Nanseikan Kendo Club 剣道クラブ南西館

  As promised, here is a short video of what to do over the break if you're at home; or on holiday for that matter! A little bit of practice every day will keep your skills sharp. You'll even learn new things about your Kendo, I guarantee it! For experienced people with their own bogu, you are welcome to train at any VKR or AKR dojo in the meantime, so long as you contact the dojo first and you are fully vaxed or have a legit medical exemption. All VKR clubs' contact details are here: https://www.kendovictoria.asn.au/main/kendo-clubs/ And keep an eye on your email inbox for notification of some extra NSK trainings during January. Season's Greetings, stay safe, and here's to 2022 being a year when we can reconnect with those we have missed over the last two years.

   These two videos are well worth a look. Firstly, from a channel that is uploading lots of "Kendo vs..." videos lately, this is the first one I've seen where someone with a high level of Kendo skill is up against a fencer. I'm not sure if the epee-ist is as skilled but it is an interesting match.  This video is more interesting from a technical and cultural point of view. It shows a demonstration shiai at the 88th Kyoto Taikai held at the Butokuden in 1992. The two competitors are Sugawara Keizaburo (on left) and Nakakura Kiyoshi (the taller sensei, who featured in the story I told last Saturday at training). Both sensei were 9th dan. George McCall has a great article listing all the 9th dans  here , including the rationale and history behind the higher dan grades. What I love about this match is how spirited it is. There have been 'generational shifts' in Kendo (as George observes in the linked article) according to how and where the major Kendo teachers we...

  Training starts back officially this week! We will be training for the next six weeks. Our last Saturday training will be 11 December and last Wednesday 15 December. Soon has put his hand up again to take the beginners course, which will also start this Saturday. Thanks Soon. As usual beginners will start at 9am and finish at 10am. Main class will be 10 am to 12 noon. Ballarat Taikai Those gutsy folks from the Ballarat Kendo Club, one of Victoria's oldest clubs, will be going ahead with their annual taikai. If you are keen to take part, please see Mick at training or send him an email at competition.nanseikan at gmail. Schedule below. Uchimura sensei's kote I'm pretty sure this is the kote I mentioned at training last night but it's much lower resolution than I remember seeiing back in the day, so the broken tsuru is not visible. This is a great compilation of all the other times Uchimura has scored kote in high level competition. You can get a sense of his style: usu...

  Let me know your thoughts or questions about this in the comments.

Chiba sensei's Oji waza by ichibyoshi We're continuing training via Zoom on Saturdays and Wednesdays throughout the holidays since, well, no-one's going anywhere so why not? :) Usual Zoom times: Wed 5.30 to 6pm, Sat 10 to 11am. At today's training we were looking about seme and short techniques, particularly using the right foot for seme then holding that moment ( tame - 溜め) before cutting men or kote with a small movement. The video of Chiba sensei above shows this particularly well.  And while I was searching I came across this gem again. Best subs on a Kendo video! The culprit is none other than our own Kenji sensei from MUKEN. Cheeky but still informative. :D Lastly, we were also talking about ways to train against people of different levels and particularly against sensei. This excellent video is about Muay Thai but Kendo people will see and hear a lot of similar concepts.

  So we won't be training in person tomorrow night or this Saturday either.  We will have a Zoom training from 5.30 to 6pm tomorrow night.  And we'll have another Zoom next Saturday from 10 to 11am.  After that we'll see what happens! Please keep checking back to this website for updates in case things change. Stay safe and warm! In the meantime check out this video from Kamei sensei. It has English subtitles. He talks about some important aspects of kamae and seme. Fortunately it's much the same as what I always tell you all! UPDATE: Kamei sensei with more tips on how to practice eradicating unnecessary movement of the left foot.

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...

