Skip to main content

History - The 1st All Japan Kendo Championship

One of our members knows one Kendoka who learned Kendo "few decades" ago but has stopped for a long time. He asked me why the Kendoka seems to have different styles from what we are doing. Actually, I think that there are no much difference but just evolved to a "finer" way.

Some core concepts such as Sen, Seme, Sutemi and fighting for central line etc are still the very important concepts today.

Anyway, it is really a pleasure to watch the video clip of The 1st All Japan Kendo Championship in 1952:



Hope you will get some inspiration from these great senseis.

Comments

Sherwood said…
I have to agree with you about kendo evolving. .. I'll go a little further and say that it would be impossible for it to stay the same. All we can do is to trust our sensei's and try to keep as true to their teachings as we can. Should we ever become sensei ourselves we will have a great responsibility to pass on our knowledge without corrupting it too much from what we were taught.

My father taught me many things, some of them I try to do exactly as he showed me but however hard I try I do it slightly different to him. I can't do it exactly the same because I am not him.
When I teach my son these same things he again does them very slightly different to me... he has to because he is not me. The process has evolved.
I'm sure a samurai from the 18th century was different from a samurai of the 8th century, they were both truly samurai but they had evolved.
All things evolve ... that maybe why so many older people think of the "good old days".

As I get older I become more of a traditionalist. However, I don't see a danger in kendo evolution ... Revolution? that's a different story.
Sorry for the ramble.

Popular Posts

2025 Beginners Information

You are warmly invited to join us and  start your New Year resolutions as a  Modern Samurai .  --- Information for Year 2025 Beginners --- Little Samurai Class (age under 14): 1.30 - 2.30pm, Saturdays  Beginners Class (age 14 and above): 2.30 - 3.30pm, Saturdays Intermediate and Advanced Class : 3.30 - 6.00pm, Saturdays Starting Dates: Term 1: Saturday 25 January New Beginners' Classes will start on January 25, 2025. We will be accepting new students all Saturdays of February, but the earlier you can start, the better. Term 2: Saturday 3 May  Term 3: Saturday 19 July  Term 4: Saturday 11 October Join our 2025 Beginners Facebook Group  now to get updates. Or, email us for more information.  Course Information: No previous experience required. Regardless of gender,  ages from 6 to 60  are all welcome. First lesson  is your Free trial. Membership Fees:  Kids and School students: 50.00 per month Tertiary students and adults: 80.0...

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 ...

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...