Grading success! | Upcoming special events
This year's VKR seminar and grading was a great success. Over 100 participants from around Australia and overseas came to Monash University Clayton campus to take part in two full days of training, culminating in a grading from 6th kyu to 4th dan.
Congratulations to all those who participated and survived the gruelling sessions, and also to those who passed their gradings. Special thank you to Soon who gave up his own participation in the first morning of the seminar to run the beginners' course at our home dojo.
Sean is organising our first 20th anniversary celebration event: a lunch after our last training for this term on Saturday 9th April. Please save the date. We will be going to a restaurant in High St Preston, the home of many excellent and cheap Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants. Details to follow. Sign up to our Signal groupchat (Nanseikan Casual) for updates.
On the first day back for term 2, we will be hosting Ekai Korematsu roshi, Zen priest and Abbot of Jikishoan Zen Buddhist Community. Ekai roshi visited us in December 2017 and he again will be introducing us to zazen (sitting meditation) practice, as well as his insights into the shared roots of Kendo and Zen. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from someone who has dedicated his life to understanding this fascinating and unique practice. It will certainly help you see Kendo and your practice of Kendo in a new light.
This event is open to all VKR kenshi, as well as interested family and friends. Attendance is by donation to Ekai roshi, which is whatever you can afford. We will also organise a light Japanese lunch afterwards in the hall, most likely from the excellent Popura Sushi in Heidelberg. Payment for lunch and RSVPs will be organised closer to the time.
To do zazen comfortably a good cushion is important! Last time, people just brought their own cushions from home. This time, it would be good to have something a little more purpose-made. If you can, I recommend either purchasing or making a zafu and zabuton. The zafu is the circular cushion that goes under your bottom, the zabuton is the square mat that goes under your legs. If you don't have the time or resources for a proper one, it's fine to improvise with whatever you might have at home.
Special events - 20th anniversary Kangeiko 25 & 26 June
This year we will revive the tradition of running our annual Kangeiko (cold weather training camp) on the last Saturday of term 2, but this year it will be a two-day event. The logistics of whether we will make it a residential camp or not, as well as the detailed schedule, have yet to be decided, but whatever happens, please save that weekend. It will be open to all VKR/AKR members. The venue will be Nanseikan.
This will be our major 20th anniversary event for the year.
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