Skip to main content

An invaluable speech about Education

Dear All,

Here is a YouTube linkage to share with you.






15 years ago, by chance, I had an in-depth conversation with a scholar from Cornell University who does research on the area of Anthropology. What I learned from him from the conversation is about: an individual is the product of a collective culture, on the other hand, an individual helps forming the collective culture.

Year by year, I make more sense about his theory.

Regarding education, we all play certain part in our daily live as a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, mum, dad or grand parents...even Dojo team mates.

I do hope if any of you made your mind wanting to be a teacher in any school level, please spare your time to watch this film. Thank you.

Again, the linkage is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY


Marleen
Your Kendo coach

Comments

Sam Tsai said…
In terms of education and "Kendo education", each one of us are all very important if we would spare a thought on what Kendo means to us and our lifes.
MrWoody said…
This video clip really appeals to me as i believe mainstream education works hard to kill creativity whilst claiming that they wish to encourage it.
I personally try to allow creativity and individualism in my classroom and often get knocked back by "the System" that really promotes uniformity and compliance.
Of course, these things can be useful also.

As for Kendo, it is a wonderful way to take on board life lessons such as commitment ["haha Mr Woody", I hear you all saying], courage, concentration, and many more things.

I hope to see you soon :-)

Popular Posts

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). Day 1 Kendo Beginners – FAQ Little Samurai Kendo – Parents’ Information 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)...

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...