The Cyber Dojo -Dojo to Go!-

A Phrase from Samurai: Issho Kemnei

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:47:47 -0500

Isshou Kenmei is not a kendo term but more common in Japan. Basically what they mean is "to work hard". But let's analyse the words more for us, kendoists.

Let me analyse the kanji (Japanese characters) for Isshou kenmei. Isshou is a life time. Kenmei is to devote one's life to accomplish something. However, it is said that the origin of the phrase is Issho kenmei. The kanji for issho means one place. The kanji for kenmei is the same as the previously mentioned. So what issho kenmei means is to devote one's life to protect a land inherited from ancestors. It was considered to be a samurai term.

Both kanji are considered to be correct. However, I would like to see issho kenmei a bit differently. Issho is written as one place. It can also mean a moment as well.

I always tell my students to devote themselves into each cut. What I mean is that they should execute each cut with all they have got without being afraid of getting hit or not hitting their opponent. I, myself, try to commit myself into each cut and each moment.

This can be applied to daily life too. When you are working, devote yourself into the work. When you are studying, devote yourself into the study. When you are playing a game, you should devote yourself into the game.

Devote yourself into whatever you are doing at that moment.

Many kendo sensei also say that in a real battle situation, we don't have another moment.

Therefore, we should value each moment of our lives.

That is why we should work hard as if we devote our lives into whatever we want to accomplish.

Hope this helps you as well as it helps me.

Zanshin After Striking

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0500

Q. I do not know the right way of the Zanshin, I wonder if you could give a better explanation about it explaining all the manners after striking kote men or do .

A. Have you read the article, How Do We Apply Kendo Teachings in Daily Life? This is about Zanshin.

However, I think you are asking me how you should take zanshin in kendo, right? Ok, here it is.

Basically, whatever you strike, after your strike you have to take chudan. If you cannot take chudan soon after your strike, that is fine.

Sometime you just cannot take chudan because after striking men (or other targets) you get close to your opponent. So you just cannot take chudan.

If we cannot take chudan, then how do we take zanshin?

Simply be aware of your opponent. Do not loose eye contact. Do not look away.

You should be able to counterattack or react to your opponent anytime after you execute a strike. That is zanshin.

If you pass through your opponent after striking men, kote, or do, pass through fast so that your opponent cannot get you and turn around and take chudan.

This is a basic form of zanshin.

The 1st Kendo Beginners Seminar Went Well.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:30:00 -0500

It was pleasure to meet 8 new people from different places in Indiana. What surprised me most was that we had 3 female participants! It was pretty surprising. Why? Through my experience, when I had seminars in the past, I did not get a high percentage of female participants.

I had some students from Mudokwan kendo dojo as my support. Without them it would not be as exciting as it was. They helped not only me but also kendo to be known by more Hoosiers (Indiana people).

The participants were very keen to learn kendo, not only the physical side of kendo but also the philosophy behind kendo. I prepared an easy text to cover kendo history and philosophy. We went over the history and philosophy for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, we moved to kendo demonstration.

In kendo demonstration, we showed kata first and bogu demonstration after kata. I don't like to show just movements, so I spent some time to explain what was going on. We spent about 30 to 40 minutes on the kata and bogu demonstration.

After a brief break, we had the participants to strike the volunteers from Mudokwan. All the participants looked so happy. Happy to actually hit people legally! Well, I don't know if that was the reason why they looked so happy, but they surely looked like they were enjoying striking.

After about 20 or 30 minutes of striking, we introduced some basic movements. Thanks to the volunteers, it went so well. Needless to say, the volunteers like kendo a lot. That is why they came and helped me out. They were so keen to instruct the participants. The participants also looked happy to learn from the volunteers.

After 20 or 30 minutes of the basic movement lesson, we ended the seminar with rei (bow). After the seminar, these volunteers and the participants were still talking to each other. I held this seminar to introduce kendo and increase the kendo population. But it turned out to be a good opportunity for me to get to know more people in Indiana. I hope some of the participants will start practicing kendo with us in India.

To the participants: Thank you for your participation. I hope we will see each other in kendo class.
To the volunteers: Thank you for your help. Without your help, the seminar would not be as successful.

Special thanks to Mudokwan.

