kendo

2007-09-03T08:45:00.001-04:00

bad headache. didn't practice on fri. but droped off my testing form for 2 dan shinsa. not sure if i'll pass, but it's about time i test for 2 dan. the boys' cousins dropped by over the weekend. ethan and aidan loved it. we went to the subdivision playground. aidan picked up a stick, and tested it against his hand then he started walking off. i asked him where he was going. he said.. 'i'm going to go and kill some spiders..'.. sigh..

2007-08-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

been out of dojo for some time. went back to it last week. friday's practice was rather hard. this week, i was at the dojo last night. no friday pracitce. last night's practice was rather fun. we had ton of new beginners. apparently, the recruit effort made on sunday night worked. we had about 20 new people. we didn't have enough spare shinai to cover everyone. we split the group in two and went over basics. i wonder how many will return next week.

too damned tired..

2007-05-30T07:07:00.001-04:00

ok.. i'm finally too damned tired. not of kendo.. but physically i'm out of juice. i like kendo as every, i might even say i love it. it's just great budo. just that i'm running out of energy. it might be that my diabete is not under control.. but it is. it might be lack of sleep due to my shift.. but i'm getting good 6 hrs of sleep a day.. i don't know what it is.. but i'm out of energy and i'm just not getting it to where i need to be. oh.. by the way the nidan test is out. no money.

2007-05-25T05:29:00.001-04:00

oh well.. the picture is not big, but this is from our last 'yearly' dojo team taikai. i lost every single match that day, but then again, that's nothing unusual. seriously thinking about not taking test of nidan this june. two things. one i suck. i don't think i'm good enough for nidan. two.. i don't have energy. on days when i'm feeling better and has some energy, i seem to do better. but last few months has been hell. last time i had enough energy to look half way ok was during my vacation. three money. it will be rather expensive testing. if i fail, i'll be just throwing that money away. if i pass, i'm passing rank that i do not deserve. too many good reason not to test for nidan..

2007-05-02T04:14:00.000-04:00

something i scanned. old pix.

last friday.

2007-01-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

i've been going against our new sensei more often now days. he definitly has different style than our old sensei. and he is much older. he has more physically active style. on friday, i was doing ji-geiko against him and he was keep raising his both arms. it didn't click on me until few days later that he was giving me an opening to do.. urgh. i guess i'm still slow as hell. it didn't click for 3 days that he was giving me an opening. and here i thought he was going to jodan on that last min. i need to pay more attention. also he was showing kakarigeiko to one of the beginner which i have not seen before. i think that new kakarigeiko might help me and other other dojo that i go to. it's more extensive then the usual kakarigeiko that we have been doing. it includes do uchi. also noticed that koto shinai i have been using is way more tiring that dobari shinai. but my dobari shinais are shot. the new one snapped at the tip, and the old one had it. it's coming apart. time for more shinais.

lesson from the tourney.

2006-11-27T15:03:00.000-05:00

here is the problem. the tourney is great, but it's not the end of kendo. more important thing is not to win the tourney, but to show graceful kendo during promotion test. apparently, one of sempai failed nidan test because he didn't have crisp cut dring the shimsa. i need to remember that. also from what i heard, he allowed the aite to control the match. i need to work on crisp cut, and making sure i'm the one in control at all time. out of all the matches that i have seen, one that impressed me most was my sensei's matches. he is just totally in control. nothing seems to shake him. and when he see the opening, he is there. very solid, very simple, very beautiful, and graceful.. something that is light years ahead of where i am. need to keep that picture in my head so i can have good role model. all these jumping around might look good and exciting, but the true kendo is supposed to be calm and solid. if i can not do that, then i'm already lost. 平常心. that's our dojo motto.. and i need to keep that in mind.

2006 fall SEUSKF tourney.

2006-11-22T07:52:00.000-05:00

ok, i entered, and got eliminated on first round. well, people say kendo isn't about winning, but it still sucks. yoonmi took some video of my matches, and i had time to analyse it. the form wasn't all that bad. but i'm too slow. and i'm leading with my knee. need to fix leading with knee, but slowness.. hmm.. not sure how to fix that one. i could do some speed drill, but not sure if that will help. strenghth work out on the machine might help.. but not sure about that either.
all in all, the tourney was very enjoyable, and educational. i have seen some great matches, and had time to spend with my teachers. drinking, as always, was great.

kwf

2006-08-28T08:18:00.000-04:00

ok, kendo world forum is down for some reason. can't get to it. went to dojo on friday, but didn't work out. just went to drop off sensei's new shinai which our dojo members will sign and ship it to him. had rather bad cold with sore throat and rather nasty headache all day long on friday. one of the sempai asked me to stick around and help the beginners, but i didn't even take along my gi and hakama, nor any shinai. normally when i'm stick, i would still stick around and do exactly that, but friday wasn't all that good idea. spend whole weekend coughing my lungs out.. again.. but this time i got smart and start taking allergy pills. that for some reason help me a lot, just couldn't do much of anything since i was too drugged to do anything with that allergy pills plug the cold med. hope to get back to dojo on wed. i need to do more kendo. next year will be nidan test, and i don't think i'm going to be ready.

scotch..

2006-08-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

ok, sensei and i, along with few other folks polished off the bottle of scotch i got for the sensei. it was balvenie doublewood 12 yr old. it was rather nice speyside single malt. normally i don't care too much for speyside malts, i find them offensively mild, and smooth. but this one was rather interesting with good bit of bite. sensei finally took off to his new job on past sunday. hope to see him when we have the seuskf tourney here in nov.

few things..

2006-08-01T08:38:00.000-04:00

ok, that sake was good. lol. sensei's farewell party was great. great food, great beer, and great sake. i think i enjoyed myself little too much. great food. one thing that sensei told us last week was how to do suburi like we are walking. if i remember correctly, musashi said there is no specific foot work for the kendo. one should use everyday foot work for the kendo. and what sensei said rings true to me. it never occured to me before but if i think about it, walking and using that motion for the kendo just makes perfect sense. need to think about this more. great food.

last night's practice.

2006-06-29T10:39:00.000-04:00

last night's practice was good. it was rather hot in the dojo, i was sweating just standing there. ethan loved every min of it. he loves hitting people with shinai. my keiko-gi must have weighted 20 lbs after the practice was done. didn't have time to eat much yesterday. the only meal i had before the practice was at 1430, double with cheese and by the end of the keiko, i was about to pass out. tho it was fun.

ran my first class..

