Skip to main content

Benjamin in JP Dojo follow up

A little more, I'll keep it short this time:

I feel that perhaps this opportunity is a little wasted on me. When I goto practice I end up constantly hitting teachers until I almost fallover from exhaustion, take a short breathing break and do it again. Theytell me to change little things here and there, but I could do thispractice with someone else without wasting the time of these very goodkendo teachers. That's why I feel someone who is far better than meshould be here in my place. I would love to see Jeffrey practice with them.

I went to the second dojo I mentioned. There were fewer people there,and there was also a lot more room for practice. The head teacher is farmore practical, and gauged my skill by having me practice with anotherperson going through all the cuts for what seemed like half an hour.Then he started to practice with me and we did kakari-geiko for 1 min, ashort rest, and again, every time saying "faster faster".

One guy showed up who was also at the other dojo. He is always smilingand bowing, and talks to me a lot. I was told that he is 7th dan andthat I should pay very careful attention to what he says. So far I knowthat at least two people are 7th dan at the first dojo. I think manyothers are 6th dan.

I was then told to practice with him and he emphasised, among manythings, that it is vital that all motions in kendo are done as onemotion. He said my men and kote cuts were ok, but that my do cut wasstill split up into 2 different parts.

Some other things I have been told to do: feet always together at theheels and apart 45 degrees when bowing to someone, the part of thehakama that goes around your waist twice should be turned over when itis crossed over in front of you, the back plate of the hakama should beabove the belt part (can't think of a better word, is there a websitesomewhere with the names of all the different parts of the hakama?),

always look at everything in front of you, and nothing in particular (Iwas told that I always look at what I'm attacking, and never at anythingelse),

always do empty cutting, even if you are trying to hit something(don't ever think of it as trying to hit men or something like that).

One of the teachers at the old dojo, who is quite tall (good to practicewith) has invited me to come to his kendo classes at the local highschool.... but I don't think I can manage now.

Maybe in a few weeks.

And that's about it for now. I'm really tired and sore all over.

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

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