Liverpool Kendo Club

15th World Kendo Championships - Novara, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:32:00 +0000

If you didn't already know the 15th World Kendo Championships begin in 13 hours in Novara, Italy. Unless you're booked to attend or even competing you may need an alternative option to view what's going on. At this stage the All Japan Kendo Federation has set up a U-Stream page where live streaming footage should take place. If an alternative solution pops up I'll let you know. Three years ago most of the results were being shared via twitter tomorrow we may be able to witness it in as close to live as possible without actually being there, that's progress folks!

So point your web browsers here:
www.ustream.tv/channel/aj-kendo-f
and enjoy the biggest Kendo event in the world!

NO Kendo Kata on Monday (CANCELLED)

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:29:00 +0000

PLEASE NOTE KATA PRACTICE TODAY IS CANCELLED DUE TO IT BEING A BANK HOLIDAY! PLEASE DO NOT TURN UP OR YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Furthermore there is a Bank Holiday on Monday the 4th of June, we will be closed then also, a reminder will go out nearer the time.

NO Kendo Kata today (CANCELLED)

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:40:00 +0000

PLEASE NOTE KATA PRACTICE TODAY IS CANCELLED DUE TO A POWER FAILURE AT CHESTERFIELD HIGH SCHOOL! PLEASE DO NOT TURN UP OR YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai - CANCELLED.

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:57:00 +0000

It's with regret that we've been forced to cancel the BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai. Unfortunately we did not secure enough pre-registrations to suggest the event would be sustainable. With a couple of other high profile events on the same day it was always going to be difficult to get numbers but the figures were even less than we expected. As a single dojo trying to put on a National event we could not afford the financial loss this would have caused.

We apologise for any inconvenience, all those who have pre-registered will receive a full refund of their registration and entry fee. Kyu grades wishing to compete in a tournament at their own level should look out for information regarding the Lidstone Taikai in London later this year.

Despite this setback we are also in discussion with the other North West dojos in organising a local Taikai. By sharing the competition we hope there will be increased support and shared risk/reward, therefore reducing the chance of cancellation.

Kata Monday

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Kata is on Monday at Chesterfield and Sensei has asked that everyone make an effort to attend as there are certain Club related issues he would like to discuss with members. He does not want to sacrifice time on a Wednesday that would be better served practicing. So if you are interested in what plans the club has and want to know what's going on then please be there, thanks.

Sport Relief 2012, state your interest

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Over on the Facebook Group page I put a poll up for those wanting to vote for their involvement in the Sport Relief Mile in full Bogu. A reminder:

It's on Sunday 25th March, which is the same day as Ozawa Sensei's visit to Kashi No Ki Kenyu Kai in Ollerton
There's a £5 entrance fee.
If it rains you're stuck in your bogu until you finish the race...

We at least need three people to do it, ideally five or more and if you can make a decision as soon as possible it'll give you chance to hit up your friends and relations for sponsorship.

Sport Relief 2012

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Just a thought, is anyone interested in doing the Sport Relief Mile in full Bogu? When I say mile there's 1, 3 and 6 mile options, I think the 3 mile one at least would be fun, so long as no one hits me I should be able to attend ;) Aside from the run there's a few of catches:

It's on Sunday 25th March, which is the same day as Ozawa Sensei's visit to Kashi No Ki Kenyu Kai in Ollerton
There's a £5 entrance fee.
If it rains you're stuck in your bogu until you finish the race...

Aside from getting some sponsorship for your efforts that's it. If there's interest we could do it as a group, even those not in bogu could get the chance to get very used to wearing it for the first time. I think we'd look cool as a group, do some good for charity and perhaps raise the profile of the club ahead of the next Beginner's Night after the run.

Let me know on the forum or the Facebook group if you'd be interested in doing it

Winter Training, week 2

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Once again we threw ourselves into the fire of Winter Training with over 2000 suburi in some form or another. Numbers don't really matter, the effort in keeping together and giving your all does. Thanks to all who turned up and it's a sad farewell to Inaie Park who returns to Korea. Hopefully she'll come back and we'll see her again.

Next week is still winter training, of a sort. We will be back in hakama, keikogi and there will be bogu as well, but as Sensei said we will only use it late on in practice. Also, for all those wishing to be part of the 2012 club photograph this is your one chance to show your face. This was 2011, a veritable 'where are they now'...

Hopefully we'll see some returning faces and 2012's beginners can feature in next years photograph.

BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai, online booking now available, book NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:46:00 +0000

Booking for 2012 is available now, click here:

http://www.membership.kendo.org.uk/html/book_events.php

Don't forget to select the Taikai Entry in addition to the seminar if you wish to compete, and why wouldn't you?