Shinai Maintenance and How to Strike Gyaku-do

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:06:10 -0500

G'day, Just a quick email to tell you that you have two videos to watch. One is not taken by me though. It is about how to maintain your shinai. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1fv8ir9YKP0oCj&b=WPKvX3_2LIsuBbITc9TVTg If you don't know how to maintain shinai, stop training and learn how to maintain your shinai first. This is THE most important thing to learn. Ok now. How to strike gyaku-do. This is only for news letter subscribers. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1fv8ir9YKP0oCj&b=A7FwN6kl.YcP6DX84JcHmQ You need the user ID and password as usual. There are control buttons at the bottom right of the video. Hope you enjoy. Cheers, Hiro Imafuji

Kendo in street fighting?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:04:12 -0500

I had a very interesting question about kendo. The question was posted at one of my youtube videos, how to strike small kote in kendo.

The question was:

Sir i want to ask if kendo is applicable in street fighting. If yes, in what way??

My answer was:

Kendo is not applicable in street fighting. If a UFC guy comes to me, I will not grab a stick. I will run away. Forget about using kendo in street fighting.

This is a very rare question in Japan, but I think it is very common in other countries. Maybe there are many instructors who get this kind of question, so I would like to share my thoughts.

1. We don't have a stick with us all the time.

Even if I love kendo and kendo is my life, I don't carry my sword or shinai or bokuto with me all the time. So I cannot perform my special kendo moves in street fighting.

2. Unless our opponent has a weapon, any stick as long as shinai is not suitable for a fight.

It is a stick, not a sword. If our opponent doesn't chicken out after our striking him/her, then we will get beaten.

3. We don't learn how to fight or how to beat our opponent.

We never learn how to take others down with a stick. How can we beat others with a stick when we don't know where to strike in a fight?

4. After all, kendo is not for fighting.

Why should we go back down the path and choose the techniques to kill others from the way of the sword? Why should we worry about getting into a fight when we learn how to control ourselves?

Be Wise

There is a story I heard or read, I cannot remember, about how a samurai should be. It goes like this.

There is a horse in your way. What would you do?

If you are a normal person, you would keep going and die by a kick of the horse without even noticing the kick.

If you are good in kendo, you would keep going and react to the kick so you wouldn't get hurt.

If you are a grand master of kendo, you would turn around and find another way.

We all know that a horse tends to kick with her back legs. Why do we risk our lives walking close to a horse?

Avoiding danger is a kendo teaching.

Kendo should make us wise not get us into trouble. So if someone comes to you and ask if kendo is applicable in street fighting, please say no. And tell him/her, kendo will train our sense to avoid danger and help us become wiser. Wisdom is the most effective self-defense, I think.

what grand masters said about shiai?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:39:41 -0500

G'day, One article is up and one video is up. I think the article is very helpful because it is about what we all may have to go through. Even though kendo is to train oneself, there are some people who want to challenge you. There are some people who tell you that your teachers suck or your techniques are bad. We encounter those people all the time. As long as we have shiai (competition) we want to win. Late Murayama sensei used to tell us that if we participated in shiai, we should win. If you participate in shiai to lose, you don't want to be in shiai. That is very disrespectful to your opponents.Late Tsurumaru sensei told us, "Don't think that you will win. Think that you must not lose." They said these things in a simple way but what they said was really deep. We compete in shiai but with whom? It is always ourselves, right? Do we go out there to shiai to beat others? I think we challenge ourselves. We want to try whether or not we have trained correctly. We want to know if our techniques are good and how our mind works. This is why we go and participate in shiai, I think. As I said in the article, we don't want to challenge others but ourselves. Even when we use the words, challenge someone, as if we try to beat them, actually we are challenging ourselves. We have fighting spirits such as "want to win" and "don't want to lose". I think this is very important in a process of training. Such feelings motivate us to practice hard. So these feelings are not bad. We just have to remember that kendo is to train ourselves not to show off what we can do with shinai/sword. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1ZRyx6XS0P0oCj&b=QJSR.1XycZszuUUa4rNq0g The video uploaded is called "How to Practice Footwork in Kendo? Part II". It includes Sayu Ashisabaki, Shiho Ashisabaki and Hiraki Ashi. It also includes how to practice okuri-ashi with a shinai. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1ZRyx6XS0P0oCj&b=1fZdBqcUWWr79BHqTc2YxQ Hope these help. Cheers, Hiro Imafuji

How to Strike Gyaku Do

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:14:14 -0500

powered by EasyWebVideo

It is not so difficult to perform, but it does not mean you should skip learning how to strike normal Do. Please think this way.

