Hello Kendo!
I know at least one person who would really love one of these... I'm not so sure about the sad little guy below... From a very cheesy gift shop of all things kendo called kendo358.com b
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Grading dates for 2009
8-dan grading in Kyoto. Pic from All Japan Kendo Federation These are the dates for upcoming VKR gradings for the first half of the year. Mark them on your calendar! (:b § Saturday 7th March – Kendo 6th Kyu to 2nd Kyu Grading § Sunday 29th March – Kendo 1st Kyu to 3rd Dan grading
Gold!
In Korea, some 8-dans have gold-coloured mengane ! It's a bit of a "status-symbol", a way of showing off either how wealthy or how skilful you are. When I first saw them I was a bit shocked. They seemed so, well, showy . But then I remembered that many Japanese 8-dans have status symbols of their own, like sam-e dodai , ( do made from sharkskin) which is very expensive: usually about $3000.00 from a good Japanese maker. And that's just for do itself! If you click on this image you can see how the do has many little dots. These are the natural texture of the sharkskin. Usually the craftsman who makes it is able to arrange a small line of these dots across the middle of the do as a kind of decoration. You will also notice that this bogu set (from www.tezashi.com ) has black mengane . This is really just a different kind of status symbol. Black mengane have only been made for the last 2 or 3 years, but are becoming very popular, especially outside Japan. Even thoug
Happy New Year 2009!
アけましておめでとうございます！ ( akemashite omdetou gozaimasu! ) This year training starts on Saturday 7 February. Term dates will be: term 1 ............. 7 February – 4 April term 2 ............ 25 April – 6 June term 3............ 18 July – 12 September term 4............ 10 October – 5 December Above is a nengajo or New Year's card for our club. All the best for 2009. Let's make it a year of learning, fun, and victories! b PS - Don't forget to check out Shugo-Nanseikan , our other blog with lots of new articles about kendo.