Don't tie up the tare himo like this ..read more

  This excellent book (2020 edition) is currently unavailable from the AJKF website due to COVID restrictions on mail from Japan. Fingers crossed it can be shipped soon. In the meantime, here are a list of useful and lesser know words for the Kendo nerd (剣道オタク) to memorise and drop into conversation whenever appropriate... :D jukurensha 熟錬者 n.-  person who has amassed a lot of skill through years of training kawasu かわす v. - to avoid the opponent's attack whilst remaining ready to act amasu あます v. - to perceive an intention to strike and then to calmly step back as the opponent ..read more

Stage one - climbing the first fence This is from beginner to about 4th kyu, but it can last longer. You can hear noise and people having fun on the other side of a high fence. You've been inspired to try Kendo and you think it's for you but now it seems to be brutally difficult. Whether it's the basics of footwork or getting the shinai to 'stick' on the target, there's something that remains out of reach. And never mind the big one - achieving a genuine scoring cut (yuko datotsu) on another person when they're actually trying! That just seems too far away. How do the sensei and sem ..read more

Our dojo is small, so we need to be careful and consider others in order to train safely. In Kendo we are used to showing reverence for people, places and things. This respect contains within it the seeds of safe and healthy conduct. For instance we bow to the dojo, our training environment. By doing so we vow to keep it clean and therefore safe for use. Sweeping and mopping the floor helps to clear it of objects like pins that might cause injury, and shows us if nails are sticking up from the floor. We bow to shomen which is the symbol of the ongoing tradition of which we are ..read more

The author and Ozawa Hiroshi sensei at his Kobukan Dojo, Tokyo c. 2009I recently found an old notebook with things written down from attending seminars over the years. There are also things I've written down after conversations with senior kenshi. Much of it was for the purpose of achieving sixth dan, which in my case took four attempts over seven years; plenty of time for reflection! Here then are some of these thoughts, sayings and instructions. Most are Kendo-related, some are from Zen Buddhism. They are not in any order and I've chosen them because they still speak to me. In some cases th ..read more