2006-06-15T08:41:00.000-04:00

so no other yudansha showd on last night.. so i ran my first kendo class. i did everything my sensei and our lead instructor does in our general practice. keep the tempo going, so people will not cool down between the rotation, keep talk to minimum, give brief break, and only explain things that i saw as needing work during the brief break in short as possible time. hope the guys liked the way i ran it. funny thing is.. it seems the tine goes much slower when i was running the practice instead of just following other people's instruction. 1.25 hr of the whole thing seems to lated forever. we stopped the practice early so people could go and catch stanley cup final.

nito player.

2006-05-30T13:57:00.000-04:00

on wed., we had long discussion regarding how to move like 'bullet train'.. on fri., i had chance to do shiai-geiko with nito player. it was rather interesting. i never went against a nito player before, so i'm not sure if he was good or not. only thing i knew was to go to tsuki or left kote. so i keep going to kote.. but he was keep blocking with his short shinai and keep getting to my men. tho it was fun.

shodan...

2006-05-22T08:06:00.000-04:00

i passed my shodan test yeseterday. shodan doesn't really mean much. it just means that now i can call myself a beginner. however, it means a great deal to me. since this means that my home dojo can have two practice per week now. in our organization, we can not have official practice unless there is a yudansha. this makes me yudansha, and this will let us hold official practice when i'm at the dojo. some will say that's not a selfish thing to do, however, in my opinion, that is most perfect selfish act. this means, our dojo can have more practice, and that means, i can have more practice! lol

i was rather sure i wouldn't pass. there is two part to kendo promotion test. ji-geiko part and kata part. ji-geiko part.. i don't remember. i have perfect mushin (無心) not because i'm good.. but because, i'm so busy trying to survive, i have no idea what i did. kata part is different. i remember what i did, and i get feed back to myself so i can see what i'm doing wrong and i can correct myself. this comes from years of practicing bagpipes. anyway, i know i made large number of detailed mistakes. not big ones, but certain concepts were missing. but one big mistake i made is on 4th kata (yonhonme(?)) i lead with my right foot instead of left foot on kaeshi men. and judge was standing right behind me. all in all, i made enough mistake to warrant not passing. however, i think judges had mercy on me due to the fact that they respect my sensei so much. i'm really gonna miss him when he moves.

shodan test.

2006-05-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

ok. shodan test is on. i'm test this sunday. i have been waiting for this for last 2 yrs. now i'm just a bundle of nerve. i really want to pass this. of course, it's all for selfish reasons. main reason is the my home dojo has only one yudansha since all the yudansha has graduated, and went off to japan. and our org can not have official practice unless there is a yudansha present. if i pass that means our home dojo will have additional yudansha. other dojo in our org has large number of yudansha. what that means is more kendo for me. other reason is like being a piper. we used to say in order to be a piper, you had to play pipes for at least 7 yrs. for kendo, at least in my view, passing shodan means that i'm doing kendo. we'll see how it turns out.

iaido..

2006-05-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

decided to do iaido also last friday. it seems that people who does iaido have very clean cuts. so, asked one of iaido sempai to teach me some iaido. he showed by kata #12 from the seitei. it's called nukiuchi. not sure if i'm going to make it to the promotion test this weekend or not. but i need to get sensei's signature before the weekend.

getting back to keiko..

2006-05-03T23:56:00.000-04:00

it's been 2.5 weeks since i participated in full practice. tonight was first night since i did that thing to my heel. it was rather tough. i ran out of steam during the ji-geiko. couldn't keep up. normally that's way i hate missing practice. one practice missed means two-three practices to get back to where i was before missing the practice. i can't wait till fri. to see how i will do at that practice. i was planning to do ji-geiko with the new yondan. he is rather strong, and i'm not sure if i'll be in shape to do any serious match.

fri. practice...

2006-05-01T01:55:00.000-04:00

friday is always tough practice. lot of kenshi, and lil space. tho, there's so much energy in the dojo. went to fri. practice with my damanged heel. did few ji-geiko. got to do ji-geiko with sensei. he thought one of my strike was rather nice. then my heel gave out. during kakarigeiko, i was limping around.

i need to get my nerve up enough to go against new yondan during next fri. practice. he is rather fast and strong.. and he must be 20 yrs my senior.

archilles tendon.

2006-04-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

i did something to my archilles tendo. not sure what i did to it. but i know it was due to lack of warm up/stretch. after missing last 3 practice, i went to wed. practice which was nice and slow. then on fri. i went to the big practice. it was amazing. ton of new people. lot of energy. we did warm up, and put men on. warm up was kinda slow, and choppy, but what the hell. put men on, and got out on the floor as fast as possible. on the new yondan also wears the men kansai style :) which is kind nice to see. as your sensei once said.. 'it's rather stylish'. about 30 min into the practice, i heard 'pop.. pop, pop'.. i'm like.. 'oh crap.. my archilles tendon. damn'. bowed out of the line, and went to check my my hill. everything seems to be there. didn't feel anything has been ruptured.. but pain was rather bad. got mad at myself for not warming up properly.. then spent rest of the practice doing kata and helping out the beginners. if it doesn't feel well by tue. i think i'll go and see the doc.

did i mention..

2006-04-14T04:39:00.000-04:00

did i mention that we have new yondan at out dojo? yes, we do. and he got the yondan 30 yrs ago. if i make to the practice tonight, maybe i can ji-geiko with him :)

been out too long..

2006-04-13T00:23:00.000-04:00

it's not that i don't do kendo any more.. actually i do more kendo now then i ever did before... i just don't blog here all that often. not sure why. anyway. was sick for 2 weeks, and got to the practice tonight. my body just won't listen too well to what i wanted to do. i couldn't move as well as i thought i did before i got sick. need more practice.

two things i found before getting sick. keep moving towards the aite.

tenouchi is about twist and stretch.. delicate motion.

i lead the practice in warm up last night...

2005-12-24T08:39:00.000-05:00

last night, i lead the practice in warm up. oh well...

debana men..

2005-12-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

past weekend, our practice concentrated on debana men. few things were pointed out to me. first thing that was pointed out was the fact, i'm not ready to strike when there is an opening. what that means, i should be already in position to strike down when there is an opening. no raising up the shinai, but just 'slam!'. i need to push off with my left leg, and strike down the moment i see an opening.. or since it's debana men.. moment i see aite setting up for a cut.

other thing i have notice is the maai. if i'm too close, i can't see the aite's whole body. i need to find that optimal distance to notice the whole body of the aite, and yet close enough for a cut.

one thing that happened was one of my sempai was keep doing the same foot work.. inches in 3 times and cut. it was rather easy to see when i was at issoku itto no maai, but when i get in close it was rather hard to notice the movement.

still need to work on developing my eyes.

waza.. seme.. control..

