Waikato Kendo Club

Jennifer - Kendo and Me * During this year,  I learnt about the importance of kata, while I thought Kata was just something not important but annoying. In my mind, Kata is something very hard to memorize, but quite useless at the same time, because you can’t really use kata at any time, since it’s not a technique that you can learn from. But throughout this year, I noticed the importance of kata, that you can put it into practice and shiai . As well as kata is very important in mindset and grading. Other than kata, I improved my kendo skill. I focus on more and more detail when I am practicing, like when I am hitting people now, I hit them slow but correctly.  Kendo wasn’t really my thing before, but after shiai and fighting ( keiko ) with other people, I started to feel the fun in kendo. I want to improve myself to become better and better, I want to win battles, I want to get higher grades. Every time I fight with someone, I am afraid that they might beat me, but when I am ...

2019 Little Samurai Class Beginners' reflection on "how Kendo has influenced my everyday life?" * Kendo makes me stronger and healthier. ~ David  Kendo makes me happy. It is fun to learn and hit with my shinai. I love to make friends at the dojo and learn from everyone. ~ Ava Kendo gives me better balance and focus. ~ Seb  I have new friend. I am happy. I like play Kendo. ~ Monica  Kendo has influenced me in my life by making me more focused in my learning at school and out of school by having goals and life lessons. Kendo has given me confidence in myself to do tasks, and ask for help in needed. ~ Frankie. I started Kendo because I would normally have a arched back. Now, I have learned discipline. Kendo also teaches me to work hard. ~ Elliot  Kendo has influenced me by making me into a better person. I can  be more focused on thing I need to focus on, be ready to learn and improve on who I am, and be able to think about more stuff. ~ Randika   Kendo h...

The 12th New Zealand Kendo Novice Championship 9-10 November 2019 Acknowledgment  We thank Jason Oh Sensei (6th Dan) from North Shore Kendo Club for his service as the  Shinpan-cho  (chief judge) and running the shinpan workshop in the Novice Champ. Huge thanks also go to Ben Chin, Makoto Kuroda,  Naoko Stephenson,  Walt Kim,  Thomas Hong , Leo Lin, Luo Wen, Eric Viola, Ren Sayer, and Yoko Maruyama for their service as a shinpan.  Shinpan workshop led by the Yondan Senpai  This is the third time of  Yon-Dan Division Shiai as a shiai demonstration for the novice Kendoka to learn from their high grade 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) ,  Wlat Kim  (NSKC),  Thomas Hong  (NSKC), Luo Wen  (WKC) , Ben Chin (AKC), Ren Sa...

For the longest of times I have always had a passion for the art of swordsmanship and how it is expressed and performed across the many cultures around the world that have a history in the art. For me I experienced sword fighting (mainly for fun) as a teen doing what was considered as European martial arts. I started learning the sword and board and its many techniques which were used in European warfare.  I remember getting bashed around, thrown of my feet, feeling great swords slam upon the steel helm. Literally half an inch from concussion, it certainly was great fun! Now these people were twice my age and twice my strength, I knew it would be a long journey ahead and I simply wanted to defeat them. However, there was one difference, I wanted to use Katana . No European swordsman could defeat a Samurai, right? At least this was how I thought and my obsession with samurai and legendary swordsman like the great Miyamoto Musashi . I mesmerized over thoughts of doing unbeatabl...

2019-09-24 RHS Kendo Club The last lesson of Term 3 - Congratulations to all the members who joined the grading today and achieved their new grades! - Thanks to all the senior members in the Club who helped the kohai (juniors) preparing their grading and demonstrated good leadership!  - Thanks to Marleen Sensei for helping out the grading exams. - Thanks to all the parents coming to support the kids and helping out the event. - Thanks to all the members, Rex and Joyce for a great success of Term 3 Kendo lessons. Congratulations to Jacob, Levi, Tim, Felicity and Cassidy for achieving 10th Kyu in Kendo Congratulations to Lucas, Cody, T J, and Lovejot for achieving 10th Kyu in Kendo Congratulations for Annya and Lucas  for achieving 9th kyu in Kendo Congratulations to Isaac for achieving 8th Kyu in Kendo

Best wishes to your anticancer pharmaceutical research project! * Life is full of obstacles and challenges but they shouldn’t stop you from moving forward, meaning, do not give up just because something is not going your way. In fact, they should be the driving forces of your progress . I don’t know everything about Kendo, only what my sensei(s) and my mother have told me. There are some steps which I can’t do but I still train because that is how a person makes progress. You cannot improve if you don’t do anything. Being the person I was and still am (a total weirdo), I never really understood what giving up meant before. I had never so-called given up on anything I started because I didn’t know what it was. It sounded like a silly human sentiment to me. How can you stop doing something that you have not mastered? Doesn’t it feel incomplete? Shouldn’t it motivate you to try harder because it feels good to master something or it enriches your life ie. makes your life more mean...

My path to Kendo 15 December 2018 Kia ora my name is Valintine Thompson and this is my journey on the path to Kendo. I've always admired Japanese culture because it reminds me of my in own identity of who I am. That's why I joined up in 2017 learning the basics and enjoying it. In time I learnt to improve. I've seen the movie the Last Samurai and Star Wars and found them quite good. I knew a little bit what Kendo was about but since I joined up I've learned more. I am proud of both Sam and Marleen Sensei for their efforts in teaching us.  On Wednesday and Saturday I come in early open the doors turn on the lights warm up before training. On Saturday I come in before 1.30pm although I am 7th kyu grade that doesn't stop me from helping others and also reflecting on what I learned and improving.  I entered my first Novices Champs   and did well and got a medal for good fighting spirit. My family  have encourage me to always go to kendo and do m...

Summer Grading 26 January 2019 Waikato Kendo Association would like to congratulate the following members for their achievement in the Summer Grading 2019 held in Hamilton. Warming up Written Test Announcing the results ...  10th Kyu Ava Smith Seb Shaw 9th Kyu Monica Yuan Jorden Peng 8th Kyu Frankie Ratcliffe Jayden Peng 7th Kyu Elliot Payne Randika Sirimanne 6th Kyu Ryan Smith 5th Kyu Darren Park 4th Kyu Valintine Thompson Jennifer Kan Christopher Kan 3rd Kyu David Nguyen Chris Wallace 2nd Kyu Griffin Walford 1st Kyu James Haldane Carl Ann Liew Yana Twizell Shodan Jason Nguyen  Hard work pays off.  congratulations!  Grading Panel: Claire G., Kevin P., Clark L., Kai Y., Marleen C., Sam T. * Successful people are not gifted;  They just Work Hard, then Succeed on Purpose. (G. K. Nelson)  Relevant reading: Kendo Jo...