by Mark Kawabe | Mar 29, 2018 | Unwritten Rules of Kendo
This is one of those “unwritten rules of kendo”. Don’t ask your instructor for permission to grade. There. I said it. Just don’t do it. If you have to ask, you’re probably not ready. If you’re ready, your instructor will let you...
by Mark Kawabe | Nov 15, 2015 | Uncategorized, Unwritten Rules of Kendo
There’s an “unwritten” rule of kendo that one shouldn’t ask one’s sensei if you are ready to grade. If you have to ask, you probably aren’t. If you were ready, your sensei would have told you to get your registration in. Or...
by Mark Kawabe | Jul 2, 2015 | Uncategorized, Unwritten Rules of Kendo
The terms “sempai” and “kohai” loosely translate to “senior” and “junior”. There’s a lot of meaning behind those loose translations. Sempai is a term used to denote someone who is senior to you in experience. This...
by Mark Kawabe | Jan 21, 2015 | Unwritten Rules of Kendo
Everyone who’s taken kendo for more than a month or so has some familiarity with the kirikaeshi drill. Like most things in kendo, there are many hidden elements in it. You can learn valuable lessons in kirikaeshi if you do it correctly, and you can also learn a...
by Mark Kawabe | Feb 5, 2012 | Unwritten Rules of Kendo
It’s been my observation that most dojos I’ve been to haven’t practiced tsuki. There’s probably a good reason for this. Perhaps it’s a bit more dangerous than the other strikes. It’s certainly more intimidating – knowing...
by Mark Kawabe | Feb 5, 2012 | Unwritten Rules of Kendo
The title and the topic is perhaps misleading. SOMEWHERE, these pointers are probably written down. However, the flip side of that is that they’re probably written in Japanese or are in some form that the “average” kenshi isn’t ever going to...
