Nanseikan Kendo Club 剣道クラブ南西館

As I mentioned at training yesterday, the 8th dan championships are probably the real pinnacle of Kendo competition in Japan. Watch particularly the opening bow to shomen as well as to each other. This is because it is the final. This is a good example of the bowing rituals or reigi saho for competition. You can also find other matches in the Youtube sidebar, since this is from the All Japan Kendo Renmei's channel, including some super-slow clips of winning points.

Hashimoto-s. on left Keichi Hashimoto (Renshi 6 dan) will be visiting Melbourne for four days next weekend. Here is his training itinerary: Friday 3rd May  - VKR Friday night keiko (7:00pm warm up, 7:30pm start keiko) Saturday 4th May  - Open training at Kenshikan Dojo (2:00pm - 4:00pm) Sunday 5th May  - MBK training at Kenshikan Dojo (9:30am - 11:30am) After doing a little Google jutsu, I also found his Twitter account, his competitor profile on the All Japan Kendo Federation website, and an interview where he shows off his Hummer and talks about starting Kendo in kindergarten (!) and how his other passion is music. He apparently had a band and for a while considered giving up Kendo to focus on music. All bogu-wearing kenshi are welcome to join in training with him. Even newer members could benefit from watching him in action. Hungarian hansoku from this year's European Kendo Championships It looks like the video keeps getting deleted. F...

Momiji (Japanese maple) in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture, Autumn 2009 Autumn Term 2 starts this Saturday. It's a 10 week term and on the last Saturday we will have our annual Kangeiko , a special training that goes from 9am until 5pm. This term our focus will be on 1) integrating our new beginners  and 2) looking at the nuts and bolts of shiai , or competition. The aspects of shiai that we will look at most closely will be: correct procedure for competitors: reiho (etiquette) and basic rules yuko datotsu or what makes up a correct scoring point for more advanced students: competition strategy against different opponents introduction to being shinpan (referee) VKR AKR membership fees due Also, please be aware that in addition to term fees all membership fees will be due for Victorian Kendo Renmei and Australian Kendo Renmei. This is a single fee which members pay to the club and then I forward it to the VKR. It covers insurance, gr...

This morning I went to MUKEN training. They have a training session every Wednesday morning from 7am til about 8.30am. It's a little different to some Kendo trainings because people tend to leave early if they have to go to work or lectures. But, like every VKR club, their training sessions are open to all VKR members, so feel free to join in if you have the time. There was also a very special visitor to training. We decided if he did Kendo he'd be a 9th dan sensei, based on his incredible self-control and lack of wasted movement! He is a tawny frogmouth ( podargus strigoides ) and as well as being incredibly cute, he is a nocturnal hunter related to, but different from an owl. Another surprise I received at today's training was the gift one of the new MUKEN tenugui . The story of the tenugui is below. Thanks to Viet and the the rest of the MUKEN Kendo club for the gift. These tenugui were designed by Takahiro Ueno, a calligrapher from Chiba, Japan. He is currently ...

Another very successful beginners' course has ended. I'm very excited to see so many people in the dojo and I hope you will all continue on next term. What makes me really happy is seeing such a mix of ages training together, especially family members. And of course having a dojo that is getting almost too full is really, really great.  It's a good sign that with my back against the corner of the dojo, I still can't get everyone in the frame in this photo! This term we used the bokuto kihon as the basis of our introduction to Kendo for our new members, and if you scroll down a bit you will find a previous post with an excellent video and the list of what the techniques are, for your future reference. We will revisit the Bokuto Kihon regularly, as well as looking at Kendo Kata. Throughout the term we also played some games, like the now world-famous tama-komigeiko (tama meaning "ball" in Japanese)! It's always good to have games from t...

This is a recent upload of a doco I've not seen before. It's probably from the 1970s and features rare footage of a competition between members of the Imperial Guard at the Dojo of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. From a rough old video but still well worth watching. This one's a bit more recent. It is interesting because it is of an entire training session at a private Kendo dojo in Tokyo called the Kobukan. The top of the screen seems cut off but it is actually the mezzanine level where everyone's equipment is stored. The dojo actually makes up the bottom two storeys of Ozawa sensei's house in Nakano ward. Ozawa sensei finally passed his 8th dan after 10 years of trying.    His father was 9th dan in Kendo. Outside the front. Ozawa sensei My favourite emergency exit door in the world. The corner of the dojo right underneath where Mihori san set up his camera to make the video of training you see above.

Since we have started the Bokuto Kihon kata, here is a video from the All Japan Kendo Federation with all nine kata. It's in Japanese, but you should be able to recognise the sequences you have done already. And as you can see from the screenshot above, there are captions with the numbers for each kata. The caption above reads, "Kihon 5, Nuki-waza". Then underneath it says what the attacks are: "Men nuki Do (migi do)", in other words "a strike to the head which is countered by escaping underneath to cut the right-side of the opponent's torso". One thing lacking in the video is the kakari-te  (attacker) calling out the names of the kata in advance, e.g. " Kihon go !", " Kihon yon! " etc. So far we have done up to and including kihon roku (6), which is suriage waza ("rising slide technique"). Next week we will do kihon nana , kihon hachi , and kihon kyu . The full name of these kata is b okuto ni yoru kihon waz...

The dates for this year's Kendo gradings and competitions has been updated here: http://www.kendo.org.au/p/training-dates-for-2013.html

The first beginners' course for 2013 starts tomorrow and if you're a new Nanseikan beginner (and I hope you are) you'll be needing to fill out an enrolment form. Because my printer is busted :/ ,  I have uploaded a blank version here: http://www.kendo.org.au/p/enrolment-form.html Because my computer is now too old to run Google Drive |:/ , I've uploaded the form as a good old jpeg. Click on the form and then click again to see it full size. Right click (or ctrl + click) to save it to your desktop, then print it out, fill it out, and bring it to training. Remember, Nanseikan doesn't have a joining fee, just a fee for the course itself, which you can find out more about here: http://www.kendo.org.au/p/fees-and-discounts-for-2013-training.html

We start back tomorrow for regular training in 2013. I hope everyone had a good break over Christmas and the New Year. Beginner's course starts 16 Feb. Term 1 is an 8 week term this year. See you at training!

