[ssyyyrruho]

The first Shido Ryu Kendo Seminar (dan grading) was held in Cornwall, the last week in September. Surprisingly there was a heat wave all week. Originally intended for the last week in August, we couldn't get booked because the credit crunched Britain and his wife decided not to fly off abroad this year. But we were lucky, because the week we had wanted turned out to be the wettest week on record since 1920! (With global warming, and enough rain, rain forests in Britain?)
Usually, as just the Hatomoto dojo 'crazy crowd' we do more Cornish pasties, beach boy stuff and boozing, than we do practising Kendo. Our seminars are holidays, too. But, this year was different. Not surrendering to the politics of 'kendo coaching' in Britain, my club and I were expelled from the UK national association (or 'affiliation' as it is claimed to be in its goodbye letter). So, I had some reorganisation to do....
We've had a literary and poetry society for at least 20 years, based upon the Do (theology) of Kendo. And my dojo is based upon 240 Kendo waza most of which can be practised with bokuto and Iaito. So, I just put the two together, as a Ryu. A style of Kendo that avoids all the sterility of politics and the divisions of Bu. The Shido Ryu Kendo dan grade system, Being based upon the Do of Kendo, and upon learning 240 practical waza, isn't a political form of administration such as any national association of Kendo might become, (or has nowadays). It's just Kendo.
However, I'm not a fool. To found a dojo, you need divine inspiration. But to found a Ryu, you need some higher qualified advice, and check out the finer details (of what you think you might be doing, but might not be). So, we went to find Fujii Sensei, in Penzance...
I must admit, I was a bit surprised by the quality of the house and the street he lives in. And his local pub (the Alexander) is a brilliant oasis; we went back there every night for the rest of the week.
And the advice we got, was indispensable....
There are more than 20 meanings of the word, shi. One of them means poetry. (So I was right about the poetry society!) But which interpretation would be used in the calligraphy for the shi, of Shido Ryu Kendo?
I had an idea of "soul" as the spirit of the do of Kendo. And fortunately, Fujii Sensei agreed. There's a meaning of shi, a quiet form of inner hope. Like a privately held hope for a better and happier future. I liked that. And if that sentiment of Shido Ryu Kendo is something that can only be held privately to the individual, it can't become a source of factional power, for conflicting political factions in any Kendo administration.
It was a nice week. Did some good Kendo. Came home. No problem.
But, just one more thing....
My students told me about an abbreviation being used in the WKF, in regard to me. wwpwd. Meaning "What would Phil Wright do?" I did laugh at that, because whether sarcasm or serious, it was funny. And now you've read about Shido Ryu Kendo, I can add my own fun abbreviation: tiwpwhd.

Phil Wright: Shido Ryu Kendo.
Hatamoto dojo. UK

Post Script: Naivety should never be punished, because it is not a crime. And, I'm often awed by the lack of guile of people who 'teach' Kendo...
Every action in life, has its reaction; shikake and oji. But, to run a Kendo dojo, there must also be something else. That 'tiwpwhd fun abbreviation' about Shido Ryu Kendo, means... "That is what Phil Wright has done!" But did I really do anything? Is my dojo, or Kendo, really any different?
Sometimes, just doing nothing, whilst others act, is an act of courage that reveals hidden strengths. The guile of good humour, is such a strength... In all the noise of the gaggle of Kendo geese, nobody heard me laughing, as my expelled dojo became the British Ryu of Kendo it was, anyway.

And tiwpwhd- just laughed.

[Vemnagelignc]

I think I'll just nip out to the kitchen and put the kettle on...

b

[erepsysoulperj]

tiwpwhd

What's this?

[wvbwxol]

What's this?

This is what Pamela would have done?

[PriernPayorse]

this is what phil wright has done?

...what do i win? can it be a nice sandwich; i'm hungry.


[papmo:Pointless Abbrevations Piss Me Off]

[cigattIcTot]

my bullshido detectors are goin nuts