This page attempts to organise well over a decade of kenshi 24/7 historical articles in broad themes to make them more easier to access for the discerning reader. Sections are divided in to: Historical Timeline, Kendo People, Kendo Places, Kendo Events, and Kendo Books. I have also hand picked some of my favourite/useful/popular articles (when […]
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On a boiling hot morning in May 2017 I set off armed with a 50 year old picture to find the grave of the person who I consider the single most influential kenshi in the history of modern kendo: Naito Takaharu sensei. I had known for a while before then the general location of his […]
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 […]
In January a couple of years ago I translated and an abridged article from the book “Kendo: the route to promotion” (part one). The article I chose for translation was one by Yano Nobuhiro sensei, a professional police kendo instructor here in Osaka. Later that same year I took Yano sensei with me to Scotland, […]
One more keiko and this year is done. Whew. I must admit that this year has been a long one! Long though it may have felt, however, it wasn’t a particularity prolific one here on kenshi 24/7 compared to past years. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get anything done. Event-wise there were plenty of shiai […]
A few years ago, I am not sure how many exactly, but it wasn’t soooo long ago, a slow change in the garments people were wearing for keiko began. Thicker, heavier dogi were giving way to super light and sporty “jersey” types, especially keikogi. These super-light keikogi looked (and still look mostly) absolutely awful… at […]
Almost 10 years ago, I wrote an article entitled “A brief investigation into the shogo system” which, kind of by accident, also went on to discuss the dan-i (or “dan-kyu”) system as well. Over the years, the topic of gradings has crept up now and again here on kenshi 24/7: sometimes I’d look at a […]
Transformation
A few years ago I wrote and published my high successful Kendo Coaching Tips and Drills manual, the first of its kind, and still – afaik – the ONLY publication of its kind in the English language. The idea to write a more advanced manual for instructors first came in 2008. It then took four […]
The window for applying for this years Kyoto Taikai has finished. I have been attending now for over 15 years, taking pictures and cataloguing my experiences here on kenshi 24/7. Unexpectedly, my first experience of actual participation was in the koryu section, not the kendo one… way back in 2009 I think it was.
Learning jodan through teaching it
About 10 years ago a student of mine – a tall 15 year old girl who had only started kendo seven months earlier – approached me in the dojo and suddenly said “please teach me jodan.” Not having thought too deeply about it before but knowing that I wanted to learn myself at some point […]