George is the founder and chief editor of kenshi247.net.
For more information check out the About page.
400 years ago today, on April the 13th 1612, the most famous duel in the history of Japanese swordsmanship took place between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro*. Its so well-known that there is no point in adding any information here, as every single kendo, iaido, or probably practitioner of any Japanese budo knows the story! […]
During keiko, when you are struck by your teacher or a friend its really them giving you kind, wordless, advice: “Be careful, this is a weak point.” If you are resentful and think “damn it, I’ve been hit!” then – when you have reached the status of being able to take part in the Kyoto […]
しない競技は、終戦後の廃墟と混迷の中から生い立った新しい競技である。 Shinai kyogi was a new sport that sprung up In the ruin and confusion of the post war period.” … is the first line of the chapter on Shinai-kyogi in the book “How to study kendo” that was published in 1965. It goes on to explain in a bit more detail: To say it […]
Editors comment I have a load of kendo books and magazines at my desk at work. In amongst these I have a couple of kendo-specific scientific sports conditioning and training books. I use these as reference and pick them up for a leaf through quite regularly. Last December I randomly took a picture of a […]
(this article mentions kendo specifically, but can apply to any budo) I often get email from people abroad wishing to join Eikenkai or Yoseikai pracises when travelling through Osaka, and the odd email about people wishing to look for dojo in places outside of the Kansai area. The usual format is “Hello, my name is […]
Presenting our first publication – kenshi247: selected articles 2008-2011. Available online now in printed (20 USD) or digital (10 USD) version it contains over 20 of the best kenshi247 published articles, revised and reformatted. Printed in America using Hewlett-Packard’s MagCloud POD service you can pay with credit card or paypal. If you choose the printed […]
The prerequisite of beautiful kendo is a beautiful kamae The importance of developing a good kamae is stressed by every kendo instructor that you meet: without a correct kamae, many sensei state categorically, you cannot do correct kendo. Only once your kamae is correct can this lead to execution of correct technique (and thus “beautiful” […]
There are some people that take jodan-no-kamae whilst sparring their sempai or sensei. Jodan is about overpowering the enemy and forcing their technique, spirit, and power to cower before yours, all the while unreservedly attacking any of their openings wholeheartedly (sutemi). To reach the point where you can do this requires a long and arduous […]
One of the turning points in a budoka’s lifetime is when he or she is given teaching responsibilities. This is not a sudden thing of-course, and they are expected to continue study under their sensei (and sempai) for years to come. Eventually the budoka becomes a senior teacher and may either take over their sensei’s […]
Yamaoka Tesshu wrote this small piece in 1883, while kendo (then variously called gekkiken, kenjutsu, shinai uchikomi, etc) was nowhere near the shape it is now. Although the discussion of shinai length might not seem relavant to some nowadays, its a topic that comes up quite a lot if you read kendo commentary from the […]