2005-11-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

lot of things have been going on in kendo since i got ikkyu.

first thing i was told by sensei is i need to think about how i approach my kendo. with limitations that i have, speed, age.. i need to learn to control the other side before i could make the cuts. this seems to be working out okay as far as pressuring others. or at least i think i could pressure others. but the big question is what to do when i start to control them.

with thanksgiving and what not, there was not practice on sat. so i went to fri. practice. friday practice is little more intense in my opinion. there are more people of higher skill in that practice. it was rather interesting. i could tell i was holding off others from attacking like they normally do. but that's more or less because i'm holding the center, and kiai. i have rather loud kiai from TKD, and HDK. at least i have been told i have fine kiai. i don't think it has anything to do with seme or other concept that i don't understand yet.

sensei has told me to work on debana men for awhile. so far, it's not going all that well. i do not have the timing down yet, and i have problem sensing when other's are about to move. been thinking about this for awhile, and i think i have come to a conclution that i need to develope my eyes. i don't exactly have tunnerl vision, but i still do not see the whole person standing front of me. i think i need to work on that. and use it more in debana men. that would be my goal for the next few months. get the debana men to work for me.

ikkyu

2005-11-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

i made the ikkyu.. now to sho-dan. over the weekend, i was at seuskf tournament/promotion. the promotion went smoothly. it was rather nerve wrecking.. both my sensei were on the judge panel. one of the sensei is from the dojo that i used to practice at about 8 yrs ago. othe other sensei is my current sensei. tho i guess i did enough to pass the ikkyu test. the person who was seating next to me was telling me how he failed twice to pass the ikkyu test which really didn't help me all that much. i was keep thinking about a post in the kendo-world forum about a kid who throw up in his men.. lol

tournament was rather different story. the first match didn't go too well. the person who i was going against was much faster and more energetic. second match wasn't so bad. i think i made few good kote, or at least my sensei told me that i did. at least one judge in the match keep raising his/her flag for my kote, but it was enough for a full point.

over all it was rather nice event. i enjoyed it. the event ran little too long and team competition was cancelled. i would have loved to compete in team competition. that would have been rather interesting. i think i was getting warmed up.. lol

ethan and aidan seem to have enjoyed it also. now ethan actually says he wants to do kendo. i'll have to see x)

nah.. haven't quit.. just don't have time to update lately..

2005-10-18T07:31:00.000-04:00

nope, i haven't quitted. just too busy to update the blog. there's our dojo tourney this weekend, and there will be seuskf tourney in few weeks. will be busier. will go for 1 kyu promotion test at seuskf thing. urgh.. i'm tired..

missed another practice..

2005-04-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

i really should not make a habbit of missing practice.. but i did. was too tired to make it on sat. morning. tried to make it on afternoon.. but wasn't sure where it was.. went to where i thought it was, but didn't see the normal group..

i think i'm starting to see what it means to use less right arm and more left arm. and starting to see that my bad foot work is really hindering me in kendo, along with lack of power in my legs. don't understand the whole thing, i'm sure that will take time, but when i'm using too much right arm, now i could see that my swing is not centered. starting to understand that my eyes are very important. i think if i could see the cuts coming in, i should be able to take an action against it.. i'm beginning to see the shinai coming in, but i need to see before the other begins his/her action.

i'm used to the idea of looking at the distant mounting sight thing.. but it's rather hard to put into an action. must be my slow motor skill.

in two weeks..

2005-03-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

ok, missed last weeks practice.. pager duty.

went to this weekend's practice on friday. as always, it was great. enjoyed greatly. worked up a good sweat. i think i got a good men strike in.. but have no idea how i did it.

i think i'm finding out why one of my sempai was keep telling me 'too much right hand!' x)

it's rather funny.. took me 20 yrs to find out all about bagpipes.. even then there were things that i couldn't fully understand. then i was thinking about all these knowledges that i have gained.. i should share with others.. but, beginners just won't understand what i was talking about.. it more or less goes into one ear and goes out the other.. i think it's same with kendo.. unless i experience things on my own.. i won't truly understand what i hear.. or read about.. it will take time. dang.. another 20 yrs on different art.. lol that's a long time :)

pager duty..

2005-03-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

there are very few reasons that i would miss kendo practice.. as everyone knows (or at least people who read this blog knows), i can only go to practice once a week..

1) i promise ethan or aidan that i would do something with them..
2) pager duty..

this week is my pager duty week. crap.

nito..

2005-03-13T16:49:00.000-05:00

our general practice has been.. moved to sat. at different location and different time. so i went to friday practice..

well.. made mistake of not having fed myself properly and taking enough rest.. i was sucking wind by the middle of the practice. i ran out of steam and i couldn't do much. so i missed chance to do ji-geiko with visiting nito kenshi.. i'm kicking myself over that right now. i should have had good rest and dinner and should not have missed chance to practice against nito player.. sigh..

i can't wait till this crappy shift is over so i could get 8 hrs of sleep at night.. darn.

kansai style..

2005-03-03T18:15:00.001-05:00

as i have complaint in past.. men is not snug. it's not 'loose'.. it fits right when i put it on. then as the practice goes on, it gets loose.. with sweat to add to that, it start to slide down.

i really don't want to use men pad. so i've been working on how to put the men on kansai style. and when i put it on kansai style, it feels much more secure and tight. almost.. fits like glove.

will have to test it out this weekend.

first practice after being ranked x)

2005-02-27T19:10:00.000-05:00

ok.. now i'm 2-kyu.. yeah.. i think i know what i don't know.. which is almost everything.. lol

and now i know what i need to work on. have little more focus on what i need to do. i really need to work on my men uchi. and foot work.

if i'm doing well enough, i think i'll test for 1-kyu in july.. then go for sho-dan at the end of the year. it's very hard to find the testing around here.. might as go for it and find out how i do and get this 'dan' thing done and over with.

hopefully, i'll compete few times this year. i think shiai is important. shiai is very good tool to find out who i'm doing.. i think.

TKI has 3 members going to nationals. woo hoo!

made my grade..

2005-02-21T17:49:00.000-05:00

got my 2-kyu over the weekend.. can't say if i did well or if i didn't do so well.. it's rather funny. i just did what i do normally.. and that was that.

i went up to the senseis after the test and asked if they have any comments.. no comments.. what does that mean?

i didn't stick to men. i did kote.. doh.. i didn't even try tsuki x) tho.. it was very tempting.

email posting..

