Nanseikan Kendo Club 剣道クラブ南西館

It never rains but it pours... We suddenly have a surfeit of Kendo equipment suppliers! All of these suppliers are recommended and soon I will update the buying guide to include them. First and foremost is the new local branch of Eikobudogu . I have been a customer of theirs both online and in person at their shop in Tokyo and can recommend them highly. Junko Nomura is a Melbourne-based Kenshi who trains at Kenshikan. She is 4th dan in Kendo and is taking over Eiko Budogu's international operations and restarting their English-language site. The exciting thing about Junko's involvement with Eiko is that it means she can bring samples to our dojo, have stock on hand to sell and even take orders and measurements on orders for larger purchases such as bogu. Eiko has a good range of products from all price levels, the company is young, energetic and all their staff do Kendo. I was going to recommend that we all support Junko-san because she is a local, but I don't th...

The second beginners' course is finished and well done to all my minions the new students! The energy in the dojo is great and everyone is progressing really well. Above is the video I promised of the basics of footwork and suburi that I would like everyone to practice during the break. Here is a sample exercise routine that I recommend: Rei and sonkyo: this is an important part of the practice. Focus on : bend from the hips—don't stick your chin out!; straight back at all times; always take a half step forwards into kamae position, never backwards. Okuriashi pattern (3 forwards, 3 back) repeated 10 times. Focus on : snapping the back foot up into place; keeping shinai tip pointed at enemy's throat; left heel off the ground both forwards and backwards Single-time sho-men : 10 times. Focus on : start slowly and speed up; stop the shinai by squeezing the grip ( tenouchi ); swing straight through the middle of your body; finish with arms outstretched horizontal...

First, thanks to those people who are helping with all the dojo packing-up chores in the background. It's great for me to be able to finish talking to some students about something important like how to fold the hakama, and to find all those little jobs already done. Thank you! Secondly, here are two funny Kendo videos, the first one I spoke about today because Jerry's kiai reminded me, and the second one is a similar, Kendo related one, based on a famous old story of a teacher and his student. Enjoy!