The Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (or All-Japan Kendo Federation) is the governing body of kendo in Japan. Since Japan is the source of things kendo, I suppose it's sort of the governing body of kendo for the world.
The Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei is somewhat unique in the fact that it actually governs three martial arts. For example, the Zen Nihon Judo Renmei governs only judo, and the other federations are basically the same. ZNKR actually governs kendo (using a bamboo sword), iaido (art of drawing/attacking/sheathing a steel blade), and jodo (using a wooden staff).
From what I gather, many, if not most high-ranking kendo sensei also have (high?) ranks in the other two arts as well. There are connections between all three because all three are kata budo, or martial arts that are practiced through set forms. Sensei teaches all three; I'm not terribly interested in jodo, though I think it looks nice... and I'm obviously interested in kendo.
I'm also very, very interested in iaido. Not only is it useful for kendo, but it combines several things that I like: elegance, kata, and tradition.
I also want to concentrate on kendo. I'm not used to being passable at any kind of sport, and I'd really like to be okay (at the least) at kendo. On the other hand, I'd love to do them both at the same time; I hear that one helps the other and vice versa. If that's true, then I'm all for it.
Sensei teaches kendo at my dojo three days a week; apparently he travels to other dojo in the area and teaches at those as well. I know he teaches jodo on Wednesday nights. What I don't know, however, is when and where he teaches iaido.
Today, between rounds of the tournament, he gave me his kodachi (short sword) and showed me how to draw and sheathe it. Of course, I couldn't do it, and we ran out of time, but he kept encouraging me. It seems like he's interested in teaching me iaido as well. I just don't know when or where... or if we're just going to start doing it after kendo every once in a while.
Whenever it is, I'm looking forward to it!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Kendo XVI -- Kendo Matsuri
Today was the kendo matsuri, an event that's held in the first half of November every year at the dojo. Former students come as well as current students. Older former students and associates who are dan-ranked referee the tournaments.
There was quite a turnout -- around 34 people in the tournaments, I think.
There were several tournaments; one for kids under fourth grade, one for kids in fourth grade, one for kids in fifth and sixth grades, and one for kids in seventh and eighth grades. Then there was an overall tournament that consisted of the first-place winners of each category.
It was a lot of fun to watch; I didn't participate for obvious reasons (age and inexperience). After the tournament, we had a big lunch that consisted of sushi and cookies. I also brought pigs-in-a-blanket that I'd made from scratch (except the sausages), though I vastly underestimated the number of people that would be there. I figured it would be good to triple the normal number and took 36, but there were parents, guests, and referees as well... oops. I was short by probably a good 20 or 30... oh well.
The people that did eat them loved them, though.
After people started leaving, I got to put on Miyasaka-sensei's bogu. It wasn't so bad until I put on the men; that was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be. I guess that's good, since you don't really want your head caving in... and also, the most weight is probably from the mengane, or faceguard, which is metal.
Yeah, you don't want a stray shinai popping through your mengane and taking out an eye...
(You're gonna lose an eye!)
Keiko (as practice is called when you go one-on-one with an opponent also wearing armor) was fun and very tiring. A lot of people have said that the first time you wear bogu is depressing because you lose mobility and you feel different; I didn't have that problem at all.
If anything, I felt like I had more confidence because I didn't have to worry about a stray blow hurting a lot. I could charge in and attack without worrying about the opponent's shinai... and because we were both wearing armor, I didn't have to worry about body impacts either.
The worst problems for me were sight and sound. A lot of people complain about lack of peripheral vision when wearing men, but that doesn't bother me -- you're only fighting one person, so you only have to be able to see them. It forces you to remember the basics and face them properly.
Sight was a problem because I couldn't wear my glasses under the men. The new new glasses I have don't have enough of a hook behind my ear to stay on securely, so I couldn't wear them. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't really have any depth perception.
