Miyazaki Masahiro Kendo Men Strikes

Miyazaki Masahiro, one of the most popular Japanese Kendoka, maybe due to his spectacular and speedy style.

KEN - the movie...

Very cool video of a movie that came out many years ago.

Progress...

Progress...

The two guys who visited VZ with me impressed everyone there. Now the question is how do they climb up to the next level? In the case of H, after about 5-6 months of painful progress his body finally seems to adapt and remember. His footwork has improved considerably in the past couple of months, and his exam in VZ showed he finally reached the appropriate level. His back foot still is dragging somewhat but a whole lot less thab before. Also, as he gets tired he quickly goes back to his old habit (slow and limping back leg). Trouble still lies in his tenouchi and ki-ken-tai, but I'm very satisfied with the recent progress. Perhaps it is time for him to wear the bogu.

Jr now needs to develop a better sense of seme, as well as start learning and applying more of a variety of oji/shikake waza. Otherwise, his footwork and kihon (except a horrible Do) are excellent, all he really needs is more exposure to higher level Kendo. Not sure to what extent he practiced enough with higher grades as opposed to the kyu in VZ but I am concerned he will judge himself based on the poor kendo he saw then, not the higher end that some display (Ariel, Ebihara,...).

Surprise practice

Surprise practice

Every now and then the planets line up and we have a great practice with a good group. Yesterday even without Jr and E, we still had a great time and lots of focused and intense Kendo. A new guy joined and All. brought a foreign dude shopping around for something to do. My mom also saw a practice for the first time. All were very satisfied and impressed.

The group atmosphere is at a high and anyone revolving around would want to join a group that's so tight & intense yet fun and relaxed.

First practice after VZ

First practice after VZ

Had a light practice after coming back from VZ, footwork, lots of kihon and kirikaeshi/uchikomi at the end. K is back with a vengance and a new haircut. Looks like seeing his younger brother traveling for kendo (for the second time) got him to straighten up and motivated to do the same. That's very good news for the future of the team. With these two properly trained we can easily defeat most other countries in the region. Mexico and Aruba could pose a problem, due to their gymnastic-like style of Kendo. We have a year to prepare and build the team we need for Columbia.

Footwork...

Footwork...

Apparently Trinidad Kendo has great footwork... Constant praise all weekend in VZ about how great our footwork is and how straight our posture is. It baffles me why people practicing kendo for so many years under the guidance of great senseis can say such things. For years their teachers have repeatedly taught them simple concepts that they apparently can't apply? What is so great that we do that others can't do? Why can't the lower ranked senseis and sempais just reinforce what their own senseis taught them?

We don't have a secret formula in Trinidad. I teach what I was taught. My students work hard, they follow instructions and they see positive results in the efforts they put in. They don't skip levels; before they learn how to hit someone, they need to know where their body should be and how to move it there. If it takes 6 months to get there then so be it. No one wears the bogu until they know how to move around.

Someone I really enjoy once said to me this weekend "your feet are like your horse. I don't care how good you are with a weapon, if your horse can't bring you to battle, you are useless.". Cheers to that!

Results in VZ

Results in VZ

Great results! J passed shodan with flying colours and H surprised everyone at his first attempt with bogu (other than the time we used him as a crash test dummy). J's shiai was pathethic, he lost to a shinai flicker because he had no energy and couldn't reach him. The fact that the idiot had 9 (!) beers a couple of hours earlier might explain that. I think this was a good lesson. Otherwise they really stood out in their respective ranks.

Kendo trip to Venezuela

Kendo trip to Venezuela

Leaving for the second leg of the Venezuelan Team selections with E, J & H. E will be participating mildly due to a recent operation although we'll see him beat up a few guys by the end of the weekend. J is going to participate in the "goodwill" tournament and try for his shodan. He'll probably get it without trouble, but he'll also be reminded by a few that he just started his kendo journey. H is still not ready for bogu, much work needs to be done on his footwork and tenouchi before that happens. It will be a great experience for him that should be very good for his progress.

For my part, I'm just going there to have some fun and meet old friends. I need some challenge and I know I'll get it there. Just two and a half days though, but it should be a lot of fun and action, as it always is...

Back from VZ

Back from VZ

Interesting trip this weekend. We arrived in Maracaibo to be told that it looked like we wouldn't have much opportunity to practice, but it turned out to be the opposite. Lots of great chances to keiko and lots of good fun too. There was the usual load of constant miscommunication by the hosts (used to this since Cuba and Aruba) but things turned out very well.

Keiko Friday evening followed by many beers and dinner.

Team selection part 2 for VZ Saturday morning. Long and relaxing break until 5pm then Jigeiko, Goodwill and Mawari Geiko until 9pm. Then some odd party with not enough beer and weird music.

Sunday was for exams. As for every other activity, poorly planned and late start. Since our fight was at 2pm we had to get it over with quickly. We forced our way through the door before the end of the event but it was worth it as we had all the time we needed at the airport.

Overall and great weekend that felt like a week! More reports on the specifics are following.