Cardiff Regional Taikai

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:08:00 +0000

Joe posted this report of the Cardiff Regional Taikai at Akai Ryuu Kendo Club on Facebook

Well done to the lads.

Yesterday was an amazing success. For everyone involved. After an early start (we left Jeff's at 6.30am), we talked kendo all the way to Cardiff, preparing ourselves for the first shiai of the year. It ws Jeff and Steve's first time so they must have been feeling slightly more nervous than myself.

We arrived at the Akai ryuu dojo at around 9.30 and spent the first 20 mins saying hello as always happens (isn't kendo a lovely community), got changed and warmed up for a 10am start.

We were pooled with Cheltenham, Akairyuu B and Akairyuu C. We were first on against a well experienced team from Cheltenham (the order was Jeff-senpo, Steve-chuken and myself-taisho). Jeff put in an amazing performance coming back from one men down to take it to shobu with good degote but unfortunately lost to a further men. Steve had a baptism of fire (very early on) with a strong competitor who scored two men against him. I fough John Richards who caught my men. I was lucky enough to score men back taking my match to hikiwake.

We found ourselves going straight back on against Akairyuu B (the hosts). Jeff stormed in and nearly had raised flags for a kote and then a men and was unfortunate to end his match in hikiwake. Steve the did the same ending his match in hikiwake. I managed to score kote against their taisho. A blinding result (2 hikiwake and a win)

Our final match was tha last in the pool, so after some shinpan duty we got ready and went out against Akairyuu C. Jeff was very unlucky to have a point scored against him, but Steve managed a sprited effort to pull it back with a hikiwake. I knew what I had to do but was uinabl;e to gain the win we needed (sorry lads I did catch his kote 3 times but I had blocked the shinpan's line of sight!). We were very close to going through to the knock outs / semi-finals but I have to accept responsiblity for that not happening.

I was incredibly proud of being part of the first Liverpool 3 man team to enter the Regional Welsh Taikai and even more proud to be able to fight along side Jeff and Steve. Well done lads, we'll get more points next time. We all have areas to work on and we know what they are.

Thanks must go to James Ogle, Gary Mathlin and Anred Le Roux for organising this event and we need to plan another trip in August.

Winter training

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Thanks to all those who braved the winds to take part in Winter Training last night. It's hard graft but a lot of fun also. One of the other benefits is building team spirit and bonding as a club. We all know we put in a lot of effort last night and came out the other side, whether we have many years under our belt or have only been practicing for a few months. It would be great to see more members next week to help with this process. Start 2012 as you mean to go on, next week will be harder and tougher but you will be stronger for it.

Winter Training

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Just a reminder it is Winter Training tonight and next week. Tracksuit pants/shorts and T-shirts is sufficient [no bogu]. Shinai, bokken and suburi bokuto if you have one. Get ready for the New Year and bring plenty of spirit.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Sensei asked me to pass on his wishes that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This year has been quite a big one for the club. We have entered more competitions than ever before and been out and about with the kendo community, making friends and building on the previous years foundations for good kendo.

We held three beginner's nights and managed to keep some of those eager to start the long kendo journey. We lost quite a few members for one reason or another but a few returned from absences which brought vital skills and spirit back to the club.

We also held our first seminar and Kyusha Taikai on behalf of the BKA, inviting Howell Sensei to impart some of his vast knowledge into our training. The event went with only a few hitches, to be expected considering it was our first time, but overall it was a great success with around 40 people attending the weekend and 8 of the 24 kyusha competitors being home-grown and one of these coming 3rd.

2012 will be very different no doubt. We will still be holding the BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai on 31st March/1st April 2012 but whether we can field the same numbers as last year is hard to say. A number of us will be attempting gradings, ranging from ikkyu to sandan and your continued input and support will be invaluable in helping us be successful.

A reminder also that some may need to renew their BKA membership. If you have had problems recently it's because the dojo has also had to renew it's membership, this includes the insurance cover for both Sensei and those of us with the Coaching level. If you've had problems then they should be sorted by the end of the week [or next] so please try again, it should be OK.

And lastly a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond, please try and make Wednesday's last practice of 2011:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Thank you once again for your efforts over 2011.

CLOSED - Monday 19th December, Kata

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:13:00 +0000

Just to let you know that the Kata night of 19th December has been cancelled, as the school will be closed. Here's a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

CLOSED - Wednesday 30 November

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:18:00 +0000

Just to remind everyone that we will be closed on Wednesday 30 November, as millions of public workers stand up for their rights in a bid to protect their pension. Please do not turn up as the Egg wil not be open and you will be disappointed. Next practice is Kata on Monday 5th December or next Wednesday 7th December.