Last Saturday was our last training for the year, in this, our 10th anniversary year. We were lucky it wasn't as hot as previous years, although the temperature did climb in the late morning after some early showers. So it was humid, just like a Japanese summer. Attendance was good and for the first time we had a clear majority of NSK members. Kudos to Peter, Vanessa and Flynn who travelled up from Apollo Bay to attend. I hope you guys got a lot from the day. We had two objectives for the day: look at the use of the bokuto in Kendo and introduce our newest members to wearing full bogu. We managed both of those objectives I think, but perhaps with a little bit of brain-meltage along the way! I'm very conscious of how much mental effort it can take to remember new sequences of movement such as the Nihon Kendo Kata and the Bokuto Kihon . As it was we started with Kendo kata, covering katas one, two and four (we will look at number three in detail early next year). Thank...

Don't forget this Saturday is our annual shochugeiko, hot weather training. Looks like we'll be fortunate: at this stage the forecast is for 25 degrees and rain. For more info, check the post here . See you at training -- our last for our 10th anniversary year! http://www.kendo.org.au/2012/11/keep-day-free-summer-all-day-training.html

A sequence of training exercises from VKR yudansha who attended the special road-trip to Benalla last Sunday. Oh, and it was 35 degrees! First blast of summer north of the Divide.

Yuko sent me the link to her article about Nanseikan which has just been published online (there will be a print version of it soon too I believe).  GogoMelbourne is a Japanese-language newspaper for tourists and ex-pats living in Melbourne. Yuko has written a whole series of articles focusing on fun things to do around Melbourne with kids and this is her latest one. It's a great boost for our club! You can find the article here:  http://www.gogomelbourne.com.au/entertain/kodomo_melb/4310.html

All the dates for next year's training are now up on the Training Dates page. Fees are on the Fees page . The fees have not changed but there is a little more information about discounts for multiple family members and concession holders.

Junko has just informed me that they will have a full stock of shinai to purchase this Saturday. Price range I am guessing will be between $40–80, depending on size and also type of bamboo. They will have some sample kendogi and hakama which you can inspect and for which you can then place orders. These orders should arrive by 15 Dec. Junko asks that people placing orders please pay 50% deposit, either by cash or bank transfer.

Next Saturday 17th, Yuko from Eikobudogu will be coming to Nanseikan to take orders for shinai and dogi (uniforms). She may even have some stock to purchase on the day. You may remember her colleague Junko who came to Nanseikan last term with some equipment from the same supplier. They are still working on getting their English e-shopping site up and running, but in the meantime they are happy to come to us. Junko assures me that equipment ordered this Saturday will arrive by the last training for 2012 - Sat 15 Dec. That means you will have a new shinai and/or uniform to practice with over the summer break! So if you do not have your own hakama and kendogi yet, or your own shinai, now is the time to order them.

On Sunday 25 November the Victorian Kendo Renmei is organising a trip to visit the Benalla Renshikan to support Kyohei-san and his club which has been operating for several years now. Kyohei as you know, regularly comes to Melbourne to train with us, so it's only fair that we repay the compliment. Most people will be leaving from the Kenshikan Dojo in West Melbourne, but it makes sense for us to meet at the dojo to save time and make for a quicker trip. Benalla is about 2.5 hours drive away. Training is from 11am to 1pm followed by a BBQ at 1.30pm. This means we will need to meet at around 8.00am to get equipment from the dojo and head off no later than 8.30am. Here are Kyohei's directions: " The venue is the hall (sports gym) of Benalla College Faithfull Campus. There is another campus (Dunlop Campus) of Benalla College, so please do not confuse the two. Faithfull Campus is on Faithfull Street, and about 3 km from the exit of Hume Fwy. Get off Hume Fwy a...

Today is the day of the 60th All Japan Kendo Championships. UPDATE:  http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/content.php/249-The-60th-All-Japan-Kendo-Championships-REPORT  Videos will be uploaded on Kendo World soon for those who missed the live feed. This is the blue riband event in world Kendo. Although I'm not sure of the exact start time, we are about 2 hours ahead of Tokyo at the moment, so I think if you log in to their live internet stream when you get home from training today you might see they have already started the opening rounds. Above is a screenshot of the All Japan Kendo Federation's ustream page with a image for the All Japan Women's Kendo Championship. The link is here for the broadcast:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/aj-kendo-f And Kendo World have a commentary and results as they happen in English here: http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/content.php/247-The-60th-All-Japan-Kendo-Championship-Saturday-3rd-Nov-2012 Enjoy!

ice-cold mugi cha (barley tea) and uchiwa (festival fans) — symbols of summer in Japan We've missed out on some training over the last fortnight but fear not! You'll soon have the chance for a kendo overdose. Saturday 15 December is not only our last training for the year but also our annual shochugeiko , or summer training. Shochugeiko is traditionally held during the height of summer, however since we will be on break at that time we have it on our last training. In past years we have been blessed with some particularly hot weather on this day which helps to make the training more authentic! The idea is that it should be more difficult than normal. This encourages extra effort which often leads to extra progress in one's Kendo. Training will cost an extra $10 for Nanseikan members who have paid their term fees, and $20 for non-Nanseikan members ($15 for students and concession holders). BYO lunch but other refreshments and fruit provided. Training starts a...