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Showing posts from 2018

Ryan - my Kendo journey

Ryan at the 2018 Kendo Beginner Class I have been waiting awhile to write about my Kendo experience and journey. As Sam Tsai Sensei has encouraged all of us to write about our time “following the sword road”,  I decided now was the right time. I developed an interest in Eastern Martial Arts from an early age. This is probably from watching Ninja movies in the 80’s and Chinese Kung Fu/Japanese Samurai films  in the 90’s. I briefly took up learning Tae kwon Do, Wing Chun Gung Fu, Jeet Kune Do and MMA. As an avid fan of the Star Wars franchise I loved how the Jedi and Darth Vader’s armour were based on Japanese Samurai. Other things that interest me about Japan and its culture are not limited to Kendo. Japanese architecture (especially castles), indie music, films, art, food, history, banzai trees/ botanics, religion, and language. Other Japanese martial arts that interest me are modern day Kenjutsu (剣術), Iaidō (居合道), and N aginata (なぎな). Before I moved to New Zealand I became

Chris - Kendo and Me

“SHOGAN” a program in the late seventies which hooked me on the Japanese ethos of the period  and sparked my interest for my martial arts passion was then born “BUSHIDO” the way of the  warrior. After many years participating in several different full contact arts the path has lead me to  “ KENDO ” and after an interest in “KENJUTSU” or the art of the sword it was a natural step. A  quick search on the internet and I found “WAIKATO KENDO ASSOCIATION” venue at the  university basket ball hall gate 4, “Great!” nice and close to home, I turned up and used proper  DOJO etiquette and was welcomed in. After a hello and handshake with Sensai Sam Tasi and a few after club members I took a seat to  watch. After years of playing hard and a few major motorcycles accidents in life as motorcycling is  my other passion, this art still gives me a good work out and is easy on my worn joints this is great. After 8 months of being part of the Waikato Kendo Association family I am enjoying eve

Darren - Kendo and Me

Hi, my name is Darren.  This is my story and my beginning into Kendo. When I was young, my Dad took me to a Bruce Lee movie. This changed my life forever, and from that moment on I knew I wanted to learn Martial Arts.   There was something magical, yet beautiful about the way Bruce Lee moved and delivered blow after blow with optimum precision and speed. I wanted to be just like him. At 18 years of age, I started doing Nam Wah Pai Kungfu . This was a great start into the Martial Arts world for me, it taught me discipline, flexibility and endurance. But I knew that I wanted to learn more. And so, I then began Thai Kick-Boxing , which I found to be more realistic and suitable to what I was looking for, in a Martial Art. 27 years on…..with many hours of  training/sparing, 3 ring fights and later the teaching of Thai Kick-Boxing to others, I was forced to stop. Two hip replacement operations later and  with a sadness in my heart, I then faced a reality that Martial Arts of an

“You are the one controlling the handle”

Our appreciation goes to David Pan from   Bellevue, Highline, and Sno-King Kendo Club for the efforts of translating the original post in Chinese . * * * “Is Kendo a lonely journey (to you)?” This was my Facebook Status update on July 5th. The reason I ask isn’t so much because “I am lonely”. Instead, because I have some experience in translation myself   (text in Chinese) , when I saw a narrative on Facebook by a professional translator about how lonely she felt in her journey, it resonated with me. As kendo is another important aspect of my life, it is only natural by association that I would pose this question. I really like blogs, Facebook, and other social media because it is a means for me to “throw a sprat to catch a mackerel”. Even if I was just casually sharing my thoughts or feelings, I can often get surprisingly insightful, humorous, or reflective responses, such as: Being lonely is great! Ko-ken-chi-ai ( To know love through crossing swords ) You c

2018 Beginners Grading in May

Congratulations to all our 2018 Beginners who have achieved 10th Kyu in Kendo on Saturday 5th of May 2018. This is an important milestone for their Kendo journey that celebrates  their dedication and hard work in the past three months. Group photo for the Rototuna High School Kendo Club Group photo for the St. John's College Kendo Club * The successful candidates are: L. Young J. Anderson E. Cartwright A. Safudin O. Burney-Magner L. Manssen K. Bian L. Chen F. Leong C. Holten J. Baunton-Browne  R. Sirimanne S. Sirimanne S. Zhou H. Ye J. Lee Y. Hur S. Thanki B. Leeson B. McMorran J. Winder L. Bixley O. Parsons Z. Chaves F. Ratcliffe from Waikato University, Sacred Heart Girls' College, Hamilton Christian School, St. John's College, and Rototuna High School.  *  Some photos taken from the grading  Waiting for the results ...

2017 Novice Championship Results

11 November - Open Ceremony 12 November - Closing Ceremony The 10th New Zealand Kendo Novice Championship 11-12 November 2017 Acknowledgment  We started the first Yon-Dan (4th Dan) Division Shiai as a shiai demonstration for the novice Kendoka to learn from their senpai but also providing an opportunity for these junior Kendo instructors to learn from each other in a shiai situation. We appreciate the efforts from all the participants: Naoko Stephenson (AKC), Rina Igarashi (AKC), Alice Graham (Yoshinkan), Wlat Kim (DMK), Kai Yoshitani (WKC), Leo Lin (WKC), and Awatea Yi-Williams (WKC).  We thank Alan Stephenson sensei for his long service as the  Shinpan-cho  (chief judge) and running the shinpan seminar in the Novice Champ. Huge thanks also go to Sam Tsai,  Naoko Stephenson, Oscar Xing, Rina Ugarashi,  Sayuri Takeyama, Walt Kim, Alice Graham, Kai Yoshitani, Leo Lin and Awatea Yi-Williams for their service as a shinpan.  Lastly, we thank Marl