Christmas/New Year Training Dates

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Some club dates for your diary, though I'll update the Calendar too. If the situation changes we'll let you know.

Wednesday 30th November CLOSED

Monday 5th December [kata]
Monday 19th December [kata]
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED
2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Kata night

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:44:00 +0000

Thanks go out to the seven guys who turned up to kata last night. Sensei sent his apologies as he has been ill over the weekend. I really appreciate your turning up, your efforts and your patience with my tuition. Hopefully you were able to get some greater understanding through last nights practice.

At Liverpool Kendo Club we practice, on average, twice a month for two hours each session. Very few clubs nationwide will devote so much time to kata and certainly not in such detail. The club pays for the venue, and at £36 a session the more people that turn up the better value it is all round. Because we believe so strongly in the importance of kata and the benefits it has shown in the beginners who have attended for club members this lesson is FREE! The cost of practice is included in your monthly fees so the only thing stopping you going is getting there.

We will continue to subsidise kata sessions this but it's down to the individual to turn up, without this knowledge you will not be able to attend gradings both within the club and further down the line for National gradings.

If this was not enough to convince you of the importance of kata just remember it was only through kata that 'Daniel-san' wins in Karate Kid 3. Go on, do it for Mr Miyagi! ;)

Bogu care

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:40:00 +0000

Just a bit of information to those members who have recently started to get into club armour. Please ensure that after practice you keep the bogu in a space at home that is warm, dry and ventilated. Ideally the armour should be out of the bag, at the least the bag should be rolled down. Failure to look after your bogu this way WILL result in mould growing, particularly if you can't attend practice for a couple of weeks, or over the holiday period when we are not training.

Due to having a new kitchen fitted I've not been able to attend to my bogu in the usual fashion and my spare kote have mould growth on them and that's been just a couple of weeks! It just goes to show it can happen to anyone and it can happen very quick, so please take care of the armour on loan to you.

Should the worst happen don't panic. I've used cleaning products such as Oxi Clean and an old toothbrush to remove any mould without any harm to the bogu. Don't use bleach cleaning products under any circumstances. Any questions or tips just ask us, either on practice night or the forum.

Beginner's Nights all right for fighting.

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:43:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who turned up for the Beginner's Night. I think there were eleven, hopefully we'll see you all back at the club next Wednesday, where it'll only get better and more confusing. Just a reminder to all that next week will be the first Wednesday of the month, which is 'fees night', £20 for the gainfully employed, £10 concessions. This includes all the Wednesday practices and any kata sessions. Details of all practice dates are updated on the calendar so please keep an eye on it or add it to your RSS readers [details on the forum on how to do this, feed link below].
Liverpool Kendo Club Training Calendar RSS Feed

There is also kata on Monday, beginners welcome too. Some clubs find it can be difficult to grasp kata early on, but Sensei believes there is a lot a beginner can learn which can help with the Wednesday night sessions. We've also noticed those Beginners who attend kata progress much quicker than those that don't and as it's included in your fees anyway there's little excuse to not be there. So come along to Chesterfield High School in Crosby, details in the Training section.

Anyone who missed Beginner's Night and still wishes to attend, next week is your 'last chance to dance' until January 2012. Anyone who wants to try kendo can do so but after next week, for the benefit of all the beginners, you will have to wait till our next Beginner's Night. Thanks for your understanding. Oh some links for our new friends:

Liverpool Kendo Club is on Facebook
Liverpool Kendo Club Forum
Liverpool Kendo Club Google Calendar RSS
Liverpool Kendo Club Clothing (we make no profit from this)
British Kendo Association website

Beginner's Night 28th September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:49:00 +0000

Just to remind everyone that Wednesday is Beginner's Night. For existing members please try to be on time so we can get ready and please bring any spare shinai you have.

Beginners please be in the dojo no later than 7:15pm so we can go through all the Health and Safety aspects. Please remember to wear loose fitting clothes, tracksuit pants or three-quarter shorts are ideal. For more information click the Beginners link on the website. Just a reminder that your first session is free and if you cannot manage it this week then we will only accept new beginners up to October 5th [next week]. If you miss these dates anyone wishing to start kendo will have to wait until the next Beginner's Night in January 2012

Apologies for last nights practice cancellation.

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:16:00 +0000

Sincere apologies to all those who turned up for practice last night. As you know it was cancelled due to scaffolding left in the dojo which prevented practice. As this knowledge was not passed onto us we couldn't let people know in advance not to turn up using the blog, the forum, facebook or even by phone.

