Kendo at university in Japan

[Koban]

hey just wonderin does anyone know of any other uni's that do a kendo course than IBU?

[Super Kodachi]

Pretty much most Unis have Kendo Clubs with well established teams. As to a specific Kendo/Budo undergraduate course I'm not sure.

Its been my experience that if you really want to live in japan and study budo you should do so privately, whilst teaching English. Many friends of mine who have attended IBU have said that they learnt more at other dojo outside of the IBU experience.

When I was in Fukuoka I studied Kendo for 3 months at Ohori High School and Fukuoka University of Education. I went there to do budo and was also a classroom assistant with the high school ESS class (English Speaking Society). Personally I think that would be a better way to approach it.

Sort yourself out with something to do for the majority of the day such as teaching or class assistant then do the kendo you want with the school/uni club in your own time. I think it will give you a much more rounded experience, as your come into contact with a wider selection of people (budo and nonbudo).

[Koban]

thanks very much jon, yeah i was training in Fukuoka there the other week with Sumi Sensei, and i'd like to train there or somewhere like it!

[nodachi]

Any college will have a club. In fact, any college will have an official club (meaning they represent the college in tournaments) and an unofficial, "for fun" club (meaning still serious but not psycho competition serious). Don't know if that makes sense, but kendo is everywhere in Japan. Gotta love it!

[Super Kodachi]

Hi Lee

If you want to go you really have to have a plan. When I went to Fukuoka I was 17. I lived there for 3 months during my A levels.

When are you thinking of going? I would 100% recommend Fukuoka. Kyushu has some very strong kenshi and very well extablished high schools and Universities for Kendo. In particular in the High School Circuit Kyushu Gakuin and Ohori are very famous.

PM me your email and we can talk abot things a bit more.

Definately though have something lined up to do during the day. Even if you do 2 keiko a day thats only on average 4 hours a day. Learn Japanese during the normal daytime, or help out in language classes. Otherwise you're get very bored when you're not in the dojo!

[Koban]

cool cool thanks! yeah fukuoka is really good, i was thinkin of doin a sport science course in sumi's uni, but then theres the uni of tsukuba, they do a methodolgy of kendo, i was lookin at that i'm gonna email them for more info!

[cesarekim]

cool cool thanks! yeah fukuoka is really good, i was thinkin of doin a sport science course in sumi's uni, but then theres the uni of tsukuba, they do a methodolgy of kendo, i was lookin at that i'm gonna email them for more info!

Sounds interesting. Can you give a brief description of what they teach when you get feedback from either?

Thanks

[D'Artagnan]

... uni of tsukuba...


Just a word of warning, my friend went to uni of tsukuba, and HATED every minute of it, apparently he was in some little tiny village somewhere and his living conditions were appalling. However, he does not practise Kendo so i have no idea how it would be for that. He came home after 4 weeks

[Koban]

yeah i was warned off it by a friend of mine as its got nothing! but apparently they have a pretty good kendo team!

to cesarekim, yeah i'm going to email Sumi sensei after christmas and see whats the deal with the university, and i havent gotten round to emailing tsukuba yet i will after christmas!

[Kingofmyrrh]

yeah i was warned off it by a friend of mine as its got nothing! but apparently they have a pretty good kendo team!
Tsukuba have an excellent team. However, I know people who have not been allowed to practice at the main club (they have several) because they were not good enough. Unless you are 3rd-4th dan level and able to get through practice with guys who were generally at the top of the tree for high school kendo (and continue to be so in uni) then you are likely to find yourself in the same situation. Plus, while they do have kendo courses, asa far as I know they are all four year courses, so unless you have four years to spare and can read and write Japanese fluently, then this is probably impractical. You could try and get on a non-kendo exchange and practice there though.
Sumi sensei is retiring in March so if you want help from him it's probably a good idea to dash off that email sooner rather than later.

[Koban]

cool thanks for the info, yeah i know honda sensei from england, his former student, is taking over, i'm just waiting to get christmas outta the way!