Because my personal background is infused with karate I am going to place karate influences that are useful to Swordfighters here. The first nstallment is about the kata Tekki Shodan.

Tekki was my favorite kata for years. It is a short kata compared to Bassai. The name tekki refers to "man riding a horse." The form is from the shokei tradition in okinawa and has the feeling of the intensity of a blast furnance (Fire and Earth). I think that it is a grappling and infighting form. I did 30 tekki per day for at least 330-360 days per year for 10 years. 30 x 330 x 10 = approximately 100,000. I still have questions about this form.

Here is tekki: