kenshi 24/7

Published on 01 July

Re-imagining shiai 試合について考え直す

By George , In kendo, shiai

Recently I wrote two articles that took a critical look at the current kendo style and the (obviously directly related) problems with modern shiai. Engendering positive kendo Zanshin confusion, sutemi, and hikiage Of course, I am not the only person who looks at and thinks about the current kendo situation. In most cases, however, any criticism given or suggestions made seem to fall on deaf ears – the ruling kendo elite make decisions for the rest of us often unilaterally without seeking input from general practitioners (a rare exception).

Published on 15 June

Kendo Tokuren 剣道特練

By George , In kendo, media

I recently received a question about kendo tokuren and decided to do this short article explaining what I can about the system. As the information isn’t generally available, I can only give a brief/rough outline about how the system works based on what I know about things here in Osaka, or what I have inferred through discussions and reading stuff over the years (I know or have known many tokuren members, and pretty much all my kendo teachers are police pros).

Published on 09 June

Bokuto mania 木刀マニア

By George , In equipment, kendo

I love bokuto and own more than a few… maybe about 20 in total nowadays. For the first few years of my kendo career I had a single kendo odachi and kodachi pair, but over time, as I got more into classical swordsmanship and the history of kendo, I started to collect bokuto from different koryu. I didn’t limit myself to the styles that I practised personally, but picked-up basically anything of interest. I also have a small section of different kinds of shinai as well, but there is much less variation to be had there.

Published on 28 May

Maai is willpower 間合は気力だよ

By George , In kendo, theory

The ability to read and utilise distance in kendo is paramount. In Japanese this is referred to “Maai” (間合) and “Ma” (間) – “physical distance” and “interval.” Some people use the terms interchangeably or overlapping – though they really are different words, they definitely overlap (a kind of “spatial relativity” as it were) . At any rate, it is important to understand the physical space between you and your partner, and the time it takes to traverse it (with your body or shinai).

Published on 05 May

Kyoto Taikai 2018 第114回全日本剣道演武大会