Promoting the growth and development of kendo?

[neko kenshi]

Let me preface this by saying that this is more a question of idle curiosity than a serious inquiry, but what, if anything, is being done at the federation level to promote the growth of kendo, both in terms of increasing membership and in terms opening new dojo? Is this issue even the concern of regional and national federations? What are the hindrances or concerns in attempting to do so? Is there a way this endeavor could be improved? Should it be?

I'm not really experienced or involved enough with kendo to input anything of value here; all I can note is that I understand one obvious problem is that for a new dojo to start, you need advanced kendoka, who rather tend to gravitate toward areas where kendo concentrated rather than areas where it is less developed.

As for whether this should be an area of focus, my (uninformed) opinion is that if anything can be done, it should. Most of us would agree, I think, that kendo has been of great benefit to us in our personal development, and of great enjoyment as well. I find it natural that I would want others to have the same opportunities as myself, and even though there are of course other routes to achieve what can be gained from kendo, I think it would be nice for more to have that specific opportunity. As it is, the vast majority of the world, even in countries that have developed kendo programs, is not within reasonable distance of a legitimate dojo and has no such opportunity. Obviously there are limits to the extent to which this can be remedied, but I should think it nice to try improve this a little. Also, as has been mentioned before, there are probably many people who would both love kendo and contribute greatly to it who have never even heard of it, so a little more publicity could be of benefit as well. Now, I'm not necessarily saying we should make it an Olympic sport, though some could argue that could help in this area, but it seems some sort of a broader effort could prove fruitful.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

PS: Sorry if there is not too much to discuss here, it is just an area that interested me that I had heard very little about. Additionally, no criticism was intended, and any such implications that may be read were purely unintentional. I am far too ignorant of the federations' dealings to think to criticize them, particularly at my low level.

[dwez]

One of the reasons I did the Google maps of kendo clubs of GB (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107634194699919271599.00000112bead993863544&t=h&z=6) was to see where they are, and conversely where they are not. Of course it has other benefits in that people can use it to get directions to the clubs, links to club websites and more information about their association/federation as a whole.

However the initial reason is perfect for highlighting were an association is lacking. How you then go aboutfilling the gaps is the difficult part. Here is one scenario perhaps

If you look on my map you will see there are only two clubs in Wales akai-ryuu (http://www.akai-ryuu.co.uk) in Cardiff, and Renseikan (http://www.renseikankendo.co.uk) in Newport. To the East Newport also has Glucester and Bristol within an hours drive but West of Cardiff is nothing. Hopefully at some point Cardiff my have a member travel an hour from Swansea to train. With support from his home club, the BKA and enough time a club in Swansea might emerge, each existing club used as a stepping stone for a suitable location.

Alternatively Aberystwyth has quite a well known University. There's a possibility someone already doing kendo could start one there if they moved to study.

Personally I think we're short in Norfolk, Wales, East Coast [Hull, Scarborough], Midlands [Wolverhampton, Coventry] Lake District [I know one Southern Club has travelled to practice here] perhaps Carlisle and a Manchester University Club would be good. The google maps are useful tools for spotting these holes and potentially planning how to fill them. It's up to the PTB's to seize these openings, hopefully they will.

[MikeW]

There was a recent thread about things that could make the National (AUSKF) organization better. I don't know if your questions would be answered by that but it might be an interesting read for you if you haven't already checked it out (should be able to use the search function to find it).

I would say that at both the National and Regional level there are efforts to increase kendo participation (in the U.S. at least), as to whether those efforts are successful in all cases I am not sure. I can only really address it form the regional level. In the SEUSKF during the past 2 years we have tried to increase dojo support by instituting regional promotions (regions within the SEUSKF) so that members don't have to drive all day to access a tournament/seminar/promotional exam. We set up a lower priced level for SEUSKF membership for University clubs (as long as the club was not part of a larger club and the decreased dues are only for current students not the sensei or out of school members). Several of the sensei travel to give support to dojos that don't have their own sensei. The SEUSKF helps to pay for all of this travel and support by the dues they take in. We have set up a web site and we encourage dojos to do the same to drive membership. Our dojos participate in demos and cultural gatherings as well as doing demos at high schools and local organizations (such as YMCA).

