The Cyber Dojo -Dojo to Go!-

A Phrase from Samurai: Issho Kemnei

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:47:47 -0500

Isshou Kenmei is not a kendo term but more common in Japan. Basically what they mean is "to work hard". But let's analyse the words more for us, kendoists. Let me analyse the kanji (Japanese characters) for Isshou kenmei. Isshou is a life time. Kenmei is to devote one's life to accomplish something. However, it is said that the origin of the phrase is Issho kenmei. The kanji for issho means one place. The kanji for kenmei is the same as the previously mentioned. So what issho kenmei means...

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Zanshin After Striking

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0500

Q. I do not know the right way of the Zanshin, I wonder if you could give a better explanation about it explaining all the manners after striking kote men or do . A. Have you read the article, How Do We Apply Kendo Teachings in Daily Life? This is about Zanshin. However, I think you are asking me how you should take zanshin in kendo, right? Ok, here it is. Basically, whatever you strike, after your strike you have to take chudan. If you cannot take chudan soon after your...

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The 1st Kendo Beginners Seminar Went Well.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:30:00 -0500

It was pleasure to meet 8 new people from different places in Indiana. What surprised me most was that we had 3 female participants! It was pretty surprising. Why? Through my experience, when I had seminars in the past, I did not get a high percentage of female participants. I had some students from Mudokwan kendo dojo as my support. Without them it would not be as exciting as it was. They helped not only me but also kendo to be known by more Hoosiers (Indiana people). The...

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Shinai Maintenance and How to Strike Gyaku-do

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:06:10 -0500

G'day, Just a quick email to tell you that you have two videos to watch. One is not taken by me though. It is about how to maintain your shinai. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1fv8ir9YKP0oCj&b=WPKvX3_2LIsuBbITc9TVTg If you don't know how to maintain shinai, stop training and learn how to maintain your shinai first. This is THE most important thing to learn. Ok now. How to strike gyaku-do. This is only for news...

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Kendo in street fighting?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:04:12 -0500

I had a very interesting question about kendo. The question was posted at one of my youtube videos, how to strike small kote in kendo. The question was: Sir i want to ask if kendo is applicable in street fighting. If yes, in what way?? My answer was: Kendo is not applicable in street fighting. If a UFC guy comes to me, I will not grab a stick. I will run away. Forget about using kendo in street fighting. This is a very rare question in Japan, but I think it is very...

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what grand masters said about shiai?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:39:41 -0500

G'day, One article is up and one video is up. I think the article is very helpful because it is about what we all may have to go through. Even though kendo is to train oneself, there are some people who want to challenge you. There are some people who tell you that your teachers suck or your techniques are bad. We encounter those people all the time. As long as we have shiai (competition) we want to win. Late Murayama sensei used to tell us that if we participated in shiai, we should win....

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How to Strike Gyaku Do

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:14:14 -0500

powered by EasyWebVideo It is not so difficult to perform, but it does not mean you should skip learning how to strike normal Do. Please think this way. "Because it is easy to learn, we learn a difficult technique first." In kendo, we use oshi-giri (pushing cut) instead of hiki-giri (pulling cut). When we strike in kendo, we go forwards if it is not hiki-waza. In gyaku-do, we do not go forwards after striking it. We go backwards. As you watch the video, you can see how...

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Maintenance of Shinai

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:30:00 -0500

This is really important to know. As a kendoist, we all should know how to maintain our shinai. We all know that but how many of us actually check our shinai before and after training? Recently, within two weeks, I found three not-well-maintained shinai. Two of the shinai were my training partners'. Why is it so important to check your shinai and maintain your shinai before training? Simple. You do not want to hurt your training partners. If your shinai has splinters or is broken, there is...

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How to Practice Footwork in Kendo? Part II

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:07:07 -0500

Sayu Ashisabaki & Shiho Ashisabaki & Hiraki Ashi There is nothing difficult about thoes footwork except hiraki ashi. One thing you must remember in all the footwork is to return to the basic stance. You do not want to have a crocked stance after moving. You can move however you want but must go back to the basic stance. Concentrate on your footwork and be aware of how your feet are moving at the very beginning of footwork acquisition. It is very common to cross the legs in hiraki...

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Challenging others in Kendo?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

Q. Is there a way to challenge other dojos or people to a kendo match? A. No. We do not do that anymore. Why do you want to challenge others? Please think kedno as a way not a part of samurai movie. I forgot to tell you something. We do not challenge, but we ask others to train with us. This is the difference between the old style fighting techniques when people used to kill each other and kendo. So please do understand what the way is. I recieved an answer from the person who asked the...

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Just a quick email to inform you two things

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:44:47 -0500

G'day, How are you doing? It is pretty warm here in Indiana today. I have two things to inform you today. One: There is one new article called "shu, ha, ri". http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1Za5TFt.uP0oCj&b=r.QTqjd9cYlvgiiLk5IsRQ Two: One guy unsubscribed the newsletter because he had received too many emails. That was a surprise for me since I have been feeling guilty about not updating enough. But when I think about it, if you subscribe to the update notice from the top...

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kendo seminar in Indiana

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:26:18 -0500

How are you doing? First of all, I emailed back to those who emailed me with questions. If you have not received a reply from me please let me know. I could not email back during my business trip from the end of last month to the beginning of this month so I tried to write back at once the other day. Now we will have a kendo beginners seminar on Saturday the 19th, April. This is for complete beginners so if you have friends or know someone who are interested in kendo or Japanese...

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Kendo Wisdom "Shu Ha Ri"

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

This phrase indicates that there are 3 phases in kendo, or when learning something. Shu is a kanji for to protect, but in this case it means to "keep the teachings" as in "to keep the promise". When you start learning something, you listen to your teacher. You have to do what your teacher tells you to do in order to acquire the basics correctly. You may want to go somewhere else and learn some more cool techniques or something. If you do that in this phase, you will get confused and cannot...

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Kendo Seminar, April 2008

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:09:12 -0500

April 19, 2008 We will have a kendo seminar for beginners at Mudokwan, Indiana. This is a good opportunity for you who have been wanting to do kendo but could not start because of many reasons. We don't really have many dojo in Indiana, and so needless to say, it is hard for people to start kendo. Besides, it is hard for many to train kendo during weekdays. Not many can drive more than 1 hour to get to the dojo and another 1 hour to go home. I know there are some people who do that,...

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I think you should get this copy

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:25:42 -0500

G'day, How are you doing? This is a quick email to tell you that there is a new article in the Kendo Q&A and there is a reading material for you. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1bL6vUBdlP0oCj&b=CZWElrVIFLC62yiZDl_dkQ Ok, a good friend of mine told me about this file. I wanted to translate its original (written in Japanese) to English but it has been already translated!! Maybe you know about it but in case you don't here it is. After clicking the following URL, look for a line...

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