The reason is that I’ll be on my M2 motorcycle course. And, of course, asking an instructor from another club to come to Niagara on the May long weekend to teach the class might be kind of tough.

Hmm. Then again, they’d be in Niagara on the May long weekend. That’s pretty awesome in and of itself. Maybe I COULD convince someone to come down and enjoy the long weekend. Hmm………

Class is still cancelled, unless you hear otherwise.

1) How does it handle in the wind?

I have no idea. It wasn’t windy when I rode it last Saturday morning to practice. However, it sits right behind me so I don’t think I’ll feel it if the wind’s coming from directly in front of me. And we all know how often THAT happens…

2) How is it at highway speeds?

I have no idea. I only have my M1 right now (3 weeks to go until my M2 course). I had it up to 80 km/hr and it was fine.

3) Why didn’t you make it out of metal?

Because I made it out of scrap materials hanging around my garage.

Here are the pics.

There you go.

Oh, and it’s sitting on a 1987 Yamaha Virago 535.

Next step: try and get a nicer rack made (perhaps in metal) that sits lower to the seat or goes around the rear seat.

This quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein.*

Every day we live, we are faced with a singular challenge: how will I become better today?

What can you do to become better today?

Could you treat people nicer?
Could you treat YOURSELF nicer?
Could you eat more healthily?
Could you modify your attitude to become more positive?

There are myriad things you could do to become a better person today.

Did you do any of them?

Every time we train in Kendo, we do the same things, over and over again. Every day, kirikaeshi, big men, big kote, big do. My kids often whine that Kendo’s always the same. My response is that it’s never the same, unless you’re putting in the same effort as before.

This reminds me of a story that CAN be attributed to Mr. Einstein:

“Student: Dr. Einstein, Aren’t these the same questions as last year’s [physics] final exam?

Dr. Einstein: Yes; But this year the answers are different.”

Beginners and 8th dan sensei all strike the same strikes. HOW they perform those strikes is the difference.

If you’re not progressing in Kendo, it’s probably because you’re comfortable doing Kendo the way you’ve always been doing it.

The next time you step into the dojo, keep in mind you are there to improve yourself.

That is the purpose of Kendo.

That is the purpose of life.

* Some sources say there is no evidence to support that claim. The first appearance of a similar quote is in 1983 in Rita Mae Brown’s book “Sudden Death”.

I’ve talked about this with my indescribably awesome wife and she’s said she’s fine with the idea, so – wow – time to start making this dream a reality.

The big question of course is “Why would you want to do this?”

The answer’s pretty simple: I want to see as much of the country (and the US) as possible. Doing it by motorcycle puts you IN the environment, not separate from it, so it’s a better way to travel. And, most importantly, I want to train with as many different Sensei and kendoists as possible. Every match is an opportunity to learn and develop. I think it’ll be an awesome journey on many levels.

So, here I go. I’ve announced the intention. I’ll keep everyone posted on progress.

I talked with my student later about why he didn’t do that. His response reminded me of words I’d uttered myself in U of T tournaments past. “I didn’t want to be known as THAT guy who won by pushing out a smaller opponent.”

It was interesting to hear that. I’d lost a match in overtime years earlier because “I didn’t think it was a proper way to win” the match. I backed off slightly and my opponent promptly took advantage of that and scored a point, winning the match. A former sensei said to me after the match that I should have pushed my opponent out because, after all, it’s a tournament. You lose, you’re done.

Pushing in keiko is generally a waste of energy and time. In tournament, there’s a different dynamic to pushing. When there are clear rules about how points are scored, it’s important to know what they are. If you can avoid taking penalties and get your opponent to take one or two, you’re closer to winning.

Is it “perfect world Kendo”? Of course not. Ideally we’d win because we did our best Kendo. The reality is if you win by making your opponent take two penalties, you still win.

Obviously, Kendo isn’t sumo. Only scoring points by pushing your opponents out of the ring isn’t good Kendo. However, if there’s a reasonable opportunity to “push your opponent off a cliff” (the metaphor I like to use for stepping out of bounds), I think it’s warranted.

I should also point out it’s absolutely fine if you make your opponent step out because they’re backing up in response to pressure from you. If they step off the cliff because they’re not aware of the edge of the ring, well, that’s their problem, isn’t it? Same result, different method – a push with spirit vs a physical push.

From ‘Stir it Up’ by Howard Jones

Yes, you poor souls who’ve had to drive with me long distances listening to my 80′s electronic-pop mix know I like Howard Jones.

