This is the start of a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo sensei in December 2007. The speech was made to senior kendo sensei and its theme was about the state of modern kendo, and what can be done to change it. A brief bio of Morishima sensei can be found […]
(Note this is a guest post from Jeff Karinya) Introduction There are few martial artists in history who have been able to influence an entire generation of politicians, military personnel, police, educators, and civilians alike. Who’s student’s (if only for a day) talked about their experiences with him in detail nearly seventy years after his death. The first […]
About 2 and 1/2 years ago I posted an article entitled “How to pass hachidan.” In it was the advice a sensei of mine received, plus his own advice about attempting what has been called the hardest test in Japan. Flipping through some old kendo magazines a few weekends ago I found a similar piece […]
(Note this is a guest post from Richard Stonell) Tameshigiri is a very popular element of swordsmanship today. This is perhaps thanks in part to the spread of Toyama-ryu, a system originally created in the 1920s to teach fundamental sword technique to officers in the Imperial Japanese Military. Tameshigiri forms a central part of training […]
Osaka people: Police tokuren captain, Teramoto Shoji (35) (The following is a quick translation on a newspaper piece on the hugely popular Teramoto Shoji. The article was published in Osaka version of the Mainichi Shinbun on the 18th of January 2011. The picture at the top of the article is by George and was taken […]
Editors note: This is the first in a series of articles by Tokyo based budoka Jeff Karinja. In this series, he will introduce Yushinkan dojo and talk about its history, esteemed lineage, and ethos. Enjoy! The Yushinkan Dojo (有信館道場) is perhaps one of the most distinguished training halls in modern budo history. The dojo, once […]
When you think about kenjutsu study in classical times we think about all the different styles practising without wearing bogu and using bokuto. Starting about a 100 years ago various schools started to use men, kote, and dou. This allowed for more freedom in practise and was a way to train your body, polish your […]
When we talk about the correct transmission of swordsmanship, the essential/secret techniques etc, there are actually no real special or mysterious methods; winning in a duel is simply a matter of attacking the enemy when they attack their preferred area. By “attack their preferred area” I mean that when two people come together and fight […]
Take a look at the video below. This is the winning point of this years Zen nippon senshuken taikai (All Japan championships), held in the Tokyo Budokan on the 3rd of November 2010. This is the shiai that determines/determined who is the strongest competitor (young/male) in the country (and by extension, the world), and is […]
Kendo is a combative discipline where you fight with a sword, and it as such it may be thought of as a brutal and bloodthirsty art by some, but thats definitely not what it is: it is method of physical education that includes educational, moral, and spiritual training. The kendojo is a place where this […]