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Kendo-Guide.Com Newsletter, Issue #033 - Niten Ichi Ryu Noda-ha -
February 19, 2010

Kendo for LIFE

Kendo-Guide.Com Newsletter, Issue #033 - Niten Ichi Ryu Noda-ha -


Thank you for reading the Kendo-Guide.Com Newsletter, Issue #033.

How are you doing?  

Last week, I announced the release of the new video for a special price.

Everyone Likes the Video!

I am glad that people liked it. But the special offer will end on 2/24. It is next Wednesday.

Tim from Canada gave me a comment,

"I have learned a great deal from your video. From a true beginner perspective you teach very well. I am a person who needs to understand the 'why' and you so eloquently do this. I was doing so many little things wrongs."

If you are struggling to get the kendo movements, this video may help you out. Take advantage of the special price now!

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Get How to Learn Kendo Movements More Easily and Quickly today!

In this issue, I want to share what I learned from an article about Niten Ichi Ryu Noda-ha.

Hope you enjoy the article.

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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.

- Kendo Online Basics 101
Now you can learn kendo basics online. Learn the moves and submit your kendo movement videos. I will check your movements and give you feedback.

Thank you!

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What we have in this issue is shown below. Enjoy this Newsletter!

Table of Content

- Kendo Q & A -

- Kendo Work Shop -

- Kendo Multimedia -

- Benefits of Kendo -

- Kendo Guide for Beginners Review -

- Niten Ichi Ryu Noda Ha -

- Comments or Questions -

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

- Kendo Q & A -

- Fitness For Kendo?

- A little more about sonkyo

- Spine-related diseases in kendo

- Kendo Work Shop -

- Poor arm/leg coordination

- One handed strikes?

- Kendo training menu

- Focus on particular points for beginners?

- Body movement when striking kote

- Kendo Multimedia -

- Kendo Principles Collection DVD set

- Benefits of Kendo -

- KENDO helped me to be a better person

- Kendo Guide for Beginners Review -

- "Go to" guide every student of Kendo should have

Niten Ichi Ryu Noda Ha

I was reading an article about Niten Ichi Ryu (School of Musashi Miyamoto) in a Japanese magazine, Kendo Nippon.  I would like to share what I found interesting with you.

Even though it is Niten Ichi Ryu , this one is Noda Ha, which means Noda style. According to this website, NPO Niten Ichi Ryu  Musashi  Kai, there are three styles of Niten Ichi Ryu. For your reference, there are Noda Ha, Santo Ha and Shinmen Nito Ryu.

Anyway, the article was about Noda Ha so I am not sure if this is true for all the styles.

Move like No Dance and kiai like music

There is a teaching that has been orally passed down.
"Move like No Dance and kiai like music."

There are three kiai in Noda Ha, Zun, Tan, Hettai

Very interesting kiai, don’t you think?

Apparently all the kiai is shouted by shitachi (nito side) and uchitachi has no kiai.


Zun is shouted as shitachi moving towards uchitachi and expresses a young tree growing.


Tan is shouted as shitachi swings down his/her sword. Tan means "sever".


Hettai is shouted as shitachi takes control over uchitachi’s sword.  Hettai means "definite/abusolute".

You do not know what No dance is? Click here.

Move slowly but filled up with ki


They take 8 minutes to finish 5 forms (kata). You may think each kata includes a lot of movements.  However, all the forms are not really complicated either. So it is very slow.

Maybe their bokuto is very heavy so they have to do it slowly, you may think.  Their bokuto is very thin and light like a spatula.

Their bokuto is thin and light to teach their students the direction of the blade (hasuji).

However, after their 5 slow not complicated kata, they sweat like crazy, the head of the dojo says.  He continues, "We feel more tension in kata than in kendo". 

Not surprisingly, some shitachi’s bokuto actually "slashed" uchitachi’s shoulder.  That means they are really trying to express "reality".

  If you think about it, we do not want to stop our bokuto too high above a target in kata either. Yet, our bokuto is hard and heavier. Certainly not like a spatula!

So let's be careful, ey!

So until we have a good control, there is a possibility to hurt our partner as a result of pursuing the "reality". So please be careful if you are using a normal bokuto.

In Gorin no Sho (The Book of Five Rings), Musashi says "By trying to swing fast, we make the hasuji wrong. Thus, it is hard to swing correctly".

These are something we should study in kendo kata as well.

I would like to talk more about what I learned from the article in the next newsletter.


- Comments or Questions -

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

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