It was a disappointment made more frustrating as Sensei Needham from Bolton Kendo Club made the journey to practice with us. Also, it would have been Dave Parkes, who has been visiting us for the past few weeks from Oxford University, last practice as he will be leaving us and travelling to Japan to train. Thanks for your attendance and safe journey.

Lastly, there was lots to catch up on from the Bowden and I'll be posting the remaining links to the matches on youtube, though they are easily found now if you can't wait. Apologies once again and thank you for your understanding.

Sir Frank Bowden Taikai 2011 - Round 1 Liverpool Vs Kobudokan

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Sorry about the delay in posting this, I've actually uploaded the three sets of matches between ourselves, Kobudokan, Mumeishi and eventual winners Wakaba. Here are the Kobudokan matches:

Senpo -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEU0AfZYboc

Jiho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UCN7uXqdRI

Chuken -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqgH0h_jDUU

Fukusho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-xhmi5dBhc

Taisho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5je8EN_QHoY

I'll post the remaining links once I've cleaned up all the youtube descriptions. It was a good day and overall the impression was that we fought well [although my 40 second match with Safraz Aziz will not sit alongside my highlights of the day :( ] Regardless, thanks for all your efforts we will continue to improve, as always.

Club armour

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:13:00 +0000

Liverpool Kendo Club has long held the position that we should provide club armour to those that have shown progress and commitment to their training. This obligation was explored in the post about Giri 義理. However, we are beginning to notice that those that do loan armour are not showing the level of attendance expected to justify the use of bogu, when there are regular members of the club who could benefit more from it's use.

We have discussed a number of options, including a deposit but instead we have decided to limit the loan of club armour for three months unless a valid reason for extending the loan is agreed by either Sensei Ware or Sensei Carter. Ultimately if you currently have armour you are expected to attend practice on Wednesdays and kata every other Monday. If you cannot make this commitment then we expect you to return the bogu so that someone who fully participates in the club can progress.

If you cannot attend specific practices for valid reasons then please keep in contact with us so we know why, that is your duty in taking care of the bogu. It is disheartening that not only are we not seeing regular use of club armour we are also having to chase up those who have borrowed it and eventually recover it at club expense, this is totally unacceptable. Therefore we expect everyone with club armour to return it to the dojo next Wednesday so we can re-allocate it to those members who deserve use of it.

For those that want to continue to train irregularly then it will be your obligation to invest in your own bogu. That way you can come and go as you please and you will not be slowing the progress of other club members.

Sir Frank Boden Memorial Taikai 2011

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Once again members of Liverpool Kendo Club will go forth to compete in the biggest team even in the kendo calendar. It's a team that will feature old hands and new blood so we hope to go in with strong fighting spirit and see what we can achieve. The team features:

Richard Crosbie
Anthony Francis
Martin O'Shaugnessy
Dave Weston
Joe Willmott

We'll try to update the blog as the action goes down.

Attendance

noreply@blogger.com (dwez) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:06:00 +0000

Thanks once again for attending last nights practice, in particular our visitors from near and far, your efforts were appreciated. It's been a good week for kendo in that we've had two days of Intensive Training with the British Squad and two weeks where new practice partners have stretched our abilities and challenged our skills.

Summer is a time where many dojo find numbers slowly drop off as there seem to be far more interesting things to do on a warm evening than stand in a hall and sweat yourself stupid for two hours. Thankfully, for the most part, we have had relatively good numbers attending which is rewarding for us as we are seeing people week in, week out, improving through our efforts. Presumably it's also rewarding for those who attend regularly as they will be experiencing that progression first hand and not feel intimidated by the challenges ahead.

It's understandable that every day life can impact on training which may prevent attendance, therefore can you please make every effort to let us know if you cannot come to practice. If we know individuals are not coming we can aim to start practice sooner rather than later. Aside from that, it's part of dojo etiquette and common courtesy to those who do attend that they will not be benefiting from your presence. More importantly, if you have been loaned club armour you have taken on the responsibility of turning up regularly. If you cannot make that commitment it is only fair that you return the bogu so that someone else who can be at practice every week can benefit and progress. For greater understanding of this please refer to my post on Giri 義理

So, if you can't make it to practice please let someone know through the forum, facebook or email [use the link at the bottom of http://www.liverpoolkendo.co.uk/]. There's plenty of options so there's really no excuse. Thank you for your understanding and as a reminder there is NO kata on Monday, it's a bank holiday so please DO NOT turn up, you'll be disappointed!