Tonight's training cancelled. See you all Saturday

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Takizawa sensei's explanation of kiriotoshi

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This video was taken from Takizawa sensei's recent visit. He demonstrates a technique called kiriotoshi This technique is the specialty of the Itto Ryu, which is an old style of Japanese swordsmanship that had a large influence on Kendo. The aim is to cut through you opponent's attack and steal the centre line from them, while they cut you . It is a very difficult and subtle technique. Watching how easy T sensei makes it look might inspire you to give it a try.
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High school Kendo in Japan: To-o-gijuku High School

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The Japanese experience of Kendo in school and university has always fascinated me. These four videos from Let'sKendo are really interesting. Probably only for the die-hard Kendo otaku amongst you all! The first three videos shows the regular training at To-O-Gijuku High School (東奧義塾高等学校) in Aomori Prefecture. It's fascinating to me to see their training space: the huge banners, trophies, soft arm chairs and heaters (probably for visiting old 8-dans in the colder months!), photos and calligraphy. From the amount of framed photos and certificates, I'm guessing this stadium doesn't get used for basketball all that much! What else is interesting to watch is their unique training routines. I've mentioned this in training recently, how many dojos have their own versions of kiri-kaeshi and so on. Their warm-ups are as much to do with fostering a unique identity as a club and as a team, as they are a physical preparation.  Note also how quickly and in unison the whole club...
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Nishimura sensei's Kendo HIIT routine

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Former All Japan champion, and star of his own NHK documentary , Nishimura Hidehisa produced this workout routine for the All Japan Kendo Federation last year during the early stages of lockdown. It's an excellent HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) routine, sometimes called Tabata Training after the coach who invented the idea. Basically it has been theorised that you get better results in terms of fitness and overall body strength from short, intense and focused workouts, than you do from extended workouts. Some say it is also beneficial for improving endurance and longevity . There is even some evidence to support that it kickstarts mitochondrial function , that you're exercising at a cellular level. That's pretty amazing. Whatever the research says, it is very easy to feel the positive effects of interval training and it has several other benefits: PROS It doesn't take long, so you can fit it into a busy schedule   You can do it by yourself   You can do it al...
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