Sound was a problem because the men is made of thick, hard futon... which protects you and also absorbs sound. It was interesting in a way, because it reminded me what it was like to be on normal hearing aids back when I was in school. Not that it induced any kind of nostalgia at all; I like being able to hear.
The only strikes that hurt in the slightest were kote, and I was kind of expecting that since I'd had the experience at the middle school club.
All in all, it was a great experience... and now I now I should take a sports bottle with a really long straw so I can drink during practice if I need to, since you can't easily take off the men and you're not supposed to once you have it on.
Too bad all of the gear is so expensive or I'd buy my own set right away!
There was quite a turnout -- around 34 people in the tournaments, I think.
There were several tournaments; one for kids under fourth grade, one for kids in fourth grade, one for kids in fifth and sixth grades, and one for kids in seventh and eighth grades. Then there was an overall tournament that consisted of the first-place winners of each category.
It was a lot of fun to watch; I didn't participate for obvious reasons (age and inexperience). After the tournament, we had a big lunch that consisted of sushi and cookies. I also brought pigs-in-a-blanket that I'd made from scratch (except the sausages), though I vastly underestimated the number of people that would be there. I figured it would be good to triple the normal number and took 36, but there were parents, guests, and referees as well... oops. I was short by probably a good 20 or 30... oh well.
The people that did eat them loved them, though.
After people started leaving, I got to put on Miyasaka-sensei's bogu. It wasn't so bad until I put on the men; that was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be. I guess that's good, since you don't really want your head caving in... and also, the most weight is probably from the mengane, or faceguard, which is metal.
Yeah, you don't want a stray shinai popping through your mengane and taking out an eye...
(You're gonna lose an eye!)
Keiko (as practice is called when you go one-on-one with an opponent also wearing armor) was fun and very tiring. A lot of people have said that the first time you wear bogu is depressing because you lose mobility and you feel different; I didn't have that problem at all.
If anything, I felt like I had more confidence because I didn't have to worry about a stray blow hurting a lot. I could charge in and attack without worrying about the opponent's shinai... and because we were both wearing armor, I didn't have to worry about body impacts either.
The worst problems for me were sight and sound. A lot of people complain about lack of peripheral vision when wearing men, but that doesn't bother me -- you're only fighting one person, so you only have to be able to see them. It forces you to remember the basics and face them properly.
Sight was a problem because I couldn't wear my glasses under the men. The new new glasses I have don't have enough of a hook behind my ear to stay on securely, so I couldn't wear them. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't really have any depth perception.
Sound was a problem because the men is made of thick, hard futon... which protects you and also absorbs sound. It was interesting in a way, because it reminded me what it was like to be on normal hearing aids back when I was in school. Not that it induced any kind of nostalgia at all; I like being able to hear.
The only strikes that hurt in the slightest were kote, and I was kind of expecting that since I'd had the experience at the middle school club.
All in all, it was a great experience... and now I now I should take a sports bottle with a really long straw so I can drink during practice if I need to, since you can't easily take off the men and you're not supposed to once you have it on.
Too bad all of the gear is so expensive or I'd buy my own set right away!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Some Notes
A few things I forgot.
The kid who started after me is really impatient to get into hakama... and today, he asked sensei about bogu, and sensei just laughed for a bit before telling him to hold his horses.
He still hasn't gotten into hakama. I totally know how he feels, and I try to help him sometimes, but I'm such a beginner myself that it doesn't feel right. Sometimes it seems like all he has to do is concentrate a bit more, but he's a kid.
I can see him getting better little by little, though.
It's been slightly over a month since I started kendo. Wow. I never would've realized that without this blog.
The kid who started after me is really impatient to get into hakama... and today, he asked sensei about bogu, and sensei just laughed for a bit before telling him to hold his horses.
He still hasn't gotten into hakama. I totally know how he feels, and I try to help him sometimes, but I'm such a beginner myself that it doesn't feel right. Sometimes it seems like all he has to do is concentrate a bit more, but he's a kid.
I can see him getting better little by little, though.