"Because it is easy to learn, we learn a difficult technique first."

In kendo, we use oshi-giri (pushing cut) instead of hiki-giri (pulling cut). When we strike in kendo, we go forwards if it is not hiki-waza. In gyaku-do, we do not go forwards after striking it. We go backwards.

As you watch the video, you can see how basic gyaku-do is practiced and how advanced gyaku-do techniques are performed.

Remember. Do not strike gyaku-do like swinging a baseball bat. Besides, like a normal do strike, do not strike gyaku-do when there is no opening. Since it is easy to strike gyaku-do with more strength, it hurts a lot if you miss.

It is very common that people strike do when there is no opening and hit their partner's right arm. It is not cool. It is just vicious. Imagine your opponent swing his/her shinai right at your left arm with a baseball bat swing!

So if you still have a problem with controlling your shinai and cannot hit targets with the right amount of strength, I don't recommend to strike gyaku-do. You will lose your training partners.

Maintenance of Shinai

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:30:00 -0500

This is really important to know. As a kendoist, we all should know how to maintain our shinai. We all know that but how many of us actually check our shinai before and after training? Recently, within two weeks, I found three not-well-maintained shinai. Two of the shinai were my training partners'. Why is it so important to check your shinai and maintain your shinai before training?

Simple. You do not want to hurt your training partners. If your shinai has splinters or is broken, there is a strong possibility that splinters get in your partner's eyes or you can stab your partners with a broken shinai. Personally I have not yet been harmed by a broken shinai but I was newly stabbed by a broken shinai. Several times I got some splinters in my eyes. I heard many accidents caused by a broken shinai. Some people became blind and some got stabbed in their arms by a broken shinai. These should not happen at all. I am sure that kendo is the safest martial art as long as we maintain shinai.

I found a video at sydney kendo club blog, which they found on Youtube, and I would like to share the video with you.

Ok, now you know how to maintain your own shinai. You must check your shinai before training. If you have a broken shinai, do not tape them together. It's not about you, it is about your training partners. If you have a broken shinai, there is only one solution. Do not use it . Change it.

Things you want to check before you train.

1. Splinters/cracks: It is obvious why we should look for them. Sometimes though, you have to be careful because there may be some cracks inside the shinai so you cannot tell from outside.
2. Tsuru: You do not want to have a lose tsuru (string). Reason: Sakigawa will come out and shinai can get into men and stab eyes. You do not want to tighten it too much because it may snap.
3. Nakajime: This should not be too tight but should be tight enough to keep 4 pieces nicely together. Reason: The worst scenario is that when tsuru snaps and all the pieces will become apart.

Probably it is a good idea for your dojo to test your students whether or not they can put shinai together when the students become certain rank. In Guatemala Kendo Association, they make their students put shinai together at 3 kyu grading or something. And if they cannot put shinai together, they will not pass. It is a good system to have so if you belong to a club, it is a good idea to suggest your sense to test his/her students on putting shinai together.

Hope it helps.

How to Practice Footwork in Kendo? Part II

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:07:07 -0500

Sayu Ashisabaki & Shiho Ashisabaki & Hiraki Ashi

There is nothing difficult about thoes footwork except hiraki ashi. One thing you must remember in all the footwork is to return to the basic stance. You do not want to have a crocked stance after moving. You can move however you want but must go back to the basic stance. Concentrate on your footwork and be aware of how your feet are moving at the very beginning of footwork acquisition.

It is very common to cross the legs in hiraki ashi. Of course, it is OK to perform such footwork once you have acquired the basic footwork. But at the beginner's level, it is not wise to cross your legs or not to return to the basic stance.

Why can't we cross our legs or do we have to go back to the basic stance while we will NOT have to when having become an advanced student?

It is because crossing legs and other footwork such as tsugi ashi and ayumi ashi are very easy to do. In other words, you don't have to learn these footwork. But okuri ashi is very hard to do. The hardest footwork in kendo is the basic footwork. Be patient and thoroughly acquire the footwork. Many people concentrate on the striking part of kendo. But it is much easier than okuri ashi. Thus, if you are a beginner, even though you are attracted to striking part of kendo, I suggest that you should work on footwork. Especially, if you do not want to stop improving in the future.

Please refer to an article called "How to Practice Footwork in Kendo?" too. In the video, there are some tips to improve your kendo footwork (suri ashi).

