Thanks to Lia super searching skills (and lazzy as job!!), here is a great find for kendo goods: T-shirts, bags, etc…

Instead of all the way to explain what’s on the website, here is the link, see for yourself: Kendo Goods.

However, our personnal favourite, the bag: Kendoists Do It With Zanshin.

No class on thursday 29/01/2009.

Hi everyone, a quick note to let you know that this thursday’s Iaido class will be replaced by a meeting. Everyone is welcome but do not expect to practice that day.

Cheers!

Yes it has indeed so grad your Iaitos or Shinkens and meet the team every thursday from 6.30 pm. Find the movement in stillness by learning katas using a real sword. It might seem like a lonely activity but it actually is a deep practice for the spirit and heart.

February is a time for celebration. Two of our members will soon go overseas for studies and work and two other members were successful in their studies. Let’s gather to celebrate!

On saturday 7th february, we’ll meet at Hansan restaurant in Mt Wellington at 6.30pm. The budget per person is about $9.50 to $15.00 and I think that the place is BYO if you fancy a drink in the restaurant. For more drinks we can then go to a nearby pub (haven’t look into that yet).

Later in the same month, there will be some film shooting in the dojo, I will let you know the exact date later as I am trying to gather a film crew to get the job well wnd quickly done (shootings can be long and daunting for people who are not used to it). We will need as many volunteers to appear in video as possible. As of to now, there will be 3 videos shot all together on the same day. Those videos will not exceed 1 minute each but it might take 4 to 5 hours shooting so if you are available please make sure that you’ll be there all day. We can arrange some barbecue on that day with sausage and drinks.

February, the big month before we get in heavy practive for April’s grading!

Hi everyone,

Yes it is true, the All Japan Kendo Federation has a youtube channel since April 2006.  The aim of this channel is to regularly upload videos from the AJKF library (mainly past matches) to the internet. It worth having a look and bookmark it:

All Japan Kendo Federation Youtube Channel

Hey everyone, a quick reminder that there is a meeting at the dojo tonight (thursday 15/01/09) to discuss possible improvments and other topics related to the dojo. It is open to all members and goes from 7pm to 9pm. If you are able to come, please do as any fresh idea is always welcome.

As I was going around kendo videos on youtube (Is that all I do?), I found these three videos from the All Japan Kendo Federation. Are you new to kendo? Don’t know what to do? What to think of it? Are you an oldy roady kenshi and need a fresh up? Then have a look at those not-so-dated videos:

Hi everyone, here is a new category on the way: HOW TO. You will find in this category some tips and videos about how to do different things in kendo. It will start from gears folding to wazas. And today, to give it a good start, here are two videos on how to fold the keikogi and hakama for the beginners, the first being a good visual explanation and the second one being Japanese style:

I just added a new category for AKC’s agenda in the right column of this blog. Agenda, the name of the category, will include all posts concerning events and other datted information.

For this first post, a reminder that official practice starts next monday on January 19th. Next, find this year’s temporary event agenda. Temporary because lots of dates still need to be confirmed.

March (dates to be confirmed): dedicated New Zealand team week end in Wellington.

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th May: National championship and Instructor seminar in Invercargill.

Friday 17th to Sunday 19th July (dates to be confirmed): NZKF National Camp in Hamilton.

October (dates to be confirmed): Rembuden Taikai in Wellington.

I will try to get news and updates on official dates as soon as they are released so please make sure that you plan your trip well in advance so you can get the best rates for your plane and accomodation.

When you document yourself about kendo, the spectrum of interest can broaden very quickly. There are two reasons for that (in this case and time particularly). First, ‘interest’ is a plant that grows when you feed it with ‘knowledge’, the more you learn and the more you want to learn. The second and main reason here, when you start watching youtube videos, several links open the door to more videos which open the door to more videos which open the… anyway, you got the idea. I consider the second reason to be the more valuable in the society we live in. Not only can we feed ourselves until our brain comes out through our nose, ears and eyes (yuck!) but also can use this over exposition to information and entertainment to access valuable information using one very simple tool (no, not the shinai): ’selection’. Therefore, while I was having a look at the shinai manufacturing process (which I looked for willingly), I found another video about the manufacturing process of the bogu. And while I was looking at the bogu videos, I found two other links which introduced me to a new enemy of ’selection’: ‘choice’. The more one can get, the less one knows what one really wants. ‘Selection’ comes with ‘choice’ and ‘choice’ always brings more selection (not always actually, sometimes, it anihilates the selection such as marriage for exemple). There I was, in front of two videos to choose from: ‘Traditional Making Of a Katana’ and ‘I Strip For You’.

Tough choice…

After a long and intense moment of reflection (Zen philosophy?), I decided to have a look at ‘I Strip Your Katana’, beg your pardon, ‘Traditional Making Of a Katana’ which was actually very good, until… it cut before the end. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I presented to you guys, I mean, you, mate, an incomplete documentary. Therefore I looked for more and there it is, a full documentary about katana from the Discovery channel. You will, as I did, agree and disagree with some of what is say and how it is presented (how spectacular it is and how too few Japanese souls are interviewed) but it is, nonetheless, very interesting.