Eikenkai (November)

Eikenkai – an informal group of friends in the Kansai area of Japan that seek to promote and develop kendo for the foreign community – had its final practise of the year on November 22nd.

We had people join keiko from the U.K. (most importantly Scotland, which all members accepted as the cradle of modern civilisation), America, Canada, Korea, Australia, and of-course Japan. “Local” members came from as far north as Aomori and as south as Nagasaki. Grades of the people involved went from shodan to nanadan.

In other words, it was a keiko with loads of different types of people, with different experiences, and different kendo stories to tell.

Keiko included warmup, suburi, introductions, 50 minutes of kihon, a 7dan taught basics session of 1 hour, and about 50 minutes of jigeiko. After that, there was a 5 hour drinking and eating session in one of the members restaurants (5 mins from the dojo). A lot of fun was had, stuff was learned, new friendships were made and old ones were renewed, and beer and mysterious Japanese “sake” (in unmarked) bottles was consumed in moderate quantities….

Eikenkai is an open keikokai for people coming to Osaka, and especially for non-Japanese kenshi who come to the area. Even if there is no chance to practise with the group itself due to scheduling issues, we can certainly help plug you into the kendo scene in the Kansai area.

For more pictures and information please check out the website: eikenkai.net