Category: kendo

kendo

Kendo as Character Building

Post author By guestpost
Post date May 16, 2009
2 Comments on Kendo as Character Building

(Note this is a guest post from Joe Pielech) Kondo-sensei (Hachidan, Kyoshi) is one of Aichi Prefecture’s most well-repected kenshi. He often discusses kendo in terms of character building and its benefits to modern society. In this brief post, I have attempted to covey some of his feelings on these topics. 剣道とは、相手と気を合わせることを学ぶ第一歩である。そして人の心を大切にすることにより完成し、「武士道」は「もののあわれ」日本人特有の感情である。無常感である。思いやり、繊細、風流、風雅さなど。ここにいたって諸行無常という仏教の根本的思想やキリスト教の愛の精神と一致し、一種の宗教的境地まで達したのである。人と会ったら挨拶する、何か教えを受けたら感謝する、集団の中ではお互いを思いやる、人として最低限必要な礼儀、心を重視した教育を実践致します。近藤勁助剣道教士八段財団法人　全日本剣道道場連盟理事愛知県剣道連盟参与 […]

The last Busen graduate

As every kendoka knows, Busen (Budo Senmon Gakko) was – along with Tokyo Koto Shihan Gakko – the premier place for training kendoka before the war. It was run by the Butokukai and was based in the legendary Butokuden in Kyoto. People who graduated from here went on to train kenshi all over the country. […]

kendo

‘Traditional’ kendo pedagogy and abuse

Post author By guestpost
Post date April 7, 2009
5 Comments on ‘Traditional’ kendo pedagogy and abuse

(Note this is a guest post from Ben Sheppard) My area as some of you know is teaching kendo to young people. In high school I teach kendo as an elective subject to 12 and 13 year olds. One tool I have found very useful for firing their imaginations is telling them stories from Japanese […]

kendo

Meijin no Waza #1: Kobayashi Mitsuru hanshi’s KATATEZUKI

Post author By George
Post date March 24, 2009
13 Comments on Meijin no Waza #1: Kobayashi Mitsuru hanshi’s KATATEZUKI

This is the first in a series that looks at techniques done by those that are as acknowledged as the best executors of them. The individual final of the 1st world kendo championships (1970) was between Toda sensei, twice winner of the All Japan Kendo Championships (1962 and 64, using jodan), and Osaka police’s Kobayashi […]

dojo history kendo

Kendo Places #3: Disposable – The End of Noma

Post author By guestpost
Post date March 3, 2009
5 Comments on Kendo Places #3: Disposable – The End of Noma

(The following is a guest post by Leiv Harstad from 2009.) “The night bus to Tokyo: a nine hour hell ride in a muggy sardine can, with an interior that is all too reminiscent of a cheap airport hotel, and a smell to match. This is the chariot of thrifty foreign travelers, poor university students, and gassy […]

history kendo kenshi

Showa no kensei (昭和の剣聖)

This small article intriduces the “Showa no kensei (昭和の剣聖)” or “The Sword Saints of the Showa period.” All of these kenshi are widely known within the Japanese kendo community, and abroad as well, but I thought a quick article in here would serve as a useful reference. I hope to expand on this and write […]

kendo

Womens kendo in Japan: a survey

Post author By George
Post date January 7, 2009
12 Comments on Womens kendo in Japan: a survey

The following is a very brief synopsis of questionnaire results that were featured in an article by Kendo Nippon (Dec 2008) entitled “女性剣士の現状と「これから」” (The present condition of womens kendo and its future). I will list the questions and there results but will leave you to draw your own conclusions from there or to discuss in […]

kendo

Lose and cut

(Note this is a guest post from Stuart Gibson) Recently I’ve had a few people telling me the same thing: I take it easy in ippon shoubu, and need to attack more. For most people who know me and how much I thoroughly hate losing, this might raise a chuckle. After all, how can I […]

kendo

Jodan Renaissance?

This year Kanagawa-kenkei’s (Kanagawa prefecture police force) Shodai Kenji won the 56th All Japan Championships. As a young policeman on his prefectural A-team, a 4th time entrant to the competition, and an extremely serious contender for being in the Japan national side for next years World Championships there is nothing surprising here. What might be […]

history kendo kenshi

Kendo Places #1: Reigando

I’d like to start the first in a series of short articles entitled “Kendo Places” by writing about a place that all kendo enthusiasts should visit at least once in their life and that is connected with one of the most famous swordsmen in Japanese history: REIGANDO. Reigando (霊巌洞) is basically a small cave in […]