Ronin Samurai

I practice Iaido in a dojo. Different style, but I checked out this app and I can tell Steve-san has years of experience. His posture is pretty good, his cuts are nice, his footwork is nice. Clearly he knows what he’s doing, and it takes many years to get that good. Iaido is much more than it appears. I think a dojo is better than online, and that’s better than an app - an app preferable to a book. If you’re just wanting a hobby or to learn a bit without committing to a dojo an app may be a good choice for you.

Steve is as disingenuous as these frauds come. I have, on several occasions, asked this individual to be authentic and state his martial arts background as it pertains to budo, in addition to what makes him qualified to teach beginners and enthusiasts alike the art of swordsmanship. So far, Steve has only deflected these questions and referred me to his app in order to find the answers. When I downloaded the app I found nothing but a list of individuals who, after doing some digging on my end, happen to have little to no affiliation with Steve. I scoured websites and other sources only to find small bits and pieces where this guy claims to have trained. Steve boasts a 28 year career in martial arts—but he will never answer in what. One of the traits of a genuine martial artist is being able to proudly and openly declare their school and teacher. Steve has done neither. If you want to prove it, as him yourself. Or wait for him to reply to this review where he will give a non answer. I do hope, viewer, that you will skip this app and instead refer to more authentic content that can be accessed for free online—or better yet, find a teacher to learn in person. Steve is charging $20 a lesson for very basic subjects such as stances, drawing the sword, and footwork, etc. None of which are worth your hard-earned money. Lastly, remember this: one of the ways to tell a conman like Steve apart from an authentic martial artist is to trace the lineage of their teachers back to the source—wherever that may be. Steve will deflect, tell you the information is free, or outright lie. An authentic martial artist, of which Steve will never be, would be very open to such questions. Please avoid this app.