It's been slightly over a month since I started kendo. Wow. I never would've realized that without this blog.
Dramatis Personae
I got sick of referring to people so obliquely in the last post that I thought I'd just make this guide. I'm never sure whether I've introduced someone before or what.
Sensei or Matsumoto-sensei -- My sensei. 7-dan, 70 years old, incredibly kind and intelligent. He's fluent in Chinese as well as Japanese and knows a surprising amount of English. He's essentially everything I imagined that a high-ranking kenshi would be.
Miyasaka-sensei -- A 5-dan who comes almost every time, usually with sensei. They're good friends, though Miyasaka-sensei stopped doing kendo seriously after he got married, apparently. He's also a few years younger than sensei. I've never seen Miyasaka-sensei in anything but casual clothes; he tends to walk around, discipline the kids when they get rowdy, and go around offering tips/criticism when it's merited.
Tozuka-sensei -- One of the teachers at my junior high, a 5-dan. I'm not sure how old he is... perhaps late 30s or early 40s. He teaches math and runs the kendo club. It's hard to understand him sometimes because he's relatively quiet and speaks really quickly. He comes to class once or twice a week, whenever he can.
Itsuki-san -- Itsuki is actually his first name; his last name is super common... so to avoid confusion, I'm using his first name. There are three or four (or five!) people at the dojo with his last name. He's 23 -- the same as me. I don't know what his rank is, but his kendo looks amazingly clean. Sensei uses him as an example a lot. He comes to class perhaps once a week; since he's in architecture school, he doesn't have a lot of free time. He also speaks English really well, in part because he studied abroad at Cambridge!
Sensei or Matsumoto-sensei -- My sensei. 7-dan, 70 years old, incredibly kind and intelligent. He's fluent in Chinese as well as Japanese and knows a surprising amount of English. He's essentially everything I imagined that a high-ranking kenshi would be.
Miyasaka-sensei -- A 5-dan who comes almost every time, usually with sensei. They're good friends, though Miyasaka-sensei stopped doing kendo seriously after he got married, apparently. He's also a few years younger than sensei. I've never seen Miyasaka-sensei in anything but casual clothes; he tends to walk around, discipline the kids when they get rowdy, and go around offering tips/criticism when it's merited.
Tozuka-sensei -- One of the teachers at my junior high, a 5-dan. I'm not sure how old he is... perhaps late 30s or early 40s. He teaches math and runs the kendo club. It's hard to understand him sometimes because he's relatively quiet and speaks really quickly. He comes to class once or twice a week, whenever he can.
Itsuki-san -- Itsuki is actually his first name; his last name is super common... so to avoid confusion, I'm using his first name. There are three or four (or five!) people at the dojo with his last name. He's 23 -- the same as me. I don't know what his rank is, but his kendo looks amazingly clean. Sensei uses him as an example a lot. He comes to class perhaps once a week; since he's in architecture school, he doesn't have a lot of free time. He also speaks English really well, in part because he studied abroad at Cambridge!
Kendo XV -- Milestone
Today was interesting; we had three guests, though I've stopped thinking of one of them as a guest since he almost always comes. He's a 5-dan (fifth-degree black belt) and never practices with us; he just watches and offers tips. A good guy, and a lot more critical than sensei is; he brings me back down to reality when I start thinking I'm doing okay!
The other two guests were a kenshi my age and the kendo club advisor from my junior high school. They're both also very helpful and more critical than sensei usually is.
My ego took quite a pounding today!
We didn't do any kata practice today, unfortunately; it's rapidly becoming my favorite part of kendo... and I'm determined to practice them as much as possible so I can remember them. It's weird in a way, since kata seem to have such a bad rap. People seem to think that they're boring and stupid, but I love them. It's a great way to work on the basics -- grip, footwork, strikes, and intent.
Kendo has seven kata and three additional ones that use the kodachi, or short sword. I've been taught the first five; those are what you need to know to test for shodan, or first-degree black belt.