2005-02-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

well.. email posting ain't happening for some reason..

ok.. i'm ready for 2 kyu test on sun.. more or less. i was keep tiping over doing sankyo on sat. morning. i need to remember to keep my back straight. other than that.. hmm.. no clue..

just go with flow. from what i understand about kendo promotion test is doing what i always do at the dojo. so hopefully, i'm doing at least at 2 kyu level at the dojo x) lol

either way, i should be ranked after this test. let see where i fall.

how can you go wrong with kendo practice?

2005-02-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

well, that would be darn hard. had another great practice this weekend. not sure if 600 suburi a day is helping or not. but, been doing suburi at home again. docs are saying i need to work out at least 5 times aday. oh well. our sensei has been missing for last few days. not sure where he is.. lol.

i'm sure he is just resting..

TIA..

2005-01-30T23:48:00.000-05:00

been out of work for about a week.. had to stay at the hospital for 3 days.. that drained me too much for work.

they are telling me i had TIA.. more or less one of the blood vessel in my right side of the brain is narrow, and something stopped blood flow there for brief period of time. very similar to stroke, but no cigar x)

so, i need to quit smoking.. work out, and cut out most everything i love eat from my diet. i guess that means more suburi for me x)

so i had stroke at 37 x)

2005-01-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

yeah yeah yeah..

happy new year!

2005-01-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

picture from the 1st practice of 2005..

unc team..

2004-12-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

this is pix of our dojo team.

tki intra-dojo shiai.

2004-12-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

from nov. intra-dojo shiai. whole group at the shiai.. about 1/4 of the org.

parking hell..

2004-12-05T21:29:00.000-05:00

i get to go to dojo once a week. i'm not complainting. that's one more than none. so.. last week, it was thanksgiving.. no practice.. this week.. i got there and no parking space within reasonable walking distance due to the ball game.. fencing tournament.. wrestling tournament.. urgh.. i drove around for 30 min.. every space avail.. they won't let me park. and i know this univ will tow my freaking truck if i park there.. sigh.. so i missed another practice.

i'm rather PO. but.. can't complaint..

good thing about our dojo is that it's non-profit org. the people who are teaching.. sensei.. and senior members are doing it out of love for the kendo.. not to pocket money. and since most of the folks are students.. transportation is an issue.. and money is another issue if we rent places. so.. sometimes it's rather hard to get to the practice. urgh..

oh.. bogu bag finally came.. dang. i didn't know leather bag could be this cool.. lol

getting old?

2004-11-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

don't know why.. but, after each practice, my body hurts like crap for few days. two weeks ago, it was my shoulder.. after last sat. practice, it's my calf. i know we did 490 haya-suburi.. but still.. it's been 3 days and my calves still hurt.

the bogu is fitting nicely. i'm actually enjoying kendo even more, if that's possible.

new korean kenshi joined the practice 2 weeks ago. he's been at it for last 10 yrs or so.. he's very good. and i could tell he's been round the kendo dojo for long time. he's answers loud and clear. he follows the instruction from the sensei without any question or additional remarks. he's fast at getting ready and doesn't waste time chatting during the practice. someone i could look and learn from.

dang.. it's just too much fun!

outreach program?

2004-11-17T23:34:00.000-05:00

so i was at outreach program today doing kendo demo with other members of our dojo. it was great.

we started out with iaido.. then kendo kata.. deme of strikes.. then ended with demo of shiai.

i need wrist pad. when doing ji-geiko or shiai, it's fine.. but being a target dummy, hurts like crap.

first time in new bogu.

2004-11-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

i think my men is big on me.

the inner padding/ring fits right. however, if i tie on the men and push it on the top, i get about half inch gap between my chin and chin cup. with me sweating like a pig, i'm afraid the men will slide down when some one hits me hard. so i decided to wear the himo kansai style, and ordered men pad and chin pad. i would like to prevent my head from getting hurt if at all possible.

other than that.. hmm.. i smell like smoked deer skin.. my hands are blue like smurf and i'm tired as hell.

sat. practice went by so fast, i didn't have time to notice anything.

there was 2 ncaa game going on at the univ. so i had to park 20 min away.. i was carrying two sword bag.. one for shinai, and one for bokken/jo.. two sets of bogu.. dojo bogu and mine.. and my backpack for hakama and kendo-gi. and wearing berkie.. in sand. and it was cold as hell..

the dojo was hot as hell. once i got into the bogu, i was sweating like a hog.. after suburi, my right thigh decided that it was good time for a cramp. as soon as i got the cramp resolved.. i got into men. i was sweating heavily by then and i started to get dizzy. so took a rest.. got back into the line up.. and it was time to go home.. time flies when you are having fun.. lol

tare.. and sakura..

2004-11-09T18:08:00.001-05:00

inside of the tare.

looking inside..

2004-11-09T18:08:00.000-05:00

inside of men.

.. and my name is..

2004-11-09T18:07:00.001-05:00

inside of the do.

better side x)

2004-11-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

men.. side profile.

IBB!!!

2004-11-09T18:06:00.001-05:00

ibb!

men..

2004-11-09T18:06:00.000-05:00

men.. profile.

one more kote.. x)

2004-11-09T18:05:00.002-05:00

more shots of kote x)

tare..

2004-11-09T18:05:00.001-05:00

tare.

more kote..

2004-11-09T18:05:00.000-05:00

another shot of kote.

kote..

2004-11-09T18:04:00.001-05:00

kote.

doh..

2004-11-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

do and mune.

finally.. s-22 is here!

2004-11-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

my new bogu set. koei s-22.

shiai..

2004-11-01T16:46:00.000-05:00

ok.. if one really thinks about it.. it's rather silly to enter a tournament after only 3 practices in a set of bogu.. down right stupid..

well, i did. it wasn't so bad.. actually, i had fun! great time! i even won a match :)

started out early.. around 0645. didn't realize the time change x) get there an hour early. yoomi brought the boys and lunch :) yummy :) sushi for kendo x) ethan didn't like kendo too much. i think he's little too smart for this kind of activity.. he said.. 'no daddy.. i don't want to do kendo.. if you get hit on the head with that stick, it will hurt!' x)

i can't wait till next shiai x)

a day at a competition with ethan :)

weekend..

2004-10-24T20:03:00.000-04:00

kendo.. hmm.. started going to sat. practice again. the sun practice is all shiai now days, and i need kihon. this sat was rather thin. 5 in all.. and two out of that was little kids. i guess they are about 6-7 yrs old. so cute :)

on sun, i dropped by the dojo to return the dvds i borrowed from one of the sempai. then the sensei said.. 'peter-san, we need you here!'. i'm thinking.. i don't have my hakama, nor my keiko-gi.. hmm.. but what the heck.. took my coat and socks off and picked up one of the shinai. joined the line up.. sensei says.. '300 haya-suburi!'.. urgh x)

ouch!

