Waikato Kendo Club

剣道修行の心構え /  重岡 昇 The mindset for kendo training / Noboru Shigeoka 現代剣道百家箴 ，昭和四十七年 A Hundred Aphorisms of Modern Kendo Masters （1972) "Never allow the first strike to land." No matter how skilled or unskilled your opponent may be, both sides start on equal footing, fully committed to the first strike. This requires putting your entire being into that initial attack. "Strike at the opponent’s initial movement." Always train with the mindset of targeting your opponent’s opening move. Be proactive, fully prepared, and maintain readiness. Cultivate an unwavering mind and approach each engagement with a steady, unshaken heart, free from the Four Fears (fear, doubt, surprise, and hesitation). "Kendo is about striking at openings. If two combatants are evenly matched in strength, the one who strikes first will lose." A stance that embodies both technical skill and mental preparedness has no openings. However, any disruption in this balance creates an opening. Suc...

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Keiko Reflection by Janet Tonight’s Keiko is a timely reminder of the importance of training in Ji-ri-ichi (事理一致, practice & theory combined into one). While we are constantly receiving knowledge & theory passively from Senseis, one must also be actively applying the theories learnt into action to make it their own through repeated practice.  We must also be proactive in our own learning by actively seeking more knowledge such as observing other kendokas keiko ( mitori-geiko ), reading books, asking questions when in doubt, & constantly reflect & ask ourselves why do we do this? what are we doing wrongly or correctly? This way we can better understand our bodies, the mechanics of each movements & the purpose behind each individual action, therefore maximise our learning outcome by improving productivity & quality of our practice or Keiko.  Remember Kendo is a martial art that descended from Japanese swordsmanship or Kenjutsu, s...

Saturday 5th November 2022 Keiko Reflection - Janet Today we had another fruitful Keiko with many of our Kohais joining in the intermediate to advanced Keiko. Thanks to Marleen & Sam Sensei’s teachings they all came with great Kihon foundation skills to continue build up & improve on. We especially applaud them for their willingness to learn & adjust very quickly during Uchikomi-geiko today, with the focus on Big Men & Kote strikes & the follow up Zanshin run through. Prior to Keiko today, Marleen Sensei reminded us of our journey through kendo & the reason behind all our efforts to come to Keiko regularly was to improve & perfect our kendo through the repeated continuous Kihon training, with the ultimate goal for all Kendokas: To deliver the perfect Ippon (一本) or Yuko-Datotsu (有効打突) or valid strike. The Kihon training: Ashi-Sabaki/ footwork drills, Kirikaeshi drill, double Shinai warm ups & Suburis, & Kiai training during warm up drills are all desi...

  Saturday 3rd September 2022 Keiko Reflection - Janet Today we had another fruitful keiko led by Marleen Sensei. Again started off with double Shinai warm up & Suburi which not only helped to condition our body & muscles to adapt to the increased weight but also made us more aware of using our left hand, arm & shoulder more dominantly & more aware of using our finger grips more precisely to achieve proper Tenouchi. We increased double Shinai Haya-Suburi to x30. For some Kyu grades like myself it’s still a tough challenge to keep up with everyone else & made our arms feel very heavy.  Sam Sensei reminded us that in order to perform effective & efficient Haya-Suburi, it’s extremely important for the body & arm to not be too tense for the entire time but rather we need to semi-relax some muscles during the Shinai swinging motion to allow the natural weight of the Shinai to help us to swing downwards & forwards then only tense up the muscles when n...