Shodan isn't a huge deal here; you can get it when you're 14, and most kids who've started kendo are able to get it when they turn 14. It's just a sign that you know the basics and you want to do kendo more.
Each kata has two parts; the leader and the follower. So far I've only been successful at really memorizing the follower parts, so I still have a way to go. This is one of the reasons I want to practice so much.
Anyway, we didn't get any kata practice in today, but I did get a lot of basic practice in, which was good. I've fallen in a rut where I always practice with sensei because I don't have armor yet. It's nice because he knows how to teach, but it's bad because I'm so used to his physical prompting and height. So today, I practiced with two of the guests and tried to get used to their styles as well.
It was interesting, to say the least. And by interesting, I mean hard.
After practice ended, the guest sensei who doesn't practice brought out a bunch of sausages for everyone... they were so good! We all had three, though some of the kids had four... or five. It's amazing how delicious food is after practice.
The kids were playing baseball with a sock, but I tried (fruitlessly) to get one to practice kata with me. I begged and pulled and spun him around but he wanted to play baseball. I promised to bring him sausages next time, and he refused! Refused food! Wow.
Sensei must have overheard me. When I went to change, he stopped me with a bokuto. Since he was holding two, I knew he meant that we should practice kata. We practiced the five I knew and I got a ton of tips on how to do them properly; they're still not glued in my memory. At one point, though, one of the kids ran behind me (and I didn't notice), so when I went into waki-gamae, which involves holding the sword behind you so that your opponent can't see it, I thwacked him nice and hard on the head.
Oops.
We got a good chunk of kata practice in, though. Whew.
Afterwards, when I went to change, the sensei all started talking together... and I went back out to the main room to fold my hakama since it has a nicer floor. Sensei said that he thought I was good enough to start wearing bogu.
To put it into perspective, for me, there are three main non-rank milestones in kendo.
1. Buying your own shinai.
2. Wearing the keikogi and hakama.
3. Wearing bogu.
You usually hit one after a practice or two, then two after your footwork is consistent enough that sensei doesn't have to watch it all the time. The general concensus also seems to be that you hit three after three months or so.
Needless to say, I was floored.
Like I said before, I'd gotten a lot of criticism this session, so I was feeling pretty down about my kendo... and sensei told me that he thought I was ready for the next milestone. Wow.
I wasn't sure I understood correctly, so I asked to make sure I'd heard him, and I had. He said that it's because I practice seriously, I listen carefully, and I do things properly after I'm told.
I guess the kids make me look good or something. I seriously don't feel like I'm good enough yet, but what sensei says, goes.
Wow.
The other two guests were a kenshi my age and the kendo club advisor from my junior high school. They're both also very helpful and more critical than sensei usually is.
My ego took quite a pounding today!
We didn't do any kata practice today, unfortunately; it's rapidly becoming my favorite part of kendo... and I'm determined to practice them as much as possible so I can remember them. It's weird in a way, since kata seem to have such a bad rap. People seem to think that they're boring and stupid, but I love them. It's a great way to work on the basics -- grip, footwork, strikes, and intent.
Kendo has seven kata and three additional ones that use the kodachi, or short sword. I've been taught the first five; those are what you need to know to test for shodan, or first-degree black belt.
Shodan isn't a huge deal here; you can get it when you're 14, and most kids who've started kendo are able to get it when they turn 14. It's just a sign that you know the basics and you want to do kendo more.
Each kata has two parts; the leader and the follower. So far I've only been successful at really memorizing the follower parts, so I still have a way to go. This is one of the reasons I want to practice so much.
Anyway, we didn't get any kata practice in today, but I did get a lot of basic practice in, which was good. I've fallen in a rut where I always practice with sensei because I don't have armor yet. It's nice because he knows how to teach, but it's bad because I'm so used to his physical prompting and height. So today, I practiced with two of the guests and tried to get used to their styles as well.