2004-10-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

ok.. kendo today x) it's sunday! well.. it's going to be sat. from next weekend. i think.. i'll have to discuss it with yoonmi. due to the noise level, sunday is all shiai format. i need more kihon than shiai. so recommendation is sat. practice.

ok.. i got my ass kicked today.. in large volume. it was.. 4 or 5 shiai, didn't win any.. lost all x) LOL

wearing bogu is rather different. i'm still not used to it. the suburi is all different. maybe i should do suburi with bogu on from now days. that might get me going.. it's not so much as men, but doh seems to get in the way.. i don't know why.

oh well.. oct. 31st.. dojo competition. i'll wait for it.

no kendo this weekend..

2004-10-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

well, thing is.. i promised ethan that i'll take him to merry-go-around.. so i skipped kendo and went to park.. it was great! ethan was loving every min of it.. that is ethan loved every min of sitting in the swing x)

merry-go-around wasn't open, so i promised him that i'll take him again this weekend :)

tsuki.. urgh..

2004-10-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

ok.. now i'm being called by my sensei as 'pete the tsuki killer'.. i heard that tsuki should not be used by anyone below shodan.. and even then, should not be used against higher ranking kenshi.. maybe i should have held back..

nah! shiai is shiai, and as long as i'm using proper technique, and it's not a cheap trick.. heck, i'll use all the tools in my skill bag to win it.

i won!

2004-10-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

ok.. sunday.. kendo day for me.. i walked into the dojo, and my sempai told me he has bogu for me.. okie..

we line up. did warm up.. something like 250 jumping subri.. then break up in to bogu.. and non-bogu folks. as usual, i walked towards the non-bogu folks.. sempai calls me back, saying put the bogu on, now i'm with bogu folks. cool! at least to this point.

then sensei says.. 'we are changing the format today for the practice. shiai!'. i'm like.. '????'.. sensei walk up to me goes.. 'first day in bogu.. and you are already doing shiai!' x)

fine, i'll give my best shot.

two bouts. one tied, one win!

i don't remember anything, but i know i didn't get any points from shomen which is bad. first bout was with someone who started kendo about the same time as i did. we were very.. defensive.. we didn't score and it ended up being tie.

second bout. it was with someone who was in bogu for sometime. tough guy.. i don't remember if i landed anything. but towards the end of the bout, he keep closing the maai.. i know i have issue with maai, and i knew there was no way for me to get a point at the distance that close.. so i waited.. step back.. waited.. he was keep closing the distance.. then, he lowered his shinai.. i stepped forward and did tsuki! and it landed perfect! he didn't expected the tsuki at all! he jerked back, and crowd goes 'WOW!!!' x)

here is what my sensei said in an emeil..

'Pete, your tsuki thrust was a thing of beauty! Not many people can execute a tsuki thrust that cleanly. For that, I admire your skill!'

what a day!

ibb.. fark!

2004-09-27T16:59:00.000-04:00

ok.. ibb order is in japan. the men is being produced again. DANG! geesh.. it's taking forever.. i don't mind waiting as long as everything is in and being worked.. but hate waiting for things to happen.

that means 1 month of wait.. urgh..

rather sick of waiting..

2004-09-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

ok.. i'm finally sick of waiting for bogu.. and still have about a month left.

my dojo mates don't want to wait either, they are letting me use dojo bogu until my bogu gets here x)

ibb.. urgh!

2004-09-24T01:14:00.000-04:00

ok.. finally, price has been agreed and the order for ibb ti men gane will go in tomorrow. dang.. that's 1 more month of waiting.. sigh.. last man standing without bogu.. lol

ibb.. revisited..

2004-09-19T18:24:00.000-04:00

sunday.. as always, i was at dojo. it's nice to work out..

anyway, the sensei asked me and this other kenshi to join the advance class. then i heard something.. something rather.. strange.. as if.. a cat is screaming for help.. it was new lady kenshi from japan.. oh well..

so.. request of ibb cont. i want the darn thing, and i'm trying to get best price for it. it's rather silly. but from what i understand, the balance in ibb is much better, therefore, it's make it 'feel' much lighter on the head.

we'll see where it goes. mean while.. this is delaying my kendo-gu from getting here..

bitch.. bitch.. bitch..

2004-09-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

ok.. i don't like bitching.. but i do.. here it goes.

i ordered s-22 on aug. 24th, the credit card was charged on that day. was informed it will take about 4 weeks to get my men made.

2 weeks into the process, i noticed that there is big discount for hang stitched bogu. and there is option for s-22 with IBB men gane. so i call up the store. the person on the other end was kind enough that i could change the order if i want to regarding hand stitched bogu. but, when i asked for IBB men gane for s-22 he said he will have to check. then no reply. no big deal. i understand this is not his main job.

so i contact the source directly. a week later, reply comes from the source. they are saying that it's too late to upgrade to IBB men gane. a week after i sent my request. and saying the men will be ready in a week or so.

i sent the email back, asking if re-stocking fee is necessary, i'll pay. i want the IBB men gane. no reply in 3 days so far.

now the source is japanese firm. biggest in japan when it comes to kendo-gu. i would expect more prompt reply. and more willingness to meet up to customer's request, specially when the request was in well before they sent me the big NO.

i think i'll chew the guy out, but i don't feel like being rude. at the same time, i'm paying good money for this set.. crap.

cold..

2004-09-13T16:37:00.000-04:00

had great practice yesterday. seems like everything was coming in nicely.. only.. i have noticed that i'm keep taking small step with my left foot before the cut. need to work on that one..

just been told it's too late to order ibb men gane. oh well.

i just need to the darn thing to get here quick. i'm the last of the beginners without bogu. will give me more time to work on kihon..

bit out of sort. cold medicine is knocking me out.

kendo/kumdo..

2004-09-08T21:36:00.000-04:00

well.. the issue is being discussed again.. who started the art.. koreans.. or japanese..

funny.. kendo/kumdo that we practice started from japan. i don't understand why there is even a question. and why do we (koreans) still spell it kumdo? it's gum-do. dang. at least with tkd, we have kicks to distinguish it from karate. or hapkido.. we have kicks.. hmm.. last i heard wka is trying to put kicks into gumd0.. trend?

i'm trying to get IBB men gane with my s-22.. it's taking some time to find out if it's possible at this point with order already in.

sigh..

