It is fine to "slow down" and take your time

The ultimate goal is Ki-ken-tai Ichi 💪

Don't skimp on your basics.
They will carry you through everything in life.

https://www.tofugu.com/japan/kendo/

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Wednesday Keiko reflection for beginners & Kyu grades by Janet

During Kihon- or Uchikomi-geiko such as kirikaeshi, it’s important to “TAKE IT SLOW” to start with to ensure each strike is done correctly.

First get ready as soon as we can with good kamae (especially after performing zanshin following each strike) then concentrate on making every single strike in the timing of one (ichibyoshi) with correct kiai, tenouchi & footwork to achieve Ki-Ken-Tai-Itchi.

As tempting as it may be to try imitate sensei & senpais’ swift, clean & elegant strikes, it’s easy to forget each one of their moves are the results of years of hard training which have conditioned their body & mind to do it naturally & made it look so effortless when it’s in fact not.

There are no short cuts on our kendo journey, but by coming to keiko diligently & learning to do kihon properly right from the start will save us deviating from the main road & in time will lead us onto the highway eventually.

Therefore, be patient, don’t rush, and start slow. Get the kihon right, then with time the speed will follow.

However, please be mindful that when doing Ji-geiko with senpai or sensei, it is considered impolite to wait for your seniors to initiate the strike. At this stage for beginners & Kyu grades we aren’t expected to be able to read the correct timing of strikes yet. Therefore, just try to get our body & mind ready as soon as possible & start striking without waiting to show our determination & appreciation to learn from senpai or sensei.

Thank you for Sam & Marleen sensei’s teachings today🙏🙏🙏 hopefully I’ve summarised it correctly.

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2022-05-11 Wednesday

In a cold autumn night, after a long tiring day,

thank you for the efforts of attending the Keiko tonight!

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