Kendo Journal

[James]

I would be interested in peoples experiences of keeping a kendo journal. How many people keep one, how often do you write, how often do you re-visit what you have written, how has this helped.

[Keith Hong]

I keep a diary and often write stuff in it about kendo(cutting open a quarter-sized blister - how it bled and hurt).
I like to read back on it sometimes. To know that I've made some progress after all.:D

[James]

Our sensei has often encouraged us to write down our goals. And especially at holiday times when the club might be closed for a couple of weeks to spend the time that we can't train thinking about what we want to achieve, and that writing our ideas down can help us to focus.
Due to <excuses> insert excuses here </excuses> I have only ever managed to do this sporadically. But I think it is potentially very useful. I would really be interested in knowing if someone had been writing a kendo journal for a LONG time.
I was prompted to post this as in another thread someone had said they had written about an experience in a dojo, and of course I wanted to know if EVERYONE out there are writing religiously (and have publishing deals).
One of my sempais had written about doing kendo during a year in Japan and it was fascinating.

J

[kendokamax]

I voted : sounds like a waste of time

but actually now I think it sounds like fun to do that.

maybe

happy kendo!!

by the way...."ultra meeeeen"
this is too funny!!!!

[Aoi]

I remember someone from overseas who dropped by at our dojo some time back kept notes like that. It's an interesting idea, and maybe helpful to your kendo at times, especially when you start off.
Keeping injury notes will be handy, so you may find your "bio-rhythm" in your body (excuse my "created" words, my vocab is very limited in english) Most things I learn now are difficult to put into words, and are things that I must feel and remember which cannot be discribed. I take notes down of the training menu, progression of the juniors and shiai results, to see how the training effects the performance. Harder training doesn't necessarily mean good results... Ironicly to the Japanese idea of "the more the better".
Kendo is such a facinating sport... =)

[David J]

I cant remember quite why, but I started one only a couple of weeks after I first began practice. I try to scribble down points I need to work on while on the train home (tricky sometimes after beer-keiko :D). Already its quite interesting to look back at things from very early on where I've put "I must do XXX!", and now its like, duh, didnt I know that? :D Having started it early on, I hope I can keep it going all the way to 5th dan (ahem)

<rei>

Dave

[Achilles]

Sounds like a real misplacement of precious time and effort. Let's say you spend an hour writing in your journal. That's an hour you could be spending doing suburi or suriashi.

Marsten-sensei once told me that kendo "is about doing, not so much talking." Writing is just passive talking.

This ties back to the whole frustrating thing I encounter with all these people who try to pursue kendo/kumdo metaphysically. It ain't about writing, or therapy or mystical asian secrets. It's about getting your ass in the dojang and sweating until you want to die, then grabbing a shower and some sleep and coming back the next night to do it again.

My advice? (yes, I know you didn't ask for it) Less writing, more practice.

[kendokamax]

Nobody said that they were thinking of improving their kendo with writing a journal about it. Why are you wasting your training time on this forum? :P

ah my kendo journal I think I could write it on the web. I will start one too. but in french or english?..hum...

[durrell4]

Achilles,

There is room in Kendo/Kumdo for those who want to pursue both aspects mental and physical. Not everyone who plays kendo is very good, in fact there are many folk who have your attitude and just aren't good in sports. Should we exclude the uncoordinated from kendo? I think we as a group of kendoka need to make room differing points of view. If some one wants to embrace the ZEN of kendo good for them. Like or it or not that is a part of kendo.

D-

sorry, about a journal, well I don't have time in life for that, but it is a good concept.

[hamish]

Achilles, I would agree with you if we were talking about people standing around during practice time.

The benefits of thinking about what you've done, and are going to do in your practice have been shown in many studies to enhance your skills more than the same time spent actually practicing.

I do not, by any means, recommend dropping practice time to write a journal, and I don't think anyone else is either.

As an example, I trained for some time with the kendo club at Kyoto University, a university known for the high educational standard of its students. All of the students have spent a considerable portion of their youth with their noses stuck in books studying to pass the countless exams required to gain entry to the university.

