Skip to main content

My Kendo Journey - Aiden


2017 Beginners - Aidan M. 
Intermediate School Student


Reflection about what I have learned from the Beginner Class:

All through my learning in kendo I have been learning new movement, new theory, new etiquette.

At the start we learnt footwork and etiquette.

(We learnt these every-day but we were introduced to them then).

In the first lesson (the trial). We learnt basic forward, backward, left and right movement. This was interesting, not what I expected in fact I thought there would be nothing if not very little, practical however I learnt heaps. Surprisingly (to you) this discombobulated me I was expecting a explanation of kendo and an explanation of what we were to do in the upcoming 15 weeks. This did happen, but it wasn't the whole 90 minutes. It was about 20 minutes, the other 70 minutes was practical. This is the lesson I learnt the most in. That is a surprise to me for I thought that I would learn the most in the second. They also showed me how bad my posture is.

Then we moved on to diagonal footwork - This proved to be rather difficult, at first it I found the movement rather weird, but slowly I started finding it easier.

When we moved on to using bokuto (wooden sword) thing’s got very interesting. The first thing we learnt with the boku was what you do with it during the opening and closing ceremonies. You gently put it down making sure that the sharp side is pointing toward you. We learnt that you are not to walk over the boku. And that you should not let the end of the blade fall on the ground. We also discovered why it is bad to kick the sword when they are on the ground, something I failed at once or twice.


The basic defensive posture of kendo fascinated me. The point of it is that it makes it difficult for your opponent to strike.

Learning MEN-strike was a big change, however it was one I enjoyed. I learnt so much in men (head) there is just so much theory behind striking and men in particular. Such as you should keep your hand straight up, swing and then halfway through the swing flick your wrist. (That was properly the worst description of that in kendo history). 

Kote, however not to different to men, was the strike I struggled with the most. What I found so difficult is when I learnt it I had only just learnt how to swing and stop at head height then suddenly they wanted me to perform it at wrist height. Do is the strike we most recently learnt in kendo I found it the most interesting because that men and kote were rather similar, however do was different. In do you bring your boku back as if you were going to do men or kote then you put your blade to the right, move your foot on a 45 degree angle and strike so that your blade hit’s your opponent's waist.


Another thing we learnt is kendo vocabulary and phrases all though this is perhaps the part I am worst at.

Actually I think the part I am worst at is that I don't remember to put my hands in the right place (by my side).



Aidan JM

THANK YOU

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How do you practice seme?

Kobayashi Hideo Sensei – How to Seme (w/English CC)  小林英雄 先生 - 攻め方 How do you practice S eme ?   Very early on, I have heard of the “Three Opportunities to Strike”: strike when your opponent’s technique is about to start, strike when your opponent’s technique ends, and when the opponent is mentally and physically depleted. Since then, this line of thinking has given me a direction in how to train. In 2017, Utsunomiya sensei, 7-dan kyoshi, came to visit us and taught me the concept of “okori”. That reminds me of the conversation that happened 8 years before that in 2009 with Morioka sensei, also 7-dan kyoshi, who asked me: “What is the timing or reason of your strike?” I think most people are familiar with the idea that you should “ seme then strike ”. However, when do you strike after seme has been a source of struggle for most kenyu. That’s why when I saw the video from Kobayashi Hanshi where you seme for the purposes of creating “okori” , I felt this added a whole other d

Ji-ri-ichi - practice & theory combined into one 事理一致

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Keiko Reflection by Janet Tonight’s Keiko is a timely reminder of the importance of training in Ji-ri-ichi (事理一致, practice & theory combined into one). While we are constantly receiving knowledge & theory passively from Senseis, one must also be actively applying the theories learnt into action to make it their own through repeated practice.  We must also be proactive in our own learning by actively seeking more knowledge such as observing other kendokas keiko ( mitori-geiko ), reading books, asking questions when in doubt, & constantly reflect & ask ourselves why do we do this? what are we doing wrongly or correctly? This way we can better understand our bodies, the mechanics of each movements & the purpose behind each individual action, therefore maximise our learning outcome by improving productivity & quality of our practice or Keiko.  Remember Kendo is a martial art that descended from Japanese swordsmanship or Kenjutsu, so it’s no

Kendo Journey: A "Travel Guide" from Shodan to Godan-and-a-Half

Waikato Kendo Association Grading (2009)   Kendo Journey: A Travel Guide from Shodan to Godan-and-a-Half ( 中文 ) by Sam Tsai December 27, 2017 Those that know me should know that back in 1998, Marleen and I moved to Hamilton, New Zealand and ended up being the only two people that practiced kendo within the 100 kilometers radius. In the following year, the stars were aligned as we formed the Waikato Kendo Association and I found myself shouldering the responsibility of being a kendo instructor. Practicing kendo myself and teaching others how to do kendo are totally different things! About half a year after we established the dojo, Hsu Heng-Hsiung sensei , coach of Team Taiwan, led a delegation of more than 20 kenshi to come visit us in New Zealand. About a year after their visit, I was in Taiwan visiting sensei. The first thing he said to me was, “Tell me, what are you having trouble teaching?” I could not help myself but laugh out loud as I replied, “Coach you are wise