One thing you may not know about Howard is that he’s the musical director for the Soka Gakkai sect of Buddhism. Looking back at his song lyrics over the past 25 years I’m amazed I didn’t pick up on many of the positive messages embedded in his music. So now, older and somewhat wiser, I listen to the same music with a different ear and a new perspective on life. Howard still rocks : )

Kendo has many challenges to one’s body and spirit. Physically, it can be tough. I recall training at the University of Toronto back in the late 80′s with more skilled opponents who were rough on me (from my perspective). When I went to Japan, I realized they weren’t rough at all…

One’s spirit can take a beating too. Many were the days I felt my Kendo sucked, and that I sucked as a result. The truth was far from my perception of things, but I don’t deny how I felt. I suspect you will go through a phase or two like this in your Kendo training. Especially when you play people who are better than you all the time. It can be demoralizing, if you let it be.

Remember this: your training partner is your best friend in Kendo.

You can’t do Kendo alone. You need someone to train with. Your choice of training partner is very important to your Kendo development. If I had my choice, I’d train every day with the top Sensei in the world because my Kendo would get better.

The stronger your opponents, the stronger you will become.

When you look at it that way, it makes sense that “The adversary will now become my friend”.

Another way to look at tough training partners is in the words of Jim Rohn, “Don’t wish it was easier. Wish you were better.”

Skilled and Tough training partners are a blessing.*

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*Note: as long as those skilled and tough training partners know their limits and don’t purposefully hurt you. There is a world of difference between someone who demonstrates they want to help you improve and someone who just beats on you because they can. Learn to discern the difference.

That being said, knowing how to strike a good tsuki hit is important. In the Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon Waza Keiko Ho (we call them “bokuto-waza” at our club), the first technique consists of the basic strikes – Men, Kote, Do AND Tsuki. Other sensei talk about focusing on pushing towards tsuki before snapping a men or kote strike. “Holding centre” relies on having good kamae that’s focused on the tsuki of your opponent.

So, tsuki’s important, but not taught much. Here are a few things I’ve gleaned about when and when not to strike tsuki.

• In Competition – In my experience in Canadian tournaments, it’s generally accepted that if you’re below 3rd dan you probably shouldn’t be throwing a tsuki in shiai. Sometimes you’ll see a mudansha player attempt one and invariably the judges on the sideline cringe.
• Against junior players – that means if you’re 16 and under, congratulations – you’re probably not going to get tsuki’d. 17 years old? Welcome to the senior division : )
• Against anyone who’s better than you. This sort of doesn’t need to be said, and yet, it does. Especially if you’re going up against an 8th-dan sensei. Just how bad of a beating do you feel like today? You can easily get one if you decide to throw tsuki against every sempai in your dojo.

This is probably not the definitive list of things to consider when you think about tsuki, but it’s a start. Comments welcome : )

Kendo has a wonderful oral tradition (and no, I don’t mean toothbrushing). It’s how information gets passed down from sensei to student. It’s a good thing, unless you forget what the sensei told you, or if it was relayed to you in a somewhat cryptic manner, or if it seems to contradict the advice given to you by another sensei…

Watch for items tagged “Unwritten Rules of Kendo”. They are not Kendo “secrets” or anything. Just a compilation of items that may or may not be known to you. And of course, if you know of any other “unwritten rules”, please feel free to share them.

Enjoy!

They’re probably more useful to me…but I hope you find them beneficial as well.

Here’s a breakdown of the match with a few pointers I think will be helpful to my students (and other kendoka) when they’re next in shiai.

Let’s be clear: teaching a martial art like Kendo is a challenge. Especially in a small dojo. Every student has their own reason for being there. Sometimes it’s tough to try and meet everyone’s needs in a class, but overall, there has to be value for everyone who comes to train.

Every instructor needs to be able to do the following:

1. Evaluate a student’s needs, personality, level, motivation and challenges.
2. Demonstrate properly.
3. Teach at the level of the student.
4. Allow students to experiment – and also correct student mistakes.

Oh, and much of the time, instructors have to do this on the fly because they need to take into account who showed up for class, the energy level of each student and the current ability of each student to absorb the lessons they need to learn.

I think another other challenge is this: there are no courses you can attend in Canada that I’m aware of that teach you how to be a good Kendo instructor.

(By the way, I think this is true about the MAJORITY of martial arts dojos in Canada. I can’t comment knowledgeably about the experience in other countries.)

We’ve all heard the phrase “Those who can’t do, teach.” In the realm of martial arts, this isn’t true. Those who CAN do are the ones who are teaching. However, just because you CAN do something shouldn’t automatically qualify you to be an instructor.

I’ve been fortunate to have trained with many talented Sensei in Canada and Japan. I’ve been teaching Kendo for 7 years and I continue to learn from my students every day. The most important thing I’ve learned is that to be a good instructor, one needs to focus on the needs of the student and tailor the training accordingly. To do otherwise can lead to frustration for the instructor and student which can destroy the harmony in the dojo we strive to create.