Our First Keiko in 2017

We had our 1st 2017 keiko on Saturday 7 January.

A warm welcome to Walter from London and Minh Ha from Paris.

Also, welcome Jason moving from Otago to Hamilton and

Colin picking up shinai again!

It is really a special keiko to see such old and new faces!

Walter led a waza practice on debana kote.

Waza practice on debana kote

Ji-geiko

When Walter was introducing himself to the Waikato kohai,

Sam was surprised to hear that Walter started his Kendo here "fifteen" year ago!

It was then confirmed from a simple math: 2017-2002 = 15!

It is great to see Walter's dedication in Kendo, both a cornerstone in the NZ Team since 2006 and a recent achievement in Godan (5th Dan). Wish him and Minh Ha have a great time in NZ and a safe trip back to Europe!

Some more photos are here.

History on the Day

Our 1st Kendo in 2016 (9 January).

Best wishes to Felix, Claire and Zhefu

who have finished their study and returned to China to start a new page in their life.

Best wishes to Killian for his study at Waikato University and his journey in Karate.

Our 1st Kendo in 2015 (10 January).

For all the Waikato Kendoka,

Let's keep us well, study hard, work hard, training hard, play hard

and have a wonderful 2017 together!

Comments

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

Having good Senpai is a wonderful thing in Kendo.

13/03/2016 Yesterday's training was really hard! I thought everyone there make effort to do kendo without sensei (going to Auckland for the Yamagami sensei's seminar ) . There were quite a few problems I met from the training, for example I was scared when Claire senpai and Kevin senpai was about to hit me, and let kensen move away from centre. It may take time for me to modify my psychology. And I should improve my posture in the following training. Thanks to Nicole senpai for telling me a lot about how to maintain boku. I felt her passion in Kendo is exactly the same when we were training together and chatting after class.

Waikato Kendo Club

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