Its finally out!!

Its finally out!!! It only took 4 years!!!

The idea for my latest book – Kendo Coaching Tips and Drills – first came to me in August 2008. I had just returned from a short trip to Fukuoka University of Education, where I joined a bunch of British university students at a gasshuku. It was very hot and the training was hard. A large part of the trip for me was getting the chance to see and learn from my old coach and friend Honda Sotaro sensei. I stayed with him and chatted about kendo and teaching.

Watching the students struggle with the keiko I realised how unfamiliar it was for them to train in Japan… everything seemed to be new. Perhaps I took my lucky kendo situation for granted, I thought, having been in Japan for 5 years by that time. So started to think about how kendo was being taught to me and, if I ever returned to the UK, how I could possibly transmit my experience to people over there. I sat down with a pencil and some paper and began taking notes.

Little did I know that my kendo situation – and with it my entire kendo career – was about to change massively. My job was due to change in September but I didn’t conceive that I would end up in charge of a large sized high school kendo club. At first I was a bit tentative: how much of the club could I really control? Can I do what I want? Can I change things? As it worked out, I was to have almost full control of the club. What that gave me access to was a physical dojo, a lot of keiko, many chances to see other schools practise, and time to try experiment a bit. This situation continues to this day.

At the same time I also started Eikenkai, so I could try out different things with adults of varying experience levels, including visitors from outside of Japan. It was all coming together.

So in the last 4 years I’ve developed my own ‘style’ of teaching. I’m happy to report that its nothing out of the ordinary… I’m very orthodox!!! This book, I hope, aims to put some of my experience down on paper. I sincerely hope that it ends up being a positive contribution to the kendo community at large. Fingers crossed….. !

To read more about the book, to buy, or to preview, click the image below. Cheers!