Lockdown We will be having another Zoom training this Saturday as a result of the lockdown extension. The time will be half and hour longer: 10.00 to 11.30am, using the same Zoom meeting room as usual. We will also be training next Wednesday via Zoom also. Let's hope that lockdown eases next week and doesn't get further extended! Memberships Sean will be in touch with members soon about process for joining or renewing with the VKR and AKR. Please keep an eye out for his email from "membership.nanseikan@gmail". Kirikaeshi As our newest members learned two weeks ago in the dojo, kirikaeshi is a universal warm-up drill in dojo everywhere. The standard format is 2 sets of sayu-men (diagonal men strikes) moving forward and backwards intersperse with three straight men strikes against your partner who either receives on their men or blocks with their sword.  As we learned the format is most commonly nine sayu-men: four forwards and five backwards. But sometimes different do...

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...

Takanabe Susumu is one of Japan's most successful kenshi in terms of competition. This great video has two parts. In the first half it shows his shiai skills and the second half he demonstrates suburi. The shiai was a recent 7th dan tournament where you can see his speed, his ability to dominate his opponents mentally, and then how is able to execute a wide range of waza. In the suburi section you can watch his posture and there are also his points on what to aim for in each exercise. The important thing in this video is to see that even someone who is so agile, fast and good at small techniques also focuses on large, basic movements in their own training. Speed comes from relaxation, and relaxation comes from doing lots and lots and lots and lots of practice!  

  Warakiribattousai's Youtube channel is good fun, mostly about Iaido, and has lots and lots of tameshigiri. This vid is interesting because he does his own version of the question, "Can Kendo techniques really work when using a real sword?" I think he has a background in Kendo prior to his focus on Iaido: you can certainly see he has done at least high school Kendo to a high level before switching to Iaido. So when he uses "Kendo" techniques, he knows the difference. Interestingly I think he adjusts his 'Kendo" technique slightly after the first few tries, going from 'hitting' to 'cutting'. This is exactly what accomplished kenshi work on in the shinai Kendo even they they might not get the chance to test the effectiveness of their cutting technique in this way.  Here is a link to that other video featuring Kondo Hikaru sensei (K7 dan) which I shared last year dealing with the same question: https://youtu.be/RcEgu6WQQsw This is a teaser...

 As mentioned at training this morning there will be no Kata training this Tuesday 10 November. There will however be a special meeting at 5.30pm on Wednesday 11th to discuss returning to in-person training. Items on the agenda: confirm ability to train in person next Saturday 14 Nov decide on location and time discuss options for return to dojo  I will endeavour to speak with St Pius and find out what I can about their needs/issues around us returning. I will also see if there are some alternative (larger, better ventilated) venues that might be available either for a short-term or a medium term option. Videos First, the video of Tagawa sensei (H8 dan) from Detroit that I mentioned. And also the classic video of Chiba sensei and his 'seme-ashi'. Take note of the movement of his kensen when he makes seme. 

This is not a channel but just a single vid, but I'm pretty sure it's where the examples in Yano sensei's presentation were edited from. It's 75 min of Miyazaki Masahiro sensei scoring ippon in competition! Gotta be happy with that! Filmed at the Kenshikan, this is the video I mentioned in last night's discussion where Chiba sensei talks about the right foot being used for seme. This was my very first time using a digital camera to record video of Kendo and upload it to the internet. I think the camera in question was a 2MP Canon Ixus, hence the shabby quality. Still, it's a wonderful record of Chiba sensei's incredible skill.  ************************************************************************* https://www.youtube.com/user/tamichel0428/videos This channel is Sanmunokai 三無の会　and has lots of great videos of their in-dojo training and also instruction by their sensei Matsubara (K8 dan). https://www.youtube.com/user/loganbury/videos This channel has lots o...

In the previous post I listed the various branches of Itto Ryu and asked you to consider the similarities between their use of the sword and Kendo. Sometimes when one becomes used to a certain way of doing things, one can fall into the trap of thinking that is the only, or maybe the best, way of doing things. In learning iai kata of Tatsumi Ryu, we are trying to break out of that thinking by exposing ourselves to a system devised long before even the Itto Ryu was founded. This means that there are some fundamental differences in how the sword is used.  In these posts I am mostly interested in the differences in how to swing the sword. In Kendo, and indeed in most of the styles of iaido practiced today, the fundamental cutting action is a straight up-and-down action often referred to as kirioroshi , cutting through or cutting down. In Tatsumi Ryu, the characteristic action where the sword first goes through a circular backswing before cutting downwards is called kowauchi , or 'power...