It was interesting, to say the least. And by interesting, I mean hard.
After practice ended, the guest sensei who doesn't practice brought out a bunch of sausages for everyone... they were so good! We all had three, though some of the kids had four... or five. It's amazing how delicious food is after practice.
The kids were playing baseball with a sock, but I tried (fruitlessly) to get one to practice kata with me. I begged and pulled and spun him around but he wanted to play baseball. I promised to bring him sausages next time, and he refused! Refused food! Wow.
Sensei must have overheard me. When I went to change, he stopped me with a bokuto. Since he was holding two, I knew he meant that we should practice kata. We practiced the five I knew and I got a ton of tips on how to do them properly; they're still not glued in my memory. At one point, though, one of the kids ran behind me (and I didn't notice), so when I went into waki-gamae, which involves holding the sword behind you so that your opponent can't see it, I thwacked him nice and hard on the head.
Oops.
We got a good chunk of kata practice in, though. Whew.
Afterwards, when I went to change, the sensei all started talking together... and I went back out to the main room to fold my hakama since it has a nicer floor. Sensei said that he thought I was good enough to start wearing bogu.
To put it into perspective, for me, there are three main non-rank milestones in kendo.
1. Buying your own shinai.
2. Wearing the keikogi and hakama.
3. Wearing bogu.
You usually hit one after a practice or two, then two after your footwork is consistent enough that sensei doesn't have to watch it all the time. The general concensus also seems to be that you hit three after three months or so.
Needless to say, I was floored.
Like I said before, I'd gotten a lot of criticism this session, so I was feeling pretty down about my kendo... and sensei told me that he thought I was ready for the next milestone. Wow.
I wasn't sure I understood correctly, so I asked to make sure I'd heard him, and I had. He said that it's because I practice seriously, I listen carefully, and I do things properly after I'm told.
I guess the kids make me look good or something. I seriously don't feel like I'm good enough yet, but what sensei says, goes.
Wow.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Feet and Glasses
The glasses I'd gotten especially for kendo ended up breaking a few days ago; I went to the store to get them repaired, only to be told that it was irreparable. I asked if they could replace the frame, but they didn't have that frame in stock and it would take a few weeks to get it. Great.
Oh, but how about another frame with the same fit! Nope, none of those in stock.
So I just ended up getting another pair of glasses... sigh.
My feet don't seem like they're ever going to heal; the original super-painful part healed up fine, but the skin keeps tearing away at the edges... so it heals from the inner part of the wound to the outer part and the outer part just keeps getting bigger. My right foot is starting to get torn up a bit as well.
It's nowhere near as painful as it used to be; now it just feels like I'm stepping on pieces of glass. After a while, I don't really notice it. Hopefully it'll all heal up and the skin will stop getting rubbed off.
Oh, but how about another frame with the same fit! Nope, none of those in stock.
So I just ended up getting another pair of glasses... sigh.
My feet don't seem like they're ever going to heal; the original super-painful part healed up fine, but the skin keeps tearing away at the edges... so it heals from the inner part of the wound to the outer part and the outer part just keeps getting bigger. My right foot is starting to get torn up a bit as well.
It's nowhere near as painful as it used to be; now it just feels like I'm stepping on pieces of glass. After a while, I don't really notice it. Hopefully it'll all heal up and the skin will stop getting rubbed off.
Kendo XIII -- Clean Dojo
I haven't written in a while... I kept meaning to, but it always seemed kind of pointless after practice. At the same time, I feel like I should be keeping a record so that I can come back to these early days and read the entries if I ever feel discouraged. I find it almost impossible to believe that I'd ever be incredibly discouraged about kendo since I love it so much right now.
So here's another entry again after a long while.
My biggest development since the last entry, I think, is that my striking abilities have become much, much better according to sensei.
