First Training in 2008

Dear All,

It's so good to be "home" again. I am so pleased to see many of you and know that many of you are coming back from the world soon.

I believe that we had a good training on Saturday 19 Januar. Thanks to Omar's detailed documentation for the day. I made a small "copy-and-paste" and a minor change here:

For jumping suburi (haya suburi):

when raising shinai and jumping back, use 30% power - can relax, but don't stop at the top.

when striking and jumping forwards, use 70% power - move faster, do proper ten-no-uchi to ensure kensen will automatically lift after the strike, and immediately relax shoulders to raise.

once accustomed to this method, increase power - e.g. [raise : strike] 30%:70% => 40%:80% => 50%:100% etc

try not to use too little power nor make the muscles too tense - relax on upswing and (more) tense on downswing.

For further details, please refer to Omar's WaiKendo Blog - Training Session on Saturday 19 January 2008.

I hope to add a comment here:

The main theme for the training is te-no-uchi(手の內)
- The overall use of the hands when striking or responding, including
* the way of gripping the shinai,
* the tightening/loosening of the grip and
* the adjusting of the balance between the two hands.

Te-no-uchi is very important "everywhere" in Kendo because we are holding shinai all the time. So please be aware of the three points metioned above.

In addition to te-no-uchi, when we are striking, the shinai should be speeding up downward instead in a constant speed fashion. This will also help you understand the te-no-uchi.

Well, looking forward to the next training now.... :)

Sam

Comments

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

Happy Rabbit Year 2023

We wish everyone have a Happy Rabbit Year Saturday 21 January 2023 Keiko Reflection - Janet As lunar new year of the rabbit arrives so is our Dojo welcoming new beginners to get a taste of what kendo is like. While the beginners learned brand new ideas, the senpais were reminded of the basic purpose of Kendo, which is self discipline, development & improvement of our body, mind, & spirit. Constantly striving for a more perfect & beautiful cut rather than being just a form of self defence or stick fighting. Ashi-sabaki or footwork ( Kouda sensei demonstration ) is very important in Kendo particularly Suriashi or sliding steps as it not only look more graceful & elegant, but also would reduce noise when moving on wooden floors & reduce likely injury from stepping onto hidden weapons or obstacles on the floor in medieval Japan. We were also reminded of the basic sequence of engagement during a kendo duel: 1. Holding good Kamae (on guard position, Kouda sensei demonst

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

Waikato Kendo Club

Search This Blog