2004-09-06T21:17:00.000-04:00

just found out there's this bogu.. hand made.. went on sale.. it's koei bogu.. and sale price is almost same as my s-22.. maybe i should have waited.. lol

nah.. i like s-22. i think it looks great. and it gives good protection. i got what i wanted. beside.. if i wanted hand made bogu, i would want nissho or kohbu at 1.2 bu. not YS..

i think that will have to wait till my 60th b-day x)

kendo.. kendo.. kendo.. geesh.. i'm all into it. can't wait till i smell the burning bamboo against my men x)

ethan and aidan are back at home :) i'm gonna sleep like a rock tonight :)

you can't do that!!!

2004-09-05T23:47:00.000-04:00

there is this forum on kendo.. and there is this person who like to say.. you can't learn if you don't go to dojo!!!.. if i see on more post on 'you can't do this.. do that..' i'm gonna scream..

ok, i do admit that you can't learn properly by reading book or watching video.. and she's right.. but still it bugs me.. mainly because, you really should not tell other people what they could do or couldn't do. it's almost like seatbelt law.. or helmet law.. if someone wants to go kill themselves.. let them. christ.

i hate washing hakama!!!

2004-09-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

well, pager duty really don't help with kendo practice. missed it today. and worth still.. didn't even get paged out during that time frame.. dang.

i really need to wash my hakama.. but i have this fear of washing hakama. i used to wash my hakama after each practice.. and iron it too. and i hated that whole process. so i'm keep putting it off. just spot washing it wear there is sweat stain.. white salt mark.. but, it's getting to a point where it's just ridiculous to keep doing this. i need to wash it.. i hate washing hakama!!!

but, at least i scotch guard the living room set today..

things from gmail..

2004-09-04T16:37:00.000-04:00

so i got some reply from sensei, and sempai. they are aware of the issues that i'm trying to address. and they will be addressing them soon. however, their main focus right now is to have fun! which i'm all for. it's good to know that they are aware of the issues that's been kinda bothering me.

with new tournament coming up, sensei will be addressing how we need to behave in different dojo. way i see it, bad reputation is hard to get rid of. it would do well for our dojo to make sure our members do not make silly mistakes at the game.

good thing i ordered my bogu with kanto style chichigawa. sensei recommends kanto style. he wears kansai style, but it's rather hard to tie that way, and it takes longer to tie the men on. will go with his recommendation.. which i already did, but was gonna change the order if kansai was recommended.

being in a good company always makes things much more fun.

urgh..

2004-09-04T16:34:00.000-04:00

yoonmi and the boys are on their way to granda's place.. i'm stuck at work trying to help customers.. pager duty is not really something that i look forward to.. and this time it really bites. it's aidan's 100th day and all.

we took some pictures of aidan in his new outfit for the 100th day. i'll post it soon. if i don't get paged out.. or at least get some time to burn a cd, i'll do it sometime tomorrow. otherwise.. who know.. maybe by next weekend :)

kanto.. kansai..

2004-09-02T23:22:00.000-04:00

can't make up my mind.. sensei wears it kansai style.. and all the rest of sempai wears it kanto.. i hate choices.. why can't someone just say.. 'wear it this way!'.

being a korean who grew up in korea during late 70's.. i have very.. militant view of things. things has to be certain way. and i hate choices. don't like shades of grey. i like things rather simple and straight forward. i even have dress code for myself. t-shirt and shorts. have 3 shorts that i wear to work. all in same style, different color. number of while t-shirts, and black t-shirts. 4 bdu cut off for off work wear. simple.

kanto style or kansai.. urgh..

oops..

2004-09-02T21:48:00.000-04:00

sent an email to sensei and sempai about things that's been bugging me for sometime. hope i didn't step anyone's toe.

i know i should just shut up about it.. but, dang it. i want out dojo to be the best dojo around which means all dojo members need to follow certain rules and regulation. don't want to see bunch of people socializing in the back of dojo when there is practice going on. don't want beginners teaching each other when there is sensei already in the dojo. don't want people giving blank look when sensei and others give them order..

hope i'm not over stepping my place in the food chain..

the boys!

2004-09-01T18:37:00.000-04:00

better picture of my two boys :)))

gmail thing..

2004-08-31T23:44:00.000-04:00

if for some strange reason if anyone wants gmail account for any reason, please leave your first name, last name and email addy.

if i do not have above three info.. well.. who cares? everyone and their dog already have gmail account.

just found this hello thing..

2004-08-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

just found this hello thing.. i thought it might be a great idea to post ethan's picture. he's my first born.. greatest guy on the planet.. universe.. if you ask me.. :)))

god.. and my butt..

2004-08-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

god.. i didn't know i had muscles on my butt. but it sure hurts like crazy along with rest of my legs. maybe 3 hrs of practice was too much. i'm having problem walking right now. with lack of sleep and all my body is not catching up to all the activities i'm doing.

i was rather nice on sunday. got there early.. clean the dojo.. did kata.. and saw whole bunch of new students coming in. some were very eager to learn, others were all into socializing with others.

one of the girl was too eager to learn. she tripped on hakama.. she said she's ok..

one thing i noticed was.. boy, these girls have lot of pent up anger or something. they were hitting with all their strength. i hurts to just let them hit my shinai.

one of the yudansha brought her husband and her kid. the kid was so cute. reminded me of ethan. running around in tip toe x)

god, i'm tired. wish i'm in bed ready to go to sleep..

sunday.. rain.. and kendo..

2004-08-29T21:46:00.000-04:00

went to the new location for the dojo. it was rather interesting. never seen so many kenshi in one place before. the whole gym.. more like huge room, was packed. ton of new beginners. 3 hours of solid kendo. great way to kill sunday morning.

for some reason, i hate memorizing things. it's not that i'm really bad at it. i was rather good at it during my school years.. memorize 1,000 pg book in 3 days and stuff. but since i started working. i have stopped memorizing anything. there are so many thing to keep in my head, if i could find it somewhere, i don't bother with it.. like phone numbers.. password to all the stuff at work.. then this morning, sensei wanted to do kata. hmm.. been 7 yrs since i did any kendo kata. they are not hard.. just that there are lots of details that goes along with it. well, needless to say, i forgot the whole batch of them. it was rather fun trying to remember it all.

martial art. when you are in dojo/dojang.. one should pay full attn. to sensei and the instructors. no talking, and most of all, no playing around. well.. funny thing is there's too much of that going on. i sure most people do not want militant dojo, but heck.. when a guy who has been in kendo for 2 months try to instruct the new kid who just came in.. urgh.. but who do i talk to about this? can't really stop them from handing a helping hand..

anyway.. it's been raining for few hours.

picture of a bogu..

