An instructor can stand in front of a student and tell him repeatedly that his rising block is too low, and still the student never seems to correct it. But if the instructor swings a kendo shinai at the student’s head and the block is still too low, it will become immediately apparent to the student that there is a flaw in his blocking technique. Students who receive such a crack on the head quickly learn through experience how to properly execute a block. This method of training follows the principles of Zen in that one learns through experience, rather than through verbal instruction.