Just started!

[Polemarch]

Hi all,

On my third class now and wanted to say hi to you all. I have loads of questions but I'm going to pace myself before anoying you all to quickly. This site looks great, look forward to getting stuck into some good discussions very soon.

BTW, I am training in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Anybody else from that club post here or am I the only one? :-) Speak soon.

[meow]

Hi,

good to see that there some more newbies here. :-)

How did you come to kendo?

How is the training in your club? Could you describe, please? I am very interested to read, how other beginners are doing.

greetings

meow

[John W]

Hey Polemarch,

Good luck on your kendo journey! :wink:

[JimB]

Hello everyone! I too have started learning Kendo recently. The forums here are pretty good from what I have seen and I am looking forward to talking and learning from my fellow kendoka.

[Polemarch]

Hi,

I will do my best to describe everything so far, please appreciatre I'm not up on the correct terms yet but I will do my very best :-)

I'm training at the Akai Ryuu Kendo Club, based in Cardiff, Wales. We meet on Tuesday nights and they start beginners classes with every school term. I started two weeks ago after contacting a chap called Shaun from their website and they just said come along in loose clothing, so I did!

On my first night there were around 6-7 new people and around 10 'regulars'. I was introduced to a few of the people, filled in some paperwork and was then handed my shinai.

The first thing we were taught (which I forget the name of, grr) was how to enter and leave. How to 'draw' our swords, move forward, 'kneel' and then move back. We were then shown by several people the correct techniques to hold our shinai.

Next, foot techniques. Shown stance (very weird as I'm from a fencing background!), movement etc. Practiced this for 10-15 mins.

'Men cuts'? This was next, we went first through the arm/hand technique, followed by footwork and then 'ki'? It was a disaster and I was all over the place!

We then lined up, knelt etc whilst the rest put on their armour. though that was it but whilst the regulars sparred one person came over at a time for us to practice our men cuts on them. Every 2-3 mins they swopped so we got loads of useful comments and feedback.

That was pretty much the first lesson, went from 7.30pm-10.15pm and was great. Second session was similar in structure but the lessons started with how to maintain and adjust your shinai as well as some basic info on clothing etc. My men cuts were much better at this session and I was quite pleased! Been out practicing in the garden each evening till my arms are worn out.

Bought a white oak bokken for no reason other than it looked lovely and encourages me to go and practice with my shinai all the time. No idea what I will/can do with the bokken other than kata at a later date. Time will tell I suppose.

There you go, bored yet?? :-)

[Hattori Hanzo]

People in my club like to use bokken for Suburi.

[niji]

People in my club like to use bokken for Suburi.


bokken for suburi.... kinda dangerous..
i also new to kendo :D

hope i will stay with this new culture for as long as possible :evolved:

[Polemarch]

What is Suburi? My Kendo book has just arrived by Ozawa, maybe that will tell me...

[kennosen]

Hey Polemarch, i'm a member too! I started way back when we had 'Ken Yamamoto' as teacher, around 4 years ago, but he's back in Japan now.

I have only been back a few weeks, after a long lay off, but it's so good to be practicing again!

'Su-Buri' is 'practice cuts with shinai/bokken/sword'

Feel free to contact me if you need any help ok.

Chris

[meow]

Bought a white oak bokken for no reason other than it looked lovely and encourages me to go and practice with my shinai all the time. No idea what I will/can do with the bokken other than kata at a later date. Time will tell I suppose.

There you go, bored yet?? :-)
Nope, didn´t find it boring :D

Wow....I love those white bokken. They are beautifull. I will buy me one as a present, if I manage to keep up with kendo until I did my first grading, LOL...

I wish you all the best. Sounds like you have found a very nice club. Have fun! :D

[twix]

bokken for suburi.... kinda dangerous..
.... when the sweat in your hands send the bokken slipping out of your grip and flying across the room! :D

[Kendo ISB]

Im new to this site :P But not new to kendo. Its the opposite of everyone else @_@. About how i practice...
I practice on...
Monday- 1.5 hours
TUesday- 1.5 hours
Thursday-1.5hours
Friday-2.0 Hours
Saturday-4-6 hours
Sunday-2 Hours.

OVerall, its VERY tiring! and keeping up with school is even harder! BUt because the sensei find time to teach us, ya gotta respect them by going :P

[Huw Blacker]

I Also Train At The Akai-Ryuu Dojo in cardiff, I have trained there for two years and am really enjoying kendo. I personally, think its great and i reccomend it to anybody who lives nearby!! :smiley:

[El Gringo]

I've been training atAkai Ryuu for 9 months now and have enjoyed every minute of it. Recently got my own bogu wich was stupidly exciting, I was like a little kid a christmas when it arrived; it was ordered from Japan and shipped by boat which took 5 of what felt like the longest weeks of my life.

When I first started I had loads of questions as well, this forum really helped with many of them, and also helped fill in the gap between eack Tuesday.

Polemarch: Also noticed on your profile that your an ancient history student, I studied ancient history for my degree so its cool to see other people who are interested in it too.

[nikolaj]

Im new to this site :P But not new to kendo. Its the opposite of everyone else @_@. About how i practice...
I practice on...
Monday- 1.5 hours
TUesday- 1.5 hours
Thursday-1.5hours
Friday-2.0 Hours
Saturday-4-6 hours
Sunday-2 Hours.

OVerall, its VERY tiring! and keeping up with school is even harder! BUt because the sensei find time to teach us, ya gotta respect them by going :P
wow...that's a lot.