2004-08-26T23:53:00.000-04:00

i'm bored.. so here is link to picture of my bogu..

http://www.koei-budogu.co.jp/koei_budogu_e/products/new_2001/kendo_bougu_set/big_s22.htm

yeah.. it looks really nice. i hate waiting..

tsuki!!!

2004-08-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

http://www.edu.city.kyoto.jp/hp/hiy...i-shinohara.mpg

it's raining gmail account..

2004-08-25T17:26:00.000-04:00

i'm very tired.. lack of sleep again. funny thing is when i lack sleep, my body also acts funny.. as in it gets hurt more easily. i think i pulled something on my right shin. oi..

it's been sometime since i was in school. just heard that one of the dojo in our org is having slight issue with one of the univ regarding the floor space. they actually sited that weapon is not allowed in campus. i guess kendo is ok, if you say it not sword, but bamboo sword.. if that makes any sense.. but iaito will definitely catch glares from people.

heard from bogubag that my head size is not in stock so it will take about 4 weeks for the bogu to get here.. i'm thinking more like 6 weeks. that way i don't get disappointed when it's not here.. or lose sleep over it after 4 weeks.

oh.. i got 5 gmail account to give away.

good news came in two.. sorta..

2004-08-23T20:40:00.000-04:00

ok, got order confirmation. the order is on its way to japan. i hate waiting, but i heard it's worth all that and more. got my name on men, kote, and tare also. on do, i heard it rubs off. oh well.

what's the other good news? iaido is on at dojo on sunday :) which make one trip for whole package. life is good!

urgh.. i hate waiting..

finally..

2004-08-22T17:34:00.000-04:00

ordered bogu. s-22 with true s type mune in red peta. nice kote, ti men, and yamato do. can't find the chichigawa for the men, so asked if they have it. now.. just have to wait 8 week for them to put the bogu togather. got leather bag for it too :))))) might as well. that bogu is sweet from what i heard.

couldn't make to the practice this weekend. the practice changed to sun. and it was busy morning at home today. ethan has learned how to open the front door. it's getting to be a problem. he is keep opening the door. and aidan needed to have his breakfast.. so things got delayed and couldn't make it. sigh.. once a week.. and didn't make it to the practice. it kinda sucked, but family comes first.

heard the from now on sun practice is iaido and kata during the first part. which would kick butt. always wanted to do some iaido. hope this is iaido where i could go for promotion and things. send an email to check what's up with it.

wish i have more time to do kendo x)

measure and call in..

2004-08-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

ok.. all set.

got ok from sensei on koei s-22. just have to measure and make the order. and it's waiting for 8 weeks.

been thinking about 1,000 suburi. i mean.. i used to do it, but that was over 8 yrs ago. back then i didn't feel much of anything as far as pain was concern. last time i tried 500 suburi a day, i thought my arms would fall off. just read something about 1,000 suburi a day for 1,000 days.. very tempting to try again.. maybe when i'm back with living and not working in the middle of night. lack of sleep sucks.

now with new practice time for the general practice.. i will be busy on sundays. i like working out on sundays. seems to make sunday little more meaningful. otherwise sundays are just for sleeping in late and eating left overs.

on the other note, my elder son will be starting tae kown do soon. he's only 3.5 yrs old, but i think it would be good for his character. i wanted him to do kendo, but after thinking about it, he will need something simple at his age. after his 1st degree, or when he feels he's up to it, i'll introduce him to kendo, or other budo..

one step forward.. two back..

2004-08-16T17:23:00.000-04:00

so as usual, i was at the practice on sat. with rain and all. very humid.

only six showed up. one new kenshi.. japanese.

everything started out great.. then everything started to go wrong. i couldn't get the timing right. my cut and the foot work were off. then my left hand was doing this weird bits.. then i kept slouching.. urgh. but i found out that i need to use my left leg lot more and less on my right arm.

all in all, it was great practice as always.

really need to start looking at bogu. the sensei's keep telling me i'm ready for bogu.. sigh.. talking about which, i need to sand the shinai and oil it. only have 20 yr old shinai that i have been using forever. i think it's at its end.

i keep meaning to wash my hakama.. but what a pain that would be.. i remember having really cheap cotton hakama that i used to wash everyday, then ironing it. i hated it. now i have tetron(?) hakama.. don't need to wash all that often.. but it's starting to show sign of.. well.. that white sweat marks. maybe i'll look into white hakama.. never seen men wearing those tho..

having one of those practices..

2004-08-15T17:41:00.000-04:00

ok.. can't expect all the practices to be perfect. specially when i only go once a week. but once a week is better than nothing.

so went to the dojo on sat. as usual. the practice started as usual.. which means having to look for the security guys to open the gym and so on. only 6 kendoka! great :) with rain and all i guess most people decided to sleep in.

then everything goes wrong. couldn't keep my upper body straight. couldn't time the foot work and cut right.. couldn't get the maai right.. urgh.. and my left hand.. keep doing this funny bit..

but, it was still a great work out. enjoyed every bit of it..

friday night..

2004-08-06T20:42:00.000-04:00

with wife and kids out of the house.. got nothing much to do on friday night. sort of late to plan drinking with friends.. haven't gone out in months with new baby and all.

there's always usual pre-dojo prep. clean hakama, make sure keiko-gi is washed. shinai is not splintered..

being late at work.. and not having work load sucks. i'm running out of kendo related sites to visit. none are being updated as quickly as i wish.

oh.. i forgot..

