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 | Nov 15, 2015 | Uncategorized
Over the past two weeks I subjected students at our dojo to one of the most challenging things in kendo. I asked them to watch videos of themselves doing kendo basics. Ooooh – scary!! Watching yourself doing basics is often an eye-opener. Thought your ki-ken-tai...
by Mark Kawabe | Sep 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
When you think you know something and then you get information that changes the way your perspective about what you thought you knew, that’s a valuable experience. To everyone who thinks they “know” their kata, you missed a valuable experience...
by Mark Kawabe | Sep 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
Congratulations to everyone who participated in yesterday’s SWORD Tournament! It was a great little tournament. Regrettably I wasn’t able to stay for the godo keiko afterward or attend the after party at Tremendous, but I’m confident a good time was...
by Mark Kawabe | Jul 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
The Toronto Kendo Club’s 18th Annual Summer Camp promises to be full of good spirit and fun for all. This year’s camp location, we will be in Peterborough for the training and tent camping. Sensei Kimura will be leading us in a weekend of spirit building, practice and...
by Mark Kawabe | Jul 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
August 8, 2015 – 9:00 am We are pleased to announce the 9th Annual Keishicho (Tokyo Police Force) Sensei Kendo Seminar hosted by Kendo Ontario and Etobicoke Olympium Kendo / Iaido Club. Last year we were fortunate to have Takeuchi Masato sensei lead a very...
by Mark Kawabe | Jul 7, 2015 | Kendo Road Trip, Uncategorized
Here are some thoughts and reflections stemming from last weekend’s road trip. Kendo is like Alexander Keith’s beer: Those who like it, like it a lot. It is easier to observe the things that should be done than to actually do them. Similarly, it is easier...
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 | May 21, 2015 | Uncategorized
If you take kendo out of the dojo, is it still kendo? If you’re doing kata or kihon waza in shorts and t-shirts on the beach, is it still kendo? What makes kendo . . . kendo? From my perspective, the answer is defined by the intent you bring to the activity. If...
by Mark Kawabe | Apr 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
From the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF): The Concept of Kendo The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword). The Purpose of Practicing Kendo The purpose of practicing Kendo is: To mold the...
