Hello! :)
 

Hello to KW!

Just introducing myself...
i just started training in Kendo last week http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif i'm really enjoying it so far, but the local dojo only holds classes once a week; i obviously train and practice outside of formal class (nearly 2 hours/day).

As far as prior experience, I've trained in Shorin-Ryu/Shotokan for 8, nearly 9 years and hold Nidan rank. I stopped training in Shotokan in 2002. I've dabbled in a bit of TKD, wushu, a little aikido, judo, and some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. During my time training in Shotokan i competed in many national/int'l tournaments and divisions for kata, weapons, creative/showmanship, and sparring, and was also part of my dojo's demo team -- performing katas and creative weapons forms with Kama and Katana.

Kendo has always interested me, so i took it upon myself to find a local dojo to learn the basics, though i'm not sure yet if they do gradings/rankings at this dojo as it is only one sensei (4th dan), once a week, and he only takes a certain number of students at a time (i think the number was 12, but i'm #13 -- after having a short talk regarding my experience he allowed me to join his classes).

Welcome to Kendo World Forum and welcome to our Martial Art.


I hope you enjoy Kendo! And good luck for your training!

thank you very much http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/biggrin.gif

I had a similar experience myself actually. I used to train in Tae Kwon Do and Karate.

One session my Tae Kwon Do teacher did was in a hall that had a Kendo class. I'd always loved the idea of doing Kendo and decided to go watch.

One day after Tae Kwon Do I joined the Kendo class, picked up the shinai... and that was it. I never did Tae Kwon Do again. I dedicated my time and training to Kendo and Iaido and the rest is history as they say.

Its one of the best choices I ever made in my life. I have gotten so much more out of Kendo than I could have got out of my local Tae Kwon Do class.
I've travelled the world, I've been to International Student Seminars, and I've fought for my country in International Shiai. Kendos given me some great opportunites and I'm truly grateful for that.

I can just imagine if I'd stayed at my local TKD club. I'd probably just be training once a week in my local community hall for the rest of my life....

i stopped Shotokan just over 4 years ago -- im taking aikido as a PE class here at uni, and the instructor had his own dojo in a city about 25 minutes away from where my dorm is, so he directed me to his website.

originally i wanted to train with him in aikido, but i saw that they offered kendo once a week, so i went with that as it had always fascinated me.

Kendo, as i percieve it, is one of the most difficult arts to master -- intense training in both the physical and spiritual aspects -- concepts of control, etc...

In physical arts not involving weapons, it is easy to grasp the physical concepts because your weapon(s) is/are your body, and therefore you are in complete control nearly all of the time. such isnt the ase with kendo -- it takes lots of dedication and practice to make your shinai act like an extension of your arm -- you cant swing it around blindly and hope to hit something.

also, kendo leaves far less openings and opportunities during keiko than in sparring in other arts -- kendoists are very defensive and have amazing reaction time -- though i must admit that my previous training has proven useful -- having sparred for countless hours in my shotokan training has conditioned my mind into constantly observing and looking for openings and weaknesses in my opponents, and taking them the second they are open, and perhaps even creating my own openings through mind games.

I think as you progress you will find that kendo is less defensive than you perceive now. One of the hardest things to learn when starting to spar in kendo is to not block. Instead of blocking your opponent's strike you will be encouraged to counter-attack. Can be a bit counter-intuitive to most folks.

BTW - which dojo do you belong to? I assume from your location it's in Southern California. Is it a member of SCKF or SCKO?

Good luck,

RC_Kenshi

Redlands, CA. It's a very new dojo, opening late last year in 2005. their aikido program is affiliated with ASU, but im not sure if their kendo is affiliated with any kendo organizations. I may check in with Covina's Kendo Dojo ( http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/6360/ ) -- this summer -- but its a bit far from uni @ about 40-45 minutes (and even farter when i move back home for the summer -- then its nearly 2 hours away, the current dojo i'm attending will only be about 45 from home during the summer)

Who is your kendo sensei?

Welcome!!!

from their website:

"Kendo Instructor
Yuichiro Kakihara, Ph. D. holds a third dan in Kendo, granted by the Japan Kendo Federation in 1988. His direct teacher is Fujio Obari (7th Dan, Kyoshi). He is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at California State University, San Bernardino."

im assuming he never advanced in rank when he came to the US to study and teach.

first of all, welcome to the kendo community.

wow 3dan since '88, thats almost as long as my father, 1dan since like '74, still is, but one of the best out there for this age.

What's the website?

www.aikidoredlands.org

It does not appear to be affiliated with the SCKF/SCKO or AUSKF.

welcome welcome to the forums..and to Kendo