2004-08-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

was told by the sensei that i should be ready to wear bogu in about a month. now that's good and bad news.

most kendoka who starts the kendo looks forward to the day that sensei will let them know they can start wearing bogu. and with that news, they go into this mad search for the 'perfect' bogu for themselves. if you are minor, choice is mostly up to your parents.. if you are not, then it's all about how much money you can spend on the bogu, or in my case, how much money my wife will let me spend on the bogu. budget.. i hate that word.

so i've decided on either koei s-21 or s-22. s-21 is about $900US. s-22 is about $1130US. if i have to order in a month and a half, i could get s-21.. if i could hold out longer like in oct. i could get s-22.. urgh.. choices.. choices.. i hate choices.

i could go with korean made bogu. they are less expensive, but way i see it, i'm 36. i know i'm not getting another bogu until i'm like 55 or 60. i want well made japanese bogu that will last me for 15-20 yrs.

so.. good news is, i'll be ready in a month. bad news is i have to budget the whole thing and play waiting game.

dojo etiquette

2004-08-02T21:02:00.000-04:00

dojo etiquette.. not sure how traditional our dojo is.. so far as i could tell it's not all that traditional. i haven't seen any.. directive from sensei as to how things needs to be. i'm fine with non-traditional dojo.. but, things are getting to me, and nothing is being done about it. normally it would be responsibility of each individual to know what is good manner and what is not. however, with most of the people in the dojo being not really trained in any traditional martial art.. i don't really expect them from them. yet, it's would be very impolite of me to say things when i'm so new..

things that bothers me..
a. leaning shinai with tip on the bottom.. resting tip of shinai PERIOD!
b. not paying enough respect to the dojo, even if it's just a gym. it's where we practice.
c. letting sensei clean the dojo when there are ton of beginners!

oh well.. i think i'll bring it up to one of the seniors..

the workout on past two sat was great! as usual. one of the senior when through some of the etiquette on how to behave during practice which was great :)

being trained in number of semi-traditional martial arts.. proper etiquette makes me all warm fuzzy inside.

wish i was at dojo..

2004-07-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

well, i'm at work.. working my butt off saving the corp america.. but i rather be at dojo working out. it's really easy. when i'm physically working, i feel whole lot better about myself. this mental stress is not good for my being.

not to mention not being able to sleep at all..

there is a promotion in nov.. being new in the dojo, not sure if i should take the promotion test. wish i could, but i'm not even in bogu.

there are lot of different view regarding rank. one side says it states where you are in the 'rank'. other side says, rank doesn't matter. i'm rather in between. rank doesn't matter, at the same time, it let you know how you are progressing.

i rather be at dojo working up sweat then being crushed to death with solving problems that will lead to more problems..

no more pain, and shomen uchi is coming along nicely..

2004-07-19T14:58:00.000-04:00

so i took some rest and didn't do much of at home suburi. now my shoulders are doing better. i made sure i was well hydrated, and ate breakfast before the practice also.

my shomen uchi is coming along nicely. was actually told that only problem i have is maai is too close. keep hitting with middle of shinai. need to work on that. i think i step too close for the cut.

since my shoulder is doing better, i need to start working out at home again.

can't wait till i'm told i could wear the bogu. then i 'll have to worry about which one to get..

more.. serious pain..

2004-07-12T14:37:00.000-04:00

ok, i'm 36 yrs old.. and i'm out of shape.. but this is ridiculous. about 30 min into the practice on sat. morning, i could not raise the shinai. my arms lost all the strength.. i was struggling just to hold up the shinai in chudan. then after another 15 min.. i was getting light headed and could not stand up straight. took me 15 min to get over it and get back into the practice. i even drank ton of water. and eat breakfast that day. had to put on those 'ben-gay' crap over my right shoulder all weekend long. sleep alot and now they feel little better. not sure what happened.

i mean, i know i'm not getting enough sleep now days.. and not eating right.. could that be it? or am i just getting too old for all these kid stuff? urgh..

pain..

2004-07-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

so.. the second practice. it started out rather slow. got to the 'dojo' at time. but, the door was not open. since i didn't wear my watch to work out, didn't know how long we waited till the door was opened.

it's not dojo, dojo. we are using one of the university gym as a dojo. and i guess the door is always open. but someone closed it for long weekend or something. had to get the school security to open the door.

by the time i got into the dojo, i was soaking wet from sweat. i sweat a lot to begin with.. standing out in the direct sun for what seems like hours didn't help.

so changed into keiko-gi and hakama. did all the suburi.. then we started to do actual men cut on the higher ranking members of the class. it was very fast past. by the time when the whole thing was done, i was dehydrated, and dizzy. took so water and rested for awhile and finished the class.

paid the due, and found out i was 2 bucks short. will pay next week.

that took lot out of me. was hurting whole weekend. then noticed that my neck hurts. i totally forgot 100 sit up i did on fri night.. over all, very enjoyable practice.

first practice since forever..

2004-06-28T13:59:00.000-04:00

so went to practice on sat.. enjoyed it very much. didn't felt like i did much since later half of the practice were done with bogu, and i didn't have any. but i still feel rather stiff after the work out.

chance had it that two of the kendoka came up from charlotte dojo on that day. spoke to them belief to send my greeting to ken strawn sensei. i remember the keiko at charlotte dojo to be much more intense than at this dojo. then again, this dojo had about 20 kendoka on that day. way i remember back when i used to go to charlotte dojo, it was usually 4 to 5 people working out on sundays.

new hakama worked out great. didn't have problem with this coming undone like the old one did. it was rather rainy day, but for some reason, didn't sweat as much either.

seems like my shomen uchi has slipped a little. one of the sensei had to correct me on my swing. seems my elbows were sticking out to the side and my swing wasn't coming down straight. something to work on.

kendo

2004-06-24T15:52:00.000-04:00

i have been interested in kendo/kumdo since i was a little kid. when i was growing up in korea, i had a chance to go to a junior high which was well known for its kumdo team. but as things turn out, i was headed to america, and didn't really want to get my hair shaved.

back in 93, i was working for ibm down in atlanta. had a chance to join this kendo club for about 4 months or so. that was very exciting time. other than spending every well earned penny on beer, i was able to go to kendo practice with japanese senseis. the class was very casual at the same time very traditional.

of course, all the good things must come to an end. at the end of that 4 months, i was back at raleigh, nc. i really wanted to keep practicing kendo, but back in those days, raleigh wasn't exactly mecca of japanese martial art (it still isn't). luck had it that there was this new kendo club. i went there for few months. but didn't really felt 'right'. so being a silly 20 something that i was, i went out of my way to try to form a new kendo club. this failed miserably.

so, with blessing of my girlfriend and my parents, i started driving 3 hours each way down to charlotte, nc for kendo practice every sunday. then, as still is now days, ken strawn sensei was the instructor of the class. the practice was long and hard. lots of sweat and hard work. i loved every minute of it. but again.. it had to end this one. i was getting married.

since then it has been good 7 years. i did some aikido in between, tae kown do, and hapkido. but none were like kendo. didn't have that same feeling.

now with two boys of my own, working regular 40 hours a week. it's rather hard to find time for regular exercise. so i have decided to look into something that was so taxing. iaido seemed like a perfect option. so the search begins.

but, guess what i have found! new kendo club in rtp area. triangle kendo and iadio. checked out their web site and noticed that this club is member of all us kendo fed. and the practice is right down to road at unc chapel hill campus. what a find!

journey continues..