Kendo and me - Darrin

Hi Sam

Over the last few months I have been focussing on trying to improve my stamping and my swing for big cuts.

Jeffrey has told me that I tend to lift my right leg up rather that driving forward when I stamp; also that my stamping is not strong enough.

As well as this, I have been trying to focus on not moving my left foot forward when I am about to stamp.

So I'm trying to co-ordinate my left leg, my waist and my right knee to improve my stamping.

The other day you gave me a really good technique to help ensure that I raise my shinai high enough before executing the cut: this is where you advised that we should swing our shinai forward when we see our left fist reach eye level. Generally, I think the problem is that I rush the cut so am not raising my shinai high enough.

Whenever I train with Jeffrey he says "more stamping"; whenever I train with Leo he says "swing bigger", so one of my goals for the end of this year is for Jeffrey to say "nice stamping" and Leo to say "nice swing"!

These two things have been my main problems I think since I started with Kendo and it is a bit frustrating that I am finding them so difficult to correct.

Also, with stamping, I can not stamp going backwards at all. I hope to be able to start developing this skill over this year.

I can't do taitari (not sure of the spelling) very well so hope to improve this a lot over this year too.

Recently Jeffrey showed me that I need to relax my shoulders after executing a cut so that my cut will naturally bounce up a little ('pang') rather than be just a 'whack'. Actually, when I do cut a men properly like this it is really satisfying to hear the right sound and have the right feel, if you know what I mean.

I am also aware too that I need to focus on ki-ken-tai-ichi and particularly make sure that my cut lands with my foot.

With shiai, one of the key things that I try to improve on is my zanshin and I'm still slowly learning how to do this. Actually, I don't think that I can manage shiai very well at all yet but I have noticed that I have improved quite a bit from, say, six months ago. Hopefully this means that I can continue to get a lot better over 2008.

These are my main thoughts about my kendo at the moment although I'm very aware that I still need to work on all the basic skills as well as starting to develop some of the more advanced skills (small men etc).

Thanks Sam

It's great to have you 'home'
See you Tuesday

Darrin

Comments

Kendo Dōjo basic etiquette & commands for beginner & kyu grades

Kendo Dōjo basic etiquette & commands for beginner & kyu grades Thanks to Janet for organising this article. When entering & leaving the Dōjo （道場, training hall）, we need to bow respectfully from the waist, first towards the direction of Joseki （上席）, in our case this is the Waikato Kendo Club WKC banner. (But in Japanese dōjo there is often a Kamiza （上座） with a small Shinto shrine or altar displayed with religious significance). And then bow towards Sensei & Senpai on your way in before neatly organising your belongings on the side & getting ready quietly. At beginning of each Keiko（稽古）, Sensei（先生）or Senpai（先輩） will say: Line up - Seiretsu （整列） : We will need to quickly find our position along a horizontal line facing Sensei (in the middle) in order of our experience/ rank with Senpai (Seniors) on the right and Kōhai (Juniors, 後輩 ) & Shoshinsha (Beginners, 初心者 ) on the left. Standing straight facing the front, holding Shinai firmly...

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 whol...

2026 Beginners Information

You are warmly invited to join us and begin your New Year’s journey as a Modern Samurai. Beginners Class (age 14 and above): 1.30 - 2.30pm, Saturdays Little Samurai Class (age under 14): 2.30 - 3.30pm, Saturdays Intermediate and Advanced Class: 3.30 - 6.00pm, Saturdays Starting Dates Term 1: Saturday 17 and 31 January ( no training on 24 January ) Term 2: Saturday 7 and 14 March Term 3: Saturday 25 July and 1 August Term 4: Saturday 31 October and 7 November Course Information No previous experience required. Open to all genders, ages 6 to 60 . Your first lesson is free (trial lesson). Monthly Membership Fees Primary school students: $50.00 Intermediate & high school students: $60.00 Tertiary students: $80.00 Adults: $100.00 Family Discounts Second family member: 50% off Third family member and beyond: free Learning Objectives By the end of the course, you will be ready to put on Bogu (armour) and start your Kendo journey as a modern Samurai! Venue School of Educ...

Waikato Kendo Club

Search This Blog