Mumeishi 2015

Two of our youngest students competed at the international Mumeishi kendo competition in London. I am very proud to say that they did amazing. Leon who participated in the 10yr to 12yr age group fought his way to the final and won silver. Lacee who was competing for her first time in any competition, won a bronze medal in the 6yr to 9yr group. Congratulations to both of them for their hard work, dedication and martial spirit.

BKA grading at Stoke

During the recent BKA grading at Stoke, the Westaways, father and son, demonstrated the quality of their Kendo and thus were awarded their BKA yondan and BKA ikkue grades. Congratulations to both of them! You make us all proud!

Indoor suburi

Have you ever wanted to do a bit of practice at home? Unless you have a house with very tall ceilings, doing suburi at home is very difficult. So here is my solution to the problem: using a spare bokken and with the skillful help of Lewis from Torbay Guitar Repairs, I got the perfect indoor suburi bokken!

Lewis cut down my bokken, and even drilled holes, so bolts can be attached to add weight. Its only 45cm long, so it clears my ceiling perfectly.

Barefoot running

Apparently, barefoot running is becoming trendy. However, in Kendo, we always run barefoot. This is an interesting video which talks about the importance of good technique used in barefoot running. I found it specially interesting when thinking of fumikomi: The video shows that there is a greater impact on the runner when landing on the heel, and that this impact can lead to long term injuries. When doing fumikomi, one should also avoid landing on the heel to avoid injuries. In my humble opinion, this video highlights the importance of good fumikomi technique.

Growing in number

Over the last few months, the club has grown in numbers. It is great to see so many of us training together and helping each other to improve our Kendo. May the club continue to do so well and may we all continue to share the path for a long time.

Grading February 2013

Monday 18th February we had the honour and privilege of having Fujii Sensei come down to our dojo for our Club Grading. It was great seeing everyone do their best, well done all!

More important than ranks and grades, it was a great training session and we all benefited from Sensei's advice and pointers.

Club Grading

A date for everyone’s calendar: 18th of February we have the honour of Sensei Fujii 7 dan kioshi travelling up to Plymouth. Sensei has agreed to carry out our Club Grading on that day (the grading is for club members only). Please do not miss this opportunity as there will not be another grading for at least 3 months. We all have work to do between now and then, so let's all train hard!

Mumeshi 3's 2012

Congratulations to the members of our club who participated in the Mumeshi 3's 2012! This was a great experience and it was great watching good Kendo throughout the day!

 

Congratulations Leon

Congratulations to Leon, the youngest kendoka of our club. He participated in his first competition, the Mumeishi Kendo championships in London. He fought with great spirit and came 3rd in his age group and won a bronze medal.

Interservices 2012

As well as teaching at Ronin kai dojo, Sensei is also the Royal Navy kendo coach. The Interservices Championship 2012 took place in September, and the Navy team won GOLD in both kendo team and kendo individual events!

We are all very happy with the outcome, as the Navy kendo team members also train at our dojo regularly.

Congratulations to the Royal Navy Kendo team for winning Gold for second year running!

Kendo for all ages

Kendo should be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their age. From the very young to the very old, we can all enjoy our journey on the way of the sword. With this spirit, the youngest member of our club took a trip to Kodokan dojo last March to train with fellow kendoka his own age under the supervision of Budden sensei.

Beautiful concept

I read this at World Kendo Network, and thought it was too good not to share. Enjoy!

Through kendo and the ascetic training of the sword we seek to master The Way.

The Way (lit. roadway or path) in Japanese and Asian culture was established through the practices and studies of Zen, Shintoism and nature as the most effective means of coming to understand oneself and the universe as a whole.

These days, the turmoil of modern society is often caused by the isolation, or disconnection, of the individual. Essentially the earth is a part of the universe and humans are a part of the earth.

In accordance with The Way we can come to realise perfect harmony within ourselves and the universe, and grasp an understanding that the world is truly united as one.

In accomplishing this Way, where the world becomes as one as a cause of great harmony in the universe, Kendo will be at the forefront (lit. vanguard) of achieving global harmony.

By 光陵(ko ryo)
Translation: Greg Hennessey
Source: World Kendo Network

Tides of life

The fortunes of maritime people have always been and always will be at the mercy of The Sea. The tide brings good fortune, and it also takes it away. Likewise the tides of life bring people together one day and make them part the next one.

The fate of the wave people may take them in different directions:

Some come, others go,
some return, some drift away.
Some to other ports,
others to distant lands,
scattered like maple leaves in the autumn wind
by the shore of the great lake.

Journeys expand horizons and broaden understanding, stagnant water never reaches the sea. Samurai spirit strengthens with these experiences, and furthers its understanding of The Way.

In the mean time, in all four corners of the earth, all remain united in the spirit of Kendo, until paths and swords cross again.

Visiting Bilbao Kendo Club

Last December, one of our Kendoka was able to travel to Bilbao, Spain and had the chance to train with the Bilbao Kendo Club. Training was great, very hard work, very energetic and very good advice! Everybody was very warm and welcoming. Many thanks to everybody from Bilbao Club and hope we can train together again in the future!

Special guests

A few weeks ago we had a special visitor: we had the pleasure of Sensei Alex Ansell's company during our weekly training. It was a great session, very hard work and with plenty of useful pointers to help us improve our Kendo. Senseis Ansell and Westaway visited Cornwall during the week and had a great time training there as well. We look forward to Sensei Ansell's next visit!

Great training day

This week we had a great training day! Most of our club members where there, plus we had two visiting kendoka coming from Exeter! Having so many people was great -- we all worked really hard and enjoyed a good bash! Thanks to everyone for their hard work and look forward to our next session!

Training in Penzance Again

According to Google Maps, distance from Plymouth to Penzance is around 70 miles. Travelling time of about 1 1/2 hr. But it was definitely worth it! Fujii Sensei was there tonight, and we had a great time training with everybody down there.

13 Assassins

On a slightly unrelated topic, but which may be of interest to all of us as practitioners of the art of the sword: there is a Samurai film showing at Plymouth arts centre this week called 13 assassins. Haven't seen the film myself (yet) but reviews are very positive and some fellow Kendoka have greatly recommended it. So, if you get a chance, it seems like a worthy film to watch.

Training in Cornwall

Just travelled back from Cornwall. Carlos and I went training at Penzance Club with Phill Booth Sensei, Realy good training. Learnt so much, worked on sema and tama.