“Commencing in a moment, the final of the 70th imperial guards competition. The competitors: Takizawa Kozo kyoshi, Abe Saburo kyoshi; the shinpan: omote shinpan Mochida Seiji, ura shinpan Saimura Goro and Ogawa Kinnosuke.” At the same time that the announcers voice rang out in the packed Saineikan dojo, the two competitors and the three shinpan […]
As a follow-up/tie-in to the popular I am a Deshi translation I would like to present the following piece to readers. Although both this article and the deshi one were written by children, I believe there is something worthy of study for all kendoka, irrespective of age. Enjoy! What Is the True Meaning Of Gratitude? […]
This is the final part in a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo. To see the rest of the published series plus a bio on Morishima sensei, please click here. 心の修行と現代剣道 Pursing the spirit and modern kendo PART 5. 4. The essential mechanism for striking Lastly, I would like to discuss […]
Even if Japanese is not our main language, in a kendo environment we often use the Japanese term “sensei” to mean teacher. What about the other 1/2 of the equation, the student? I can’t recall any Japanese terms being used in any of the 10+ countries I’ve had the fortune to do kendo in. Traditionally, […]
This is the fourth part in a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo. To see the rest of the published series plus a bio on Morishima sensei, please click here. 心の修行と現代剣道 Pursing the spirit and modern kendo PART 4. 3. Mai (間合) and ma (間) MAI is the physical space between […]
This is the third part in a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo. To see the rest of the published series plus a bio on Morishima sensei, please click here. 心の修行と現代剣道 Pursing the spirit and modern kendo PART 3. (2). From “technique kendo” and “power kendo” to “spirit kendo” The steps […]
This is the second part in a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo. To see the rest of the published series plus a bio on Morishima sensei, please click here. 心の修行と現代剣道 Pursing the spirit and modern kendo PART 2. 2. The road to regenerate kendo (* due to length, this section […]
This is the start of a five-part series that translates a lecture made by Morishima Tateo sensei in December 2007. The speech was made to senior kendo sensei and its theme was about the state of modern kendo, and what can be done to change it. A brief bio of Morishima sensei can be found […]
(Note this is a guest post from Jeff Karinya) Introduction There are few martial artists in history who have been able to influence an entire generation of politicians, military personnel, police, educators, and civilians alike. Who’s student’s (if only for a day) talked about their experiences with him in detail nearly seventy years after his death. The first […]
About 2 and 1/2 years ago I posted an article entitled “How to pass hachidan.” In it was the advice a sensei of mine received, plus his own advice about attempting what has been called the hardest test in Japan. Flipping through some old kendo magazines a few weekends ago I found a similar piece […]