Kendo for LIFE

Kendo-Guide.Com Newsletter, Issue #062 - A Fun Way to Do Kendo

Visit Sponsors

Check Reviews of Maruyama Kendo Supply

Check Reviews of Nine Circles USA

I hope this finds you well.

Some of you might know already about Kendo Watercooler. It is a new service that allows us to share what I instruct at the dojo. I believe that real teachings live at dojo and I have been thinking how I could share that with as many people as possible. Then Kendo Watercooler is born.

Find out more about Kendo Watercooler. If you like kendo in a way I do, you will like it!

Kendo Watercooler

I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you!

Hiro Imafuji

Now Enjoy the Update!

Table of Content

- Kendo Q & A -

- Article of The Month -

- Comments or Questions -

Announcement

- Kendo Guide in Russian: Some articles from Kendo-Guide.Com in Russian

-

Kendo-Guide Social Network

- Facebook
- Linkedin
- Twitter

If you think I am not doing well with these Social Networking, please let me know. I do not want to be uncool!!

Kendo For Life, LLC Products

- Kendo Beginners eBook: Kendo Guide for Beginners
This e-book will give you great amount of information about kendo. It probably answers you most of questions you have when you start kendo. Download your copy of a sample today!

- Online Kendo Basics Video
11 kendo basics videos (139.8 min) are now available. You can watch them online or download to your computer. Get them all together with 32% discount.

- How to Learn Kendo Movements More Easily and Quickly
Are you having a hard time to get the kendo movements right? Try to find out methods that make easier and quicker for you to learn the movements.

- Interview with Alex Bennett
Do you think you are too old to continue kendō? You don't know how you should improve your kendo? Listen to Alex Bennett sensei who passed his 7-dan exam at his first attempt. He talks about how he trained for his 7-dan exam and how he performed in his 7-dan exam.

- Kendo Watercooler: A Place for Kendo Freaks
This is a place kendo freaks get together! I am sharing videos taken at the dojo I instruct with not only my students but also whoever has passion to learn kendo. Come and join us!

Rate Kendo Shops

When you buy your kendo equipment, please share your opinion about the kendo shop you purchased from. It helps other kenod-ka all over the world when buying off the Internet.

A List of Kendo Shops in The World

Thank you!

**YOU HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ME YET???**

I have several e-mails that I sent came back due to the wrong e-mail address or someone else.

If you don't hear from me within three or four days, it is quite likely that you mistyped your e-mail address or your e-mail software/Internet server reject e-mails from me. Please make sure to whitelist Kendo-Guide.Com.

If you have not done a kendo general survey, please participate. It takes only a few minutes. Thanks!

What we have in this issue is shown below.

Enjoy this Newsletter!

There are links to change your email address for the newsletter or unsubscribe at the bottom of every newsletter. Thanks!

- Kendo Q & A -

- Kendo Exchange?

- Can you break a bone?

- A Fun Way to Do Kendo-

I just want to share what I’ve working on for a while. And I am hoping that you find it interesting and try it in your next training.

What We Usually Do in Jigeiko

In jigeiko (sparring), we try to strike others. And we try techniques or whatever we have learned on our opponent. These are very important steps in the process of improving our kendo. Learn, Try and Adjust. And try it again.

Try This Now…

Try to talk to your opponent. I do not mean literally. Try to think what your opponent wants to do instead of thinking what you want to try on your opponent.

This may be something 4-dan or above must do but nothing wrong for 3-dan or below to try. It is more like conversation. You try to understand what your opponent is trying to say, and then you accept it. And then you tell your opponent your point.

Some may call it “reading opponent’s mind” but it does not have to be that “special”. We should be more understandable.

You know what even though we have only 4 targets (men, kote, do and tsuki) it is very hard to know what your opponent will do. It is very hard to LISTEN to your opponent and see their point.

If you want to beat up your opponent without thinking about what your opponent wants to do, you often end up with doing what we call, chicken fight, i.e. attacking randomly while hoping you get a point.

When you are at kyu level, it is OK because you must know how to attach first and you should not be blocking all the time. But you have to grow out of it when you become dan level. You should start thinking ma (timing), maai (distance) and opportunities.

It is very like conversation. You should know when to listen and when to speak. That is timing. You should know the best opportunity to talk about something. It is because some topics are only understood when your listener is ready to listen. For example, we should not talk about seme when the listeners do not know how to execute attacks properly. It is like that. So we should know opportunities to execute our strike.

Distance is also an important part of conversation. We have comfortable personal space so they will not listen to you when you step in to their personal space because that makes them uncomfortable.

In kendo as well we have our personal space. But it is more like we should know our own distance so we can strike our opponent but our opponent cannot strike us.

Thinking about what your opponent wants to do makes kendo much more interesting to me now. Of course, if you are at kyu level and you should learn striking first, rather than trying to execute counterattacks.

If you are 4-dan or above you should definitely try to do that. If you are 2-dan and 3-dan, try that sometimes. It is harder than it sounds.

- Comments or Questions -

If you have a kendo related question, please go to Kendo Q&A and use a special form for that.

If you want to contact me personally, please use a contact form.

If you do not send me email through the form, my email system does not pass through your emails. That means I never get your email.

Please do not use the email address I used to use at The Cyber Dojo either. It will not be used for communication purpose. This is the main website. Click here to contact us...

Thank you for reading the newsletter. See you in the next issue!

You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive Newsletter in your mailbox from Kendo-Guide.Com (Kendo For Life, LLC).

Please unsubscribe immediately by clicking the link below if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system.

The sender does not accept liability for any errors, damages, or omissions which might arise as a result of this e-mail transmission.

This email is compliant with The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. You may opt out of this list at any time through the link at the bottom of this email.