Merry Christmas Mr. Nabeyama

Wow ... some weekend I've had. Probably one of the more memorable Christmases I've ever had actually, not in the true spirit of Christmas I wouldn't say, well actually I don't know. It might well be. It's just not very traditional I suppose. You can tell it's going to be a long blog when, even the writer isn't quite sure what he wants to write about. Actually that's not fair. I know what I want to write, I'm just not sure what to make of it. There we go. The love was certainly all around ... pure unadulterated love as kendokas spread the joy of kendo to one another. (Sounds dodge there!) Bliss, knowledge, and experience were our presents, something money can never buy. (well not directly anyways) So first of all, Happy Christmas.

Winter in the Kok

So I'm back in Thailand, and what have we learned? My first keiko was at Chula. Everyone said I had improved which got me chuffed to bits. Good morale boost and representation of UCL Kendo! To be fair most people there were either my level or lower. So yesterday when I went to the first usual Sunday keiko at the Japanese School, I was swiftly brought back down to Earth. The joys of getting creamed by 5-7 Dans.


It was Yamamoto sensei's last practise.

Jodan

Since we mentioned Junji in my last post, let's discuss this. Time and again, someone would come along and tell me I should do Jodan. The last time it was Shohei's uncle with an anecdote about how his friend used to be crap like me, but switched to Jodan and is now amazing. This time it was Junji. He argued my hands are faster than my feet (which apparently made my Do easier to hit as a counter to my Men), and of course I have the height. Hiroki then joined in the conversation and added that the only reason he's doing Jodan now is because he was shit at Chudan. What a reason. Well ... what if I become an amazing Jodan player but have never tried?

Concentration

Another week passes as I search for a job. If anyone reading this is a banker, give me a job please.
At least I've now renewed the contract for my flat so I don't have to deal with the whole moving + flat hunting gore.

Reflection

So let's do a quick reflection about my kendo thus far. In Japan this Summer I was focusing on how to move more like a Japanese kendoka, just because it looks beautiful. Yes, it is probably also more efficient and effective, but hey ... details.

Kendo = Kufu: experimentation or self-discovery, long road

So I think after a while I was getting more used to it, and I have to start focusing on actually hitting stuff again, rather than my lower body + legs. My accuracy has been rubbish and I havent really hit sweet sounding datotsu. This was clearly evident at the central region taikai I participated in Thailand. I was too busy trying to be a dragonfly rather than getting them ippons. I lost all my matches, bar the one I drew. Fuck that! Time to turn it into something useful for my kendo, because it so can be.

To do that … I must focus on my kenzen. Sounds easy enough, and even obvious you might say. Not really. Like shooting, if you don’t use the aiming thing at the end (I swear there’s a more professional sounding term for it) you’re likely to miss 8 times out of 10. You get cocky, and you start just aim in a general direction. Big mistake. It is imperative that you don’t make it bleeding obvious though. I do know of someone, a certain kendoka, who before hitting a target, he would literally look. Thus you can see it coming from a mile away.
Unpredictability is very much an important aspect of kendo. Using a timing or waza in which your opponent does not expect. In the words of Miyamoto Musashi (oh lord, I did not just use his quote in my blog … I swear it’s pertinent!): “You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect”

Lastly let’s talk about distance. John has said to me that whenever he gets into tohma, I can already hit Men, which made his life difficult. Well I’ll have you know that’s going exactly according to plan. One of the most influential jigeiko I’ve had this year was with Osato sensei after the shiai I mentioned earlier in Bangkok. All we did was work on my timing and distance. I would get ready for debana men, and the moment he moves in tohma, I will have to strike. If he doesn’t move, I should seme for him to do so. Logical, but it was so good. Also, if I go in and he blocks men, change to Do! A simple enough menu. It required so much concentration though. It just had a huge impact on my kendo …