Handle your sword with respect.
Carefully check your sword’s mekugi at all times.
Handle your sword and its cord correctly in accordance with the proper etiquette.
Clean the dojo before practice, and when practicing wear neatly pressed clothing.
Seating and rank within the dojo are always in order of seniority.
Never draw your sword in the direction of the kamiza or with the kamiza to your right. Always practice with the kamiza to your left.
Consider all movements to be directed at a foe.
Place your left knee or hand on the floor before your right, and raise your right knee or hand before your left.
When you wear your sword, the tsukagashira should be positioned in front of the centerline of your body. After you sheath your sword, the tsuba should be positioned in front of the centerline of your body.
When gripping the hilt, place your right hand on it without touching the fuchigane, and hold your left hand two finger widths apart from the little finger of your right hand.
While still a novice, relax fully and perform each waza slowly, naturally, and with large movements, clearly demarcating each waza from the next. Do not perform them rapidly in a single sequence.
Performing waza requires concentrating all your energy and willpower on each movement. As you become more experienced, try to shorten the intervals between waza.
When walking during waza, place your feet on the floor with the tips of your toes (as well as your heels) slightly raised. When standing with one leg forward and one leg behind, do not raise the heel of your rear leg too far off the floor.
Make full use of your sheath hand (left hand) both when drawing and when sheathing your sword.
Outward action manifests inner energy; movements the eye can see are an expression of unseen power. Mastering the Way requires focusing primarily what is below the surface and perfecting the action of inner self.
When you breathe out, your mind and body are in a state of jitsu or fullness; when you breathe in, they are in a state of kyo or emptiness. As you move from one waza to the next, be conscious of how your breathing shifts between the states of kyo and jitsu.
Do not let your sword use you. Use your sword as an extension of your body.
Remember: First the feet, then the body, and finally the sword. Do not get them in the wrong order.
Do not hesitate at any point from the drawing of your sword until the final downward cut.
Under no circumstances must you forget zanshin.* Be especially careful not to let your zanshin flag after you perform the downward cut, as you flip the blood from the blade, sheath your sword, and finally return to your original position.
*Zanshin means the state of remaining vigilant after completing a series of waza, even as you relax and let your energy subside.