Skip to main content

2017 Yamagami sensei Seminar - Jason



*

Reflection on the seminar with Yamagami Sensei and the students.
Jason Nguyen, 1st kyu, male.

Synchronise

At first I only found it interesting to see the three female students of Yamagami Sensei walking into the dojo in order, at the same pace and then sitting down at the same time. It was like a marching.

Then I had a chance to practice the basic waza in a synchonised group of two pairs. This is a great experience because not only I tried to focus on myself and my motodachi but I also observed what was going on with the other pair. It was not easy for me though but I understood the importance to improve my awareness of the surroundings and to synchronise.

Strategies in fighting

I learned the strategies: strike at the same time or just before the opponent makes their move; induce the opponent to make their move and then strike; block and strike.
At my level I could not follow what is going on in the fighting because of very fast pace but I will practice and train to see what is really going on in the fighting.

Make a snapping strike

I learned how to hold the shinai with the left hand's ring finger and little finger, and practice to make a snapping sound with the strike.

I will need to practice a lot on this as well.

I really appreciate the opportunity for me to participate in the seminar with Yamagami 
Sensei and the students from Japan. I will need to practice more in order to understand more of the teachings.





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

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.