Say “onegaishimasu” loudly from your heart to show your gratitude. 💕 It is more than just an etiquette. Saturday 2nd July 2022 Keiko Reflection - Janet This winter, Sense's goal for us was to help us develop good fitness & physical resilience through repeated Kihon training: Warm up drills, Good Kamae, Footwork (Suriashi, Fumikomi), strong continuous Kiai, Kirikaeshi, Uchikomi-geiko (Big Men, Kote-Men, Dō, Rensoku Men) & Kakari-geiko. It is very important to develop good physical fitness overtime so that our body can be conditioned to perform more delicate & advanced manoeuvres with faster speed, accurate precision & correct power in due course. Remember, all good things takes time! Therefore, for beginners & Kyu grades, we must remember to not rush when doing our drill practices, as we must start by developing muscle memory with the correct Kihon movements in order to not develop bad habits. Make sure we take our time to execute each strike with precision, Ich...

  Saturday 11 June 2022 Keiko Reflection - Janet Todays Keiko is a true reflection & fine example of “Shi-Tei-Dou-Gyou” (師弟同行) which literally means “teacher & student going together”. It encourages bilateral learning irrelevant of one’s status nor level of experience & is a learning philosophy or attitude derived from Zen Buddhism encouraging Sensei, Senpai & Kohai to work & train together, giving each other their 120% effort towards refining each others kendo. Sensei & senpai will provide guidance, feedback & constantly looking to challenge the Kohais to increase level of difficulty so we can think & learn from our mistakes as we make progress on our kendo journey. This is also an important part of the seniors kendo journey to be able to effectively pass on their knowledge of Kendo to the future generations. While the Kohais need to be constantly attentive & be proactive to learn from the seniors. Saturday 11 June 2022 For the beginners & K...

2022-05-28 Saturday  Confidence comes from discipline and training. Saturday Keiko reflection for beginners & Kyu grades - Janet During Saturdays keiko, sensei emphasised the importance of learning Kihon basics for strikes in the following order : 1. To go Big (such as big Men & Kote, to ensure we rotate our shoulders fully and correctly during each strike) 2. To go Strong (using predominantly the left arm to generate enough power) 3. To go Fast (connect all the movements from shoulder rotation to extending elbow and wrist into one: Ichibyoshi ) 4. To go Light & small (such as small Men & Kote, & have more control of the strikes using correct Tenouchi to retain power while making it crispy & not heavy) Another emphasis today was on making the correct Kote strikes in particular the Harai Kote waza. In Harai & Suriage waza, we sweep or deflect the opponents Shinai off the centre with our Shinai to make an opening before striking. But remember we must k...

2022-05-21 Saturday  A huge lift up of the Beginners group - fitness, breathing, balancing, movements, Motodachi techniques - thanks to Marleen Sensei for leading the training! 👍👍👍 During Keiko, we often focus too much on hitting the targets and not paying enough attention on our own kihon (basics). It would a deep understanding to grab the idea of good outcome resulting from good basics.  * * *   Saturday Keiko Reflection for Beginners & Kyu grades - by Janet As one of the five virtues or moral principles of Bushido (way of the samurai) derived from Confucianism, & represented by one of the five pleats on the front of the hakama, Jin (仁) means benevolence, compassion & mercy, & the kanji 仁 symbolises 2 people coming together. In other words we need to treat others kindly with respect & courtesy like how we would like to be treated. Therefore, we need to associate with others with sincerity. So come to each keiko giving your 100% to help others tra...

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/ * * * 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 comi...

My first step on the path of the sword I first encountered Kendo 剣道 about four months ago at a friends invite to come and see. And since then I’ve been going to the Waikato Kendo Club dojo to train as well as doing daily suburi 素振り at home and had recently passed my first grading. To my surprise Kendo has not only helped to train my body but has opened up a whole new perspective for me on life in general. I’ve always been fascinated by modern Japanese budo, and the philosophy behind them to follow a given path or way. Kendo - The way of the sword, is an excellent representation of it. Just like how good handmade swords are forged with care, patience and sweat from fire and hammer, the same can be said about Kendo. It is a way to discipline and shape our character through vigorous practice and training to become a better person that we can be proud of. And through time it helps to mold the mind and body , and cultivate a vigorous spirit , allowing us to gradually hone the skills to fi...