9 - The Guinea Pigs

Mar 21, 2026

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Kosho Chronicles Issue #9

To the Reader

The hardest part of learning from Mitose was not learning from Mitose. It was coming back to my school and trying to explain what I had learned to my students. Every visit to the prison gave me something new. Every class I taught afterward felt like trying to describe a color nobody had ever seen.

My students had no idea what they were in for. Neither did I.

The Teaching

Mitose had a phrase he used often. "Keep them confused." That was his favorite term. At first, I thought he was talking about opponents. He was not. He was talking about students.

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8 - The Kosho Mind

Kosho Chronicles Issue #8 To the Reader You already know everything. That is the problem. You have studied, you have trained, you have built a framework of understanding, and now you filter everything through it. Whatever fits, you accept. Whatever does not, you reject. And you call that knowledge. Mitose had a word for this. He called it prejudice. Not the kind people argue about on the news. ...

7 - The Visual Plane

Kosho Chronicles Issue #7 TO THE READERYou trust your eyes. You have been trained to watch the punch, track the kick, follow the weapon. Your eyes are the first sense you turn to in danger, and they are the reason you get hit. Mitose called them the great betrayer. I did not understand what he meant until he showed me. THE TEACHINGThe eyes are the directors of focus. When the eyes move, the hea...

Kosho Reflections Issue #3: The Student is a Better Teacher Than The Teacher

To the Reader If you teach, this will challenge you. If you study under someone, this may confuse you. Either way, pay attention. What follows strikes at something most martial artists protect without realizing it. The Teaching The student is a better teacher than the teacher. This is not a contradiction. It is a truth that most people in positions of authority refuse to examine. The teacher re...

9 - The Guinea Pigs

Kosho Chronicles Issue #9

This post is for paying subscribers only

The Kosho Chronicles

Each month focuses on a single Kosho principle. Once an issue closes, it doesn't return. No fluff. Only original Kosho material.

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