Hope the video helps.

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Challenging others in Kendo?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

Q. Is there a way to challenge other dojos or people to a kendo match? A. No. We do not do that anymore. Why do you want to challenge others? Please think kedno as a way not a part of samurai movie. I forgot to tell you something. We do not challenge, but we ask others to train with us. This is the difference between the old style fighting techniques when people used to kill each other and kendo. So please do understand what the way is. I recieved an answer from the person who asked the question above. You asked me why I wanted to challenge others, my answer is because the people I would like to challenge insulted my technique and my sensei! I know that martial artist are not suppose to do that anymore but some times we should. Here is my answer. I am sorry to hear what happened to you. However, do you consider them as kendoists? People like them should not considered as kendoists. We, kendoists, do not insult others. Please do not be like them. Once you get better and stronger than them, they will know that they should shut up. Prove them that you are better and stronger than you in training. If they are not kendoists, then ignore them. I get all sorts of racial insults but do you think I should challenge them? Do you think I should go out there with my bokuto and beat the crap out of them? Then what happens? Do you think this is the way? I know you are furious, but the most important thing in kendo is to train yourself and focus on yourself. I just received a new email from you. > is there any way we could help people with our skills anymore? Do you know kata no.3? It does not kill or hurt uchitachi at the end. All shitachi does is to point the tip of bokuto at the bridge of nose telling uchitachi, "If you try to kill me now, I can kill you right away. But I will not kill you so live with and help others." This is kata No.3. We learn how to control our mind, emotion and also body through kendo in order to reach the level of shitachi in Kata No.3.That is "we do not kill or hurt others". We are trying to reach that level through kendo. By doing so, we become better individuals whom other cannot insult or make fun of because they just cannot. I really understand how furious you are. I often times feel the same way whenever I get racial insults. But I try not to choose a way that throws me out of "the way". Only way that we can help others is to follow what we learn form kendo and we become role models for them. That is how I think. Let's change the world!

Just a quick email to inform you two things

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:44:47 -0500

G'day, How are you doing? It is pretty warm here in Indiana today. I have two things to inform you today. One: There is one new article called "shu, ha, ri". http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1Za5TFt.uP0oCj&b=r.QTqjd9cYlvgiiLk5IsRQ Two: One guy unsubscribed the newsletter because he had received too many emails. That was a surprise for me since I have been feeling guilty about not updating enough. But when I think about it, if you subscribe to the update notice from the top left of the Cyber Dojo Page, then you will get many emails including this subscribers newsletter. If you have subscribed this newsletter, you don't have to subscribe the email notice. That simply informs you when the website is updated. So unsubscribe the other email notice if you are reading this newsletter. Have a good one. Cheers, Hiro Imafuji

kendo seminar in Indiana

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:26:18 -0500

How are you doing? First of all, I emailed back to those who emailed me with questions. If you have not received a reply from me please let me know. I could not email back during my business trip from the end of last month to the beginning of this month so I tried to write back at once the other day. Now we will have a kendo beginners seminar on Saturday the 19th, April. This is for complete beginners so if you have friends or know someone who are interested in kendo or Japanese culture, please let them know about the seminar. For more detail, please go to http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1daUIbYA8P0oCj&b=K_jp03ikcGvG5ULm.XdG5w There is a registration form there too. I will be emailing you again for a new article soon. Cheers, Hiro Imafuji

Kendo Wisdom "Shu Ha Ri"

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

This phrase indicates that there are 3 phases in kendo, or when learning something.

Shu is a kanji for to protect, but in this case it means to "keep the teachings" as in "to keep the promise". When you start learning something, you listen to your teacher. You have to do what your teacher tells you to do in order to acquire the basics correctly. You may want to go somewhere else and learn some more cool techniques or something. If you do that in this phase, you will get confused and cannot acquire the correct basics. That is why it is very important to CHOOSE the right teacher. It is also said that we should take more time to find the right teacher than actually start learning.

Ha is a kanji for "to break". Here it means to break the teachings you have acquired from your teacher and learn something new from other teachers. It sounds bad, doesn't it? Once you acquired the basics, you need to learn something different to improve yourself physically and mentally even more. I will explain this later in this article.

Ri is a kanji for to leave. You leave from what you have learned from your teachers and establish your own style. This is a state of independence.

