Waikato Kendo Club

A note after Chou sensei's visit on 17 January 2006 Sunday 29 January 2006 Dear All, I feel sorry to inform you that Chou sensei did not feel well after the six days intensive tour in the South Island and has changed the flight to today (30 January). He said the view in South Island is very beautiful but it was too long for him to stay in the car. And, don't worry, he still has good health. There are 4 Japanese sensei (one 8th Dan and three 7th Dan) are waiting for his return to visit Taiwan. He apologies that he need to go back to Taiwan ealier than his original plan. I just visited him saying Good-Bye and presented the Birthday card ( 84 years old ) and a small gift to him. He is pleased by the card you signed for him. He hopes that I can pass his appreciation to you. The sensei emphasised few things to me and I would like to share them with you. 1. As an instructor, I should always pay attention on the safety and healthy issues . For example, I should ask

Text in Chinese is here - 中文. Tuesday 17 January 2006 To share with those who could not come tonight or need to leave earlier, what Sensei Chou's lesson after the training were: 1. Kendo starts from Rei (manner) and finishes with Rei. If there is no Rei in your Kendo, no matter how strong your Kendo technique is, it still means nothing. 2. In terms of physical techniques, footwork should take 70% of importance while hand/arm only take another 30%. So, paying enough attention to footwork is essential to improve our Kendo. Particularly, after strike, we should follow up our left foot quicker. 3. When you feel " proud " about your Kendo, then it is the time your Kendo starts to decline. Keep humble and keep studying and training in Kendo is very important. -- Sam's note here: what sensei does not want us to have is "over-proud" or to think our Kendo is "good enough" and then stop learning. Please don't get it confused with &