I'm not really sure what kind of activity you are thinking of but with the funds we have available I am not sure that there is a lot more we can do at this time at the regional (SEUSKF) level.

[tad]

I think starting a new dojo is a large undertaking that is really going to take the initiative of a sensei or a group. I don't know that it's necessarily the responsibility of the AUSKF to start a new dojo. Although the AUSKF could probably help in some small way, the success or failure of a brand new dojo is probably going to rely on the tenacity of the founders.

[Anime12478]

In about 10 -15 years or so, I could see a lot of people becoming the rank where they can open their own dojos. Whether or not that will actually translate into new dojos is something that won't be known until that time comes. But then, I really don't think that is really enough. No matter what, a dojo survives on people and, if there are few outlets to get exposure, the dojo may not survive the way that promotes dojo growth.

I personally don't think that just opening new dojos isn't the complete right answer because of that. Some clubs are doing their part by participating in various events to get the word of Kendo out there. But for the rest of us that have a little less control over the goings on of the dojo, there are things that we can do. Just as much as we see people putting the "wrong" stuff about Kendo out there, we can put the right stuff out there. Putting up blogs about Kendo, the culture and training events should aid in getting a more true perspective of Kendo. While it may not translate into new participants in the direct sense, it could at least let people know that Kendo does exist and makes it a little less unfamiliar if they happen to walk in on a class. It could translate into more people down the road when more dojos open as people would probably more likely join something that is a more familiar instead of some random art that nobody knows about.

[Neil Gendzwill]

In about 10 -15 years or so, I could see a lot of people becoming the rank where they can open their own dojos. Whether or not that will actually translate into new dojos is something that won't be known until that time comes.To be useful to the kendo community, they would have to move someplace where there is no kendo and then open a dojo there. Opening their own dojo where kendo already exists is generally divisive.

[dwez]

Often I've thought that in this day and age ones federation should have a web-strategy. That every club should have a website that even if it doesn't the federation should provide a bog-standard effort that has basic functionality of a newspage [rss], contact details, a small gallery perhaps and maybe even a message board. A simple template that can be easily changed to suit kendo and in this thread (http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12902) I came across a few.

It was mentioned to me that the BKA had offered this in the past, but not many seemed to take up the opportunity, bonkers. However this shows it is possible and I'm sure the likes of AUSKF and others could bend it's will to such a thing. OK it'll take up server space but I'm sure the tech savvy could put limitations on content. Anyway those that managed to fill up their pages would be better served with their own domain.

The advantage to this is that all the local kendo news could be fed into the National news and thereby fostering a, dare I say it, community and not one of like minded hermits but engaged members who can see what is going on in their art Nationwide. Something I've been thinking about mucking about with when not doing maps. It's like a network, but social, maybe it'll never catch on though. I'm not talking www.facebogu.com as such but making sure everyone's got at least some semblance of professionalism, even if they do do it on a voluntary basis, well it just raises the profile of the organisation as a whole.

[dwez]

Another thought is a stock library of copyright free photography. High quality images, including some with clipping paths free to use in promotion of the art. I'm sure it's a copyright nightmare and someone somewhere will have to get paid, but a good quality image used in the right way for posters, flyers etc. can have great impact. Your federation providing this welcome pack of support material to promote your club could really help in getting it off the ground and keeping it rolling.

You could even generate an interactive .pdf where the club can change the text to their details with just a couple of quick keystrokes. No cost to the fed in printing as it will all be done locally by you when you receive the electronic welcome pack. Even 4up flyers [to cut out] on A4 can have form fields on one of the A6 flyers that you input once and it replicates on the other 3 instantly.

Don't worry I'll have another idea by the morning...