Skip to main content

Appreciation - Nicole's Kendo dairy


Farewell to Gavin, have a good trip back to home. 
We will miss you and see you next time! smile emoticon
珍重再見,後會有期!


Kendo Journal 09/03/2016: Appreciation

Today we were emphasising our training on Zanshin (殘心). Zanshin is a concept unique to Kendo. There's no other martial art that will do Zanshin or have something similar to this. In most other martial art, practitioner is training on how execute the technique efficiently with their physical strength and agility and may the best man prevail in the competition.

Ippon is the Kendo term used to describe when we score a point in Shiai. Ippon can also be view like a "ritual" where I declare my intention with Kiai before executing my attack using techniques and physical agility. Then finishing the ritual with going pass your opponent, reflecting on my own action and appreciating your opponent's sacrifice to make you a stronger Kendoka. To my understanding, the last part is known as Zanshin. To score a point, we need to complete the "ritual" beautifully. Sam Sensei always say Ippon is achieve by having Ki (intention; presence; atmosphere; commitment), Ken (sword; technique), Tai (body; physical strength and agility) ichi- all in one. We apply these attributes to Zanshin too.

We tend to slack off when we finishing our attack in training as we feel like we have completed our attack. But Ippon does not end here. To correct this, we were requested to turn properly after tsuri ashi exercise and Kihon training by Sensei. Marleen Sensei wanted us to implementing Zanshin in our training so it becomes a habit so our Kendo will look beautiful in formal event like Shiai or Grading. Plus finish with a pretty Zanshin also means we are back to Kamai, fully aware of our surrounding and ready to strike again. Sensei wanted us follow Erina san's example, train our "ritual" with 100% commitment!

We given some advice about turning for Zanshin. Firstly there are different direction when it comes to turning. The correct way of turning after Men or Do Uchi is to use the ball of your front foot (right foot) as the pivot point turning anticlockwise with your waist, finish with shifting your left foot to the back in Kamai position. The correct way of turning after Kote Uchi is to use the ball of your front foot (right foot) as the pivot point turning clockwise with your waist, swaying your right foot like drawing a small circle. It should end with right foot at the back, pivot your waist to face directly to your opponent. We should hold our Shinnai at a 45 degrees angle with our hand extended not close to our body. We should be able to turn as quickly as possible so we are ready to strike again. Most important part is that we need to maintain a strong Kiai until we turned and return to Kamai.


P.S This is the last training we have with Erina Hosaya san. We would like to thank her for sharing her skill and experience with us. Your passion and resilience with Kendo has set a good example for all of us!

"エリナさん,本当にありがとうございます!この間に、お世話なりました。
エリナさんの稽古を見た時、いろいろ勉強しました。あなたの剣道の速さが初めて見た時、とてもかっこいいと思いました。すごく憧れています。いつかまた会う時、も一度稽古しましょう。その時、私はきっと背いっぱい頑張ります。"

And farewell to Gavin, the Senpai who have contributed so much of your time and effort in helping to run the club. Unfortunately, I was not able to know you more when you were here but I heard a lot of good things about you. You set a good example to us Kouhai.



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

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

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 wise