Waikato Kendo Club

Kendo Dōjo basic etiquette & commands for beginner & kyu grades Thanks to Janet for organising this article. When entering & leaving the Dōjo （道場, training hall）, we need to bow respectfully from the waist, first towards the direction of Joseki （上席）, in our case this is the Waikato Kendo Club WKC banner.  (But in Japanese dōjo there is often a Kamiza （上座） with a small Shinto shrine or altar displayed with religious significance). And then bow towards Sensei & Senpai on your way in before neatly organising your belongings on the side & getting ready quietly. At beginning of each Keiko（ 稽古）, Sensei（先生）or Senpai（先輩） will say: Line up -  Seiretsu （整列） :  We will need to quickly find our position along a horizontal line facing Sensei (in the middle) in order of our experience/ rank with Senpai (Seniors) on the right and Kōhai (Juniors, 後輩 ) & Shoshinsha (Beginners,  初心者 ) on the left. Standing straight facing the front, holding Shinai firmly...

Beginners Grading October 2024 Appreciate everyone's participation and efforts in making this a successful grading event for beginners and kids. 💕 Talking About Grading: fees, attitudes and purposes Grading is an integral part of the Kendo journey, along with Keiko (training) and Shiai (tournaments). Each aspect shapes a Kendoka’s growth in its own unique way. Fees: We pay membership fees for regular training and event fees to participate in tournaments. Similarly, fees are required to challenge the Kyu/Dan Promotion Examination, which we often simply refer to as grading. From the organization’s perspective, grading fees serve as a necessary source of income. It's widely agreed among members—Kendo enthusiasts—that this is not just a contribution to our local clubs, like the Waikato Kendo Association, or national bodies like the New Zealand Kendo Federation (NZKF). It extends to the broader Kendo community, even reaching the International Kendo Federation (IKF). More importan...

The days leading up to our Kendo grading had started becoming a little stressful I have to admit. Despite our sensei telling us not to worry it was very difficult to push the doubts out of my mind. Even the minutes leading up to our grading were spent clarifying certain techniques or movements. I was confident in my ability to correctly perform the required Kihon-dosa but I lacked confidence in understanding a new language and was afraid I would incorrectly interpret an instruction. It was a great start to the afternoon as I got to watch my 2 children perform their grading. I was very happy to see that our efforts at practicing everyday (despite their objections) had paid off. As our group (group 2) was called up my anxieties were at their highest yet the moment sensei instructed Tai-to (placing your shinai at our left waist) all that anxiety simply melted away. All of a sudden I was in a very familiar space. Everything that was asked of me in the grading I had done many many times b...

Wednesday 31st May 2023 Keiko Reflection - Janet Tonight’s Keiko was planned by Marleen sensei & led by Senpais Leo & Joyce.  We had a rare opportunity to watch & learn some wazas/ techniques first hand from both senpais particularly on their specialties: Jōdan-no-Kamae & Gyaku-Dō. The upper-level posture or stance ( Jōdan-no-Kamae ) which Leo Senpai uses, is the Hidari (left) Jōdan , where the left foot is in front of the right foot, so essentially the foot positions are reversed from normal Chudan position.  Using the posterior right foot to push off when going forwards & the anterior left foot to push off when going backwards.  Otherwise all other elements of footwork remains the same, like heels off the ground using Suriashi sliding steps, maintain inner parallel & the distance between both feet, right foot not overtaking left foot, using the left foot for fumikomi & right foot quickly follow up after strike to run through with Zanshin…etc....

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...

Wednesday 12th April 2023 Keiko Reflection by Janet Following several weeks of absence from Keiko while travelling overseas, it was great to return to keiko tonight. Thank you to both sensei, senpais & everyone who turned up for a great Keiko 🙏🙏🙏 I could tell my body had lost some muscle tone as well as muscle memory, which will need more time & practice to regain & re-adjust. As always Sam & Marleen sensei have thoughtfully adjusted the Keiko menu to suit the needs of every member that are present in order to accomodate every skill level from those who just started kendo to those that had a break from kendo as well as the senior Dan grades to maximise the learning outcome for everyone.  It was designed to help us systematically learn & rebuild our fundamental Kihon skills (such as footwork Suriashi, Fumikomi, Tenouchi, Big & Small Men, Kote Taiatari, Kiai) as well as reconditioning our bodies to minimise injuries, before progressively introduce more in-d...

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 dem...