At the middle school, the kendo club teacher came to club to encourage the boys to practice (they like to play while the girls practice) kote strikes. The way this worked was that one kid would stand with his kote on and we'd all line up and hit his wrist, working our way down the line until everyone had gone once, at which point the target would join the line and the first person in line would become the new target. We did that for a while, and I had the bruises to show it! (I borrowed someone else's kote.)
During the process of the practice, the teacher spent a while explaining how the grip worked and I had a really good chance to see someone do it slowly, close-up. It was an incredible help and for the first time since I'd started kendo, I felt like I understood what it was supposed to look like.
In the practices after that, sensei really noticed it as well, which made me feel happy about it. He did remind me that I needed to pull my shinai a lot farther back over my head than I was, which I still continue to work on.
Lately what I've been trying to do is basically trust sensei entirely and do exactly what he says to do, even if it doesn't seem to be working out right or I'm failing miserably. It definitely seems to be paying off -- today he had all of the kids watch me do men strikes because I'm completely straightforward about it. The idea is that you draw your shinai over your head in a straight line, then attack and move forward in a straight line, all without stopping. A lot of the kids do it at an angle, or run off at an angle, which I attributed to their age/strength.
I was incredibly flattered and heartened by the affirmation that I was learning to do it right.
He also used me as an example when we were doing kata practices. I was doing absolutely terribly at the kata since I'd only been able to remember half of the first two and none of the third, but we were required to do both halves of each about six times for practice today. He commended me on my politeness; I always stopped to sheathe my bokuto (wooden sword) properly and bow, thanking my practice partner, before I moved on.
A lot of the kids, being kids, were in a hurry to move on and get to the next guy... or I guess, didn't want to bow because they thought their partner sucked or was their brother or whatever. It's nice to be noticed.
One of my weakest points in practice is always, always my dou strike. It's just terrible, and I feel like I'm not grasping some kind of fundamental about how to do it, though sensei's showed me time and time again and I feel like I understand the mechanics behind it... I just can't do it well yet. Sensei told the kids to do the beginning like me, though; the idea behind it is that the beginning looks like a men strike and then slices in from there, so that the opponent is preparing for a men strike and taken off-guard. A lot of the kids just swing in sideways from the start instead of raising their shinai back; since I can't do it well to begin with, I try to get that start perfectly.
My favorite practice routine at the dojo is kirikaeshi. It starts with a large men strike, a push backward, then four advancing strikes and five retreating strikes. It's a great chance for me to practice striking properly (large, straight strikes, relaxed shoulders, proper grip) while working on my footwork. My footwork is terrible. I need a lot more practice with it so that I'm stable instead of rolling around and stumbling.
Another point -- the kid who started a session after me, but then disappeared... well, he's showed up again, and he's been coming regularly. He bought his own shinai and he's all excited about getting his hakama. He keeps asking me when he can get his own, and all I can tell him is that it's whenever sensei says. I completely understand his excitement... I was in his shoes just a while ago and it sucks to be the only one in gym clothes. He's been trying hard, though, and I'm proud of him.
A few weird things about today -- first, I showed up and everyone was running around in street clothes. Usually they show up already dressed and ready to go for kendo. Second, the place was really, really tidy. Usually it's just clean, but with equipment kind of strewn around; it was incredibly tidy today. I found out why -- all of the mothers had been there cleaning and putting things away. It might be preparation for the big kendo festival next Saturday.
One of the parents brought in a bunch of mochi -- little Japanese rice cakes with sweet filling. I didn't get any, but I got this block of fruit jelly that you're supposed to slice and eat. All of the kids were pissed because sensei gave it to me, probably because I'm the oldest. They said it was delicious, but I'm dubious. I guess I'll try it tomorrow.
One last thing -- I got to watch sensei write with a brush! He wrote the sign for next weekend and I took a video. I love shodou, which is traditional Japanese calligraphy. He has amazingly nice handwriting. I wonder if it's part of being good at kendo.
So here's another entry again after a long while.
My biggest development since the last entry, I think, is that my striking abilities have become much, much better according to sensei.