So how do we know which phase we are in? Shu may be easy. This is the very beginning. You were born in a new world. You are just like a newborn baby. You have to learn how to crawl, how to walk, how to grab and so on. You have to learn very basics skills during this phase. Maybe it takes five to 10 years to have solid basics.

Ha is a phase that you meet all new people. So in shu it is your family members to teach you these basic skills. Ha is like schools we go to. You will have new society and new teachers. On top of what you have learned from your previous teachers, you learn new teachings from other people. This is also a phase that you try your basic skills and new skills and improve them. It is like a trial and error phase.
This phase will last a long time. I have been doing kendo since 1980 but I am still in this phase. Going back to basics and learning new skills and philosophies are the daily routine.

Ri is probably 7th dan and 8th dan level. Based on what you have learnt, you establish your own style. It doesn't mean that you can call your own style something other than kendo. Since I am not in the phase I don't know what it is like. Maybe it is like you have your own way of doing things and it is okay because whatever you do is based on the basics and kendo philosophy. Everyone admires you. You are great in kendo and as a person. Maybe that is the Ri phase.

Hope the article helps.

Kendo Seminar, April 2008

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:09:12 -0500

April 19, 2008

We will have a kendo seminar for beginners at Mudokwan, Indiana.
This is a good opportunity for you who have been wanting to do kendo but could not start because of many reasons.

We don't really have many dojo in Indiana, and so needless to say, it is hard for people to start kendo. Besides, it is hard for many to train kendo during weekdays. Not many can drive more than 1 hour to get to the dojo and another 1 hour to go home. I know there are some people who do that, but it is not everyone's cup of tea.

Hope this is a start for you if you are thinking to start kendo. We will have a kendo seminar on Saturday, April 19, 2008. It starts from 2pm. You can still come and start kendo after a hard drinking session on Friday night. If you really want to start kendo, this is the opportunity for you.

What we will do in the seminar is:

2:00: History and Philosophy of Samurai Swordsmanship
2:30: Kendo demonstration
3:00: brief break
3:10: Try Kendo
3:30: Kendo basics

This is an introductory seminar. If you like the seminar and me (hopefully), then we will start regular training sessions.

The fee is $25.00 for this seminar. You don't have to pay it in advance. You can pay when you come.

But the space is limited. So please make sure that you reserve your spot.

Again the seminar is held:

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Venue: Mudokwan, 8230 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, In 46201
Fee: $25.00

Fill out the form below please if you are interested in the seminar to reserve your spot. Once you subscribe the form, your spot will be reserved for the seminar.

Before filing out the form, please read this carefully. Please type your full name in the "name" box. I am sure that there will be some people with the same first or last names so I want to avoid name confusion.

Once you click the "register" button, you will receive a confirmation email. There is an URL link in the confirmation email. You have to click the link. If the link appears unclickable, copy the link and paste it in the URL bar in your browser.

This confirmation is important because without you confirming, your spot for the seminar is not reserved and also you cannot receive further information about the seminar. For example, if too many people apply for the seminar we will have to divide the participants into some groups and arrange additional seminars on different dates. If such thing happens, we would like to inform you.

So if you don't receive a confirmation email, there is a strong possibility that you gave us a wrong email address. If that is the case, please fill out the form again.

I am looking forwards to meeting you at the seminar.

These are the fliers. If you know someone who are/might be interested in kendo, please pass it around or give them the URL of this site.

A flier with tear-off

A flier without tear-off

I think you should get this copy

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:25:42 -0500

G'day, How are you doing? This is a quick email to tell you that there is a new article in the Kendo Q&A and there is a reading material for you. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1bL6vUBdlP0oCj&b=CZWElrVIFLC62yiZDl_dkQ Ok, a good friend of mine told me about this file. I wanted to translate its original (written in Japanese) to English but it has been already translated!! Maybe you know about it but in case you don't here it is. After clicking the following URL, look for a line that says, "[PDF]The Kendo Reader Noma Hisashi (1910-1939)" http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4jrDq&m=1bL6vUBdlP0oCj&b=WxyJn7nrM5tZ9i.mLrtvvw I haven't read it through the entire book but it looks like a good translation. I am not an English native speaker plus I have an original book. So to me it is understandable. If you find some parts that are hard to understand or seems wired let me know. I will compare them with the original. I will be on a business trip this week so there is a strong possibility that I cannot reply to your email quickly. Please forgive me for that. Cheers, Hiro Imafuji