Comments for Kendo Magazine

Comment on Last Practice with Esteban! by KendoBrazil666

KendoBrazil666 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:34:20 +0000

If you had never met him, do you think you would be able to win? Was he in the same “I must win the shiai” mind spirit? Think about that. You may have won, but you may have lost too.

Comment on Practice Diary 02/12/2010 by MHsueh

MHsueh — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:05:30 +0000

I am fortunate to have had Kim-sensei and Ariga-sensei as my first instructors when I started learning kendo. At the time, my motivation for practicing kendo was to become mentally stronger and more resilient. It makes sense then that my strongest memories of kendo from that time are when I had exhausting kakarigeiko practice with both Ariga-sensei and Kim-sensei. They pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed before and I came out stronger as a result. After practicing with them, I feared no one.

It’s been about 7 years since then, and things are a little different now that I am 3 dan rather than 6 kyu. Dramatic improvements in technique and strategy are much more rare now, and I have come to appreciate even the smallest insights when they come to me. I still have a lot to learn from my sensei and sempai, but they offer much fewer concrete pointers than when I was a beginner. Now kendo for me means trying my best to look into myself and learn by thinking more deeply about why I am weak or why I am strong.

Comment on Practice Diary 02/12/2010 by David

David — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:38:05 +0000

Greatings from Dominican Republic.

In my dojo we have alot of adult beginners, we have to deal with the same problem, how long they have to practice before they can have the men? what is the BUTOKUDEN dojo’s policy on those cases now?

P.S. Forgive my rusty english

Comment on Practice Diary 02/12/2010 by BBT

BBT — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:41:56 +0000

When I started Kendo, at almost 20, the biggest motivation for me was the great feeling after every practice and the love I felt for Kendo (more intuitive than based on reasoning/experience).
I knew it was going to last, so I was not in a hurry and even expected a period of 1-2 years to pass before I put bogu. Yet, I hardly missed a practice, had a great Japanese sensei in whom I trusted infinitely, and I advanced fast at this beginner level, so I got the to the bogu level for about 4-5 months.
I am not sure that being allowed to wear bogu before one has the basic level (for example nice ki ken tai ichi) will make this person more interested in Kendo for a long time… I am inclined to think the opposite, because being able to feel the complexity and beauty of Kendo requires an understanding of footwork, distance, center, timing, spirit, etc. and a good command of the basics is a prerequisite for building these things later.
Yet, probably there are so many different methods of teaching/learning Kendo, of which I am not aware yet …

Comment on Practice Diary 02/12/2010 by KendoBrazil666

KendoBrazil666 — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:43:24 +0000

When I started kendo, I was 17. I knew martial arts before (I studied Karate for ten years, from 5 to 15), but for me kendo was so amazing, so traditionaly pure, and so beautiful. And I was eager to learn about more it. I did kendo almost one year without bogu, my dojo is kinda old-school. Then after that, my focus was all how to be good at shiai, because I think I spend too many time in the basics of the basics. Now I see that was good, taught me respect and solid basics, and I felt that it was more like a survival proof than kendou itself.
Now at almost 26, kendo to me is part my life, like working or watching to soccer games (brazilians, hehehe!) which is weird, because I ain’t no champion, and my technique is kinda awkward. But I love it =D

Comment on Practice Diary 10/19/2009 Syu-Ha-Ri by KendoBrazil666

KendoBrazil666 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:57:15 +0000

that’s my sensei! hahahahaha!

Comment on Female Kenshi by KendoBrazil666

KendoBrazil666 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:54:01 +0000

It’s nice to see a high-grade woman kenshi! I hope you’ve enjoined her visit. That’s such a proof that age is not a huge problem in kendo!

Comment on Practice Diary-11/13/2009 Jodo by asukakondo

asukakondo — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:46:31 +0000

Thank you for posting. We can learn a lot of things from Jodo.I like JOdo Kata.

Comment on World Kendo Championships in 2003 by mitchell

mitchell — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:29:38 +0000

I Like to read about world championship,.Got your page on Wednesday.Your Post World Kendo Championships in 2003 « Kendo Magazine – Kendo Blog by Taro Ariga is really Nice.Thanks. Mitchell

Comment on Practice Diary 10/07/2009 Someya Senpai by ZbvmX

ZbvmX — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:46:46 +0000

Hi Asuka!

Thanks for sharing us your thoughts about Kendo, I had fun reading. It even had me laughing at some posts:

“After practice, Beer is a perfect to drink, if you ignore the fact I of gaining weight…”

How true! haha. I almost always get dragged by my friends to drink with them after practice. We get to talk about what worked for us during keiko, and things that we need to improve on. It’s been a big help for me, somehow Isn’t it great how a bottle of beer brings us all together?

Anyways, keep on writing! You’d get better at it eventually = )

-Zb