At the middle school, the kendo club teacher came to club to encourage the boys to practice (they like to play while the girls practice) kote strikes. The way this worked was that one kid would stand with his kote on and we'd all line up and hit his wrist, working our way down the line until everyone had gone once, at which point the target would join the line and the first person in line would become the new target. We did that for a while, and I had the bruises to show it! (I borrowed someone else's kote.)
During the process of the practice, the teacher spent a while explaining how the grip worked and I had a really good chance to see someone do it slowly, close-up. It was an incredible help and for the first time since I'd started kendo, I felt like I understood what it was supposed to look like.
In the practices after that, sensei really noticed it as well, which made me feel happy about it. He did remind me that I needed to pull my shinai a lot farther back over my head than I was, which I still continue to work on.
Lately what I've been trying to do is basically trust sensei entirely and do exactly what he says to do, even if it doesn't seem to be working out right or I'm failing miserably. It definitely seems to be paying off -- today he had all of the kids watch me do men strikes because I'm completely straightforward about it. The idea is that you draw your shinai over your head in a straight line, then attack and move forward in a straight line, all without stopping. A lot of the kids do it at an angle, or run off at an angle, which I attributed to their age/strength.
I was incredibly flattered and heartened by the affirmation that I was learning to do it right.
He also used me as an example when we were doing kata practices. I was doing absolutely terribly at the kata since I'd only been able to remember half of the first two and none of the third, but we were required to do both halves of each about six times for practice today. He commended me on my politeness; I always stopped to sheathe my bokuto (wooden sword) properly and bow, thanking my practice partner, before I moved on.
A lot of the kids, being kids, were in a hurry to move on and get to the next guy... or I guess, didn't want to bow because they thought their partner sucked or was their brother or whatever. It's nice to be noticed.
One of my weakest points in practice is always, always my dou strike. It's just terrible, and I feel like I'm not grasping some kind of fundamental about how to do it, though sensei's showed me time and time again and I feel like I understand the mechanics behind it... I just can't do it well yet. Sensei told the kids to do the beginning like me, though; the idea behind it is that the beginning looks like a men strike and then slices in from there, so that the opponent is preparing for a men strike and taken off-guard. A lot of the kids just swing in sideways from the start instead of raising their shinai back; since I can't do it well to begin with, I try to get that start perfectly.
My favorite practice routine at the dojo is kirikaeshi. It starts with a large men strike, a push backward, then four advancing strikes and five retreating strikes. It's a great chance for me to practice striking properly (large, straight strikes, relaxed shoulders, proper grip) while working on my footwork. My footwork is terrible. I need a lot more practice with it so that I'm stable instead of rolling around and stumbling.
Another point -- the kid who started a session after me, but then disappeared... well, he's showed up again, and he's been coming regularly. He bought his own shinai and he's all excited about getting his hakama. He keeps asking me when he can get his own, and all I can tell him is that it's whenever sensei says. I completely understand his excitement... I was in his shoes just a while ago and it sucks to be the only one in gym clothes. He's been trying hard, though, and I'm proud of him.
A few weird things about today -- first, I showed up and everyone was running around in street clothes. Usually they show up already dressed and ready to go for kendo. Second, the place was really, really tidy. Usually it's just clean, but with equipment kind of strewn around; it was incredibly tidy today. I found out why -- all of the mothers had been there cleaning and putting things away. It might be preparation for the big kendo festival next Saturday.
One of the parents brought in a bunch of mochi -- little Japanese rice cakes with sweet filling. I didn't get any, but I got this block of fruit jelly that you're supposed to slice and eat. All of the kids were pissed because sensei gave it to me, probably because I'm the oldest. They said it was delicious, but I'm dubious. I guess I'll try it tomorrow.
One last thing -- I got to watch sensei write with a brush! He wrote the sign for next weekend and I took a video. I love shodou, which is traditional Japanese calligraphy. He has amazingly nice handwriting. I wonder if it's part of being good at kendo.
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