Back in 2014 I wrote how I made a deliberate change in my kendo life by deciding to focus on asageiko more. I had attended morning keiko since about 2009 (well, 2005, but that wasn’t few-and-far between and doesn’t count), but I went full-morning-mode in 2014 (Mon, Wed, and Fri: three times a week). After […]
When I started putting this article together I was a bit unsure how it would end as I was in the throes of deciding whether I would leave a dojo I’ve been a member of for two decades. In the end I did decide to leave and I feel better for doing so. [ Places […]
Although things haven’t returned to normal yet, this year – at least for part of it – signalled an ease in the restrictions many of us have been facing since the start of the pandemic. Here in Japan we were never under the (what it looked like from our perspective) often draconian rules that many […]
Happy new year! Judging by the recent news it seems that the world is heading for more chaos in the months ahead than it faced over the last 10+ months. Perhaps more so outside of Japan than inside it… I hope I am wrong. Here we are working (and importantly, keiko-ing) away pretty much as […]
I changed my mind ….. read this first… As I am sure many kenshi 24/7 readers are aware, the state of emergency regarding the current pandemic has already been lifted here in Japan. It was lifted in Tokyo on the 1st of June, and here in Osaka a few days earlier. Students are already back […]
In Japanese the term “Gogatsu-byo” (五月病) – literally “May sickness” – refers to a sort of malaise that comes over people during May who have started a new life at the beginning of the year, which is the 1st of April here in Japan (no joke). Whether you are someone starting a new job, a […]
Happy new year! Phew, just when you think you are done, it all starts again! I started kenshi 24/7 in 2008 but my first online kendo presence was actually in 1994 or 95, when I published a website for the club I started in: Edinburgh Kendo Club (almost certainly the first or second kendo related […]
Another year is done. 100s of keiko sessions, thousands of kirikaeshi, countless suburi, and a couple of beers. Unlike most years, however, this one seemed to fly by. Probably because this it ushered in some rather significant changes/advances to both my personal and budo life. The main reason for starting kenshi 24/7 a decade ago […]
Like most people, I lead at times what seems to be an overly-busy life. Part of this is because I live in a large bustling city, but most of it is because of a demanding kendo lifestyle and a super-hectic job. The last two years, especially, have been chaotic to say the least. Now, as […]
Mini-update Back in May I announced that I was having a re-think about what to do with kenshi 24/7 and then in September I posted a notice saying that I was semi-retiring posting content… at least for the “time being.” I tried to start a more casual blog on the side, but things in life […]