Training for term 4 We will continue to have kata training 5.30 to 6pm Tuesday night  and more general training 10am to 11am Saturday via Zoom. We will continue this schedule until there is a change in regulations around public gatherings. When we come out of strict lockdown (no travel restrictions), it is likely the first opportunity to train together will be outdoors and with distancing. In this event we can consider meeting either at a park centrally or at different parks each week. I imagine that we will train in 'civvies' (normal clothes) and do solo movements:  suburi and taiso only.  When this happens we will discuss as a club what the best time and duration is for training, and what is the best mix of online and in-person training. As the situation improves, we can work towards more close-quarters training, eventually with the aim of returning to the dojo and practising one-on-one in full armour. Even then it is very likely that the following conditions would r...

  Kata 1 to 5. Suburi using the counter-attack movements of the shidachi. Contact me directly me link to video.

    Here's a video of two senior members of Tatsumi Ryu performing various kata at the annual demonstration at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. They start with iai, and you can see the standing and seated variations of Muko and Marui at the same time.   One of the things that makes Tatsumi Ryu unusual is that it has paired kata for weapons other than the sword. Here you see long sword vs spear (yari) and also short sword vs spear. Traditionally in most old Japanese arts like Tatsumi Ryu where the sword is the primary weapon, the sword always wins: the kata exist mainly to prepare the kenshi to use the sword against various weapons.   However in Tatsumi Ryu there are kata for weapons versus sword where the other weapon wins, and also kata that don't involve the sword at all, such as spear vs spear. In fact Tatsumi Ryu spear kata demonstrate the spear's amazing versatility: it can be used to strike at distance using its great length advantage (around 2.5m), but it can also b...

  For those who are practising kata at home, perhaps with a view to grading next March, here is the perfect video to watch all ten kata, made by the AJKF.   Click "Show More" underneath the uploader's caption and it has links to further explanations of each kata, and detailed demonstrations of important points. The top comment has time links to the start of each kata in the original video for easy reference.  Watch the detailed videos to help you with your practice, especially if you are by yourself.  For feedback on your performance your reflection in a window is best. Points to watch for and practice: Correct actions, i.e. kamae, waza, footwork, so that the grading panel can see you know the kata. If you do enough practice it will shine through even if you make a small mistake on the day, and this is what they are looking for. Posture: make sure your kamae and movement looks like these sensei: big, accurate and straight. Rhythm: watch carefully when to start, ...

Thanks for a great training today and glad to see everyone is well. Here are some links from our shugo as promised. Caleb's HEMA recommendation. These guys look fierce and skillful. Mick's recommendation. There can be only one... :) Want to watch 6 hours or Keirin racing from Nagoya? (Because bikes are awesome). Here you go... For Greg particularly, Keishicho vs Kogu (Tokyo Metro vs Imperial Palace) 2016 All Japan Police Kendo Championships. There's a great throw at 13:18. Not legal but who cares?  And here's one of Let's Kendo's excellent Ippon Omnibuses from the same tournament. Here is that documentary about 8th dan with Iwatate sensei that I mentioned. It's in English and has his explanation of what he looks out for when judging 8dan. He mentions left foot angle at 9:20. Sadly the uploader cut the doco before the end. just found the last bit!  https://youtu.be/skdc-9gCunY If you have Netflix, I highly recommend Japan Style Originator (Wafu Sohonke  和風総本家...

  Here's some more inspiration for when we get back into the dojo.  This is an interesting channel from a Distance Education Centre, also known as a 'correspondence school', Seiji International High School in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Pref. This video just popped up in my feed and it has some really interesting drills. This video was posted only a week ago and I can't help saying I feel a bit jealous that COVID19 restrictions in their part of the world are so relaxed that they can train together with full kiai and no masks! Anyway... Their drills seem designed to work well in a small space while still focusing on fundamentals. I particularly like the drill where the kakarite starts with their kensen level with their opponent's tsuba -- very close distance -- and then performs correct cutting with fumikomiashi and zanshin . Also #backyarddojogoals...   This channel looks worth subscribing to. I also love how many fans they've got going! August in Japan, I can only i...