Nanseikan Kendo Club 南西館剣道クラブ

Mariko Yamamoto is a two-time winner of the All Japan Championship. In 2012 and 2013 she won back to back titles. This video is getting a little old now but someone has done a pretty good job of subtitling it in English. Her story is interesting because these kind of profile docos of elite women kenshi are not so common. In spite of being very quiet and shy, she obviously has amazing determination to win. It also helps that she was a member of the Osaka Police Force Special Training Squad and trained 5 hours a day 5 days a week. Having a dad who is a previous All Japan champion doesn't hurt either! Here she is teaching a Kendo seminar in Japan. Also, an interesting research article in English on Japanese women's elite Kendo can be found here  (download PDF) .

The 2nd kyu to 4th dan grading will be on Sunday 17th March . The rescheduled 6th kyu to 3rd kyu grading will be on Sunday 24th March . Both gradings will start at 12.30 for registration and the first grading will commence at 1pm. Questions for those going for dan grades are below. Please email me for a copy. You are allowed to complete the answers before the grading but they must be submitted on a hard copy of the official answer sheet. Nidan candidates note well: the phrase 'opportunities for datotsu' is a specific one and should be researched thoroughly. The Japanese is "datotsu no kikai" 打突の機会 . It is related to "mittsu no sen" 三つの先 All the kyu grading requirements are listed here: http://www.kendoaustralia.asn.au/publicdocs/p_5_kendo_kyu_exam_MoD_2_Kendo_09_10_19.pdf Questions for Shodan to Yondan Grading  Please answer one of the following questions for the level for which you are grading.  Bring your answers and hand them in to the grad