The latest Eikenkai (and last for this year) was held last weekend, on Saturday the 28th of September. A bunch of friends were visiting Japan from Manchester Kendo Club which provided just the excuse I needed to host a session! All in all, joining myself and the 11 kenshi from Manchester we had another 30 […]
Earlier today I (again) took part in the All Japan inter-prefectural competition (kids) here in Osaka. It is the third year I’ve helped out in this competition. The first time I took part I wrote a detailed report, so please check that out if you are interested. Today was pretty much the same as last […]
Over the last 16 years, this was the 9th seminar I’ve instructed at my home dojo of Edinburgh Kendo Club. For two years running, for a total of three times, Yano Nobuhiro, kyoshi hachidan, also came with me. Last year we had so much interest that we capped participation at just over 90 because we […]
Life/work has been totally crazy over the past while, and next week I am heading to Edinburgh for the summer kendo seminar… despite all this busyness I decided to cram a full day of kendo in yesterday. In the morning I hosted a five-school renshujiai. As I was running it and some of the schools […]
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 […]
Last Saturday, like this time last year, my students and I spent most of the day working at one of the highest level shiai in Osaka prefecture: the preliminaries for the National Athletic Meet. What we did during the shiai was exactly the same as the year before, so please check out the article linked […]
[ While you are here: please note that registration for the 2024 Edinburgh Kendo Seminar is open. Please check here for more information. ] Aaaaaand, that’s another Kyoto Taikai done. This year I took part in two embu and spent three days in or around the Butokuden. During the train journey home I realised that […]
Equanimity. From the Latin aequus (level, equal, even) + animus (soul, mind). “For every challenge, remember the resources you have within you to cope with it. Provoked by the sight of a handsome man or a beautiful woman, you will discover within you the contrary power of self-restraint. Faced with pain, you will discover the […]
I am going to start today’s article with an anecdote and some self-reflection before getting into the main topic. In a roundabout way (as is my style) the intro anecdote is relevant to the theme, but feel free to skip it if you wish. [ While you are here: please note that registration for the […]
Have you ever been in a discussion with someone about something and at some point realised that the person or people you are conversing with somehow doesn’t seem to get what you are attempting to communicate, no matter how simply or clearly you (think you) you are being? I am sure you have. Of course, […]