Hence a large number of the club members have not been doing kendo for very long, or as intensively as their counterparts in the sports universities. Practice times, too, are much less than sports universities, usually once a day as opposed to 2-4 times a day.

However, they continually place in the best 8 in the Kansai Universities Kendo Champs (total of some 50-60 schools?), ahead of some of the more practice intensive sports universities, and qualify regularly for the All Japan Student Champs.

The reason for this is that they are very focused, and very analytical of what they are doing, especially when they are not training.

Time with the men on is the most important thing when it comes to training, but you can multiply that effect by using other tools, and things like a diary to focus your thoughts on your training are invaluable.

Hamish

[KhawMengLee]

Hmmmnn,
in Western Australia we get given a grade book after your first grading. It tell each time you grade and where. Its like carrying a portable certificate.

I also keep a kendo journal of every dojo I train at and get the Sensei and fellow kendoka to sign in it(also inserting a pic). It helps because of the advice that seniors leave in the book.

A journal can be a good form of therapy to see/analyse your faults.

MENG

[David J]

Nicely put Hamish.

For one thing, who you'd never write for an hour! What would you put? For me I just use the twenty minutes on the train to write down significant stuff - what I did well, got wrong, or need to work on. I couldnt be using that time for suburi anyway (without being arrested).

And as Alex says, analysis magnifyies the effectiveness of training - how do you think Lance Armstrong does so well? Everything he does is analysed in depth, to great effect. He doesnt just spend all his available time on the bike, he works on specifics.

In any case, not all of us want to be the best / winningest in the shortest time - we all have our own reasons for doing this, making statements like "Kendo/Kumdo is not about..." rather redundant - its about whatever its about for you.

Lance and I are both cyclists.....

<rei>

Dave

[ben]

I'd add to this the effectiveness of 'image training'. There have been studies done (sorry can't give refs) where the skill acquisition of groups of people who have used visualisation to assist in training has clearly outstripped those who simply used practical skills training only.

It looks and sounds like 'just thinking about kendo', but it is actually a very disciplined form of thinking. Putting aside all your doubts and fears and picturing yourself producing your best kendo to defeat your arch-nemesis in the dojo (we all have one)(or in my case about ten). It takes effort, no less than producing seme in the dojo. I know I can feel my heart-rate increase and I start to sweat, and I'm just sitting on the couch.

b

[JSchmidt]

"There have been studies done (sorry can't give refs) "

I read one recently, although I can't remember where :(

3 groups of basketball players.
One spend the whole training time shooting hoops
Second group spend half the time shooting hoops, half the time doing visualisation training
third group only practice half as much as group one and no visualisation training

Group 1 still came out on top, but group two wasnt far behind, with group 3 some ways back.
(I can't remember the exact time spend or the exact result, but something like this)

So yes..spending that 20-30 mins at your lunch break, etc, can help your kendo.
I used to write a journal, but for some reason stopped doing it...Gotta get back to it :)

Jakob

[James]

Achilles you spend so much time writing, your words are imploding on my desktop.
No implication of writing 'instead' of training. I agree sometimes you gotta NIKE (just do it!).


Writing is just passive talking.
opposite - it is a discipline + making thoughts concrete, that most men of action 'wasted' considerable time on, Marcus Aurelius, Musashi ...

Documented symbolic act of writing, people trying to quit smoking/diet etc. told to write down their intentions + specifics, and dates - making them more likely to achieve their goals.
A log of training is standard for most who train seriously in any sport to gauge progress.

If in the dojo we seem to be going through the motions, not making progress; perhaps a journal would be a valuable tool to reasses progress + goals.

Good Dave, starting early - hope you do keep it up until godan.

After posts by Hamish and Ben, I imagine disciplined writing + visualisation may help progress quite radically.

[Matthew Lagden]

like david J i started a journal after i had been doing kendo a few months - when i reached the point that at some level i understood what i was supposed to be doing, even if i couldn't do it.

and although i don't keep it religiously, i have kept it up and it does help. especially at those times when you can't practise - i write it up on my lunch hour at work, and i find that the change of focus makes my work better as well and staves off that mid afternoon slump that salarymen like me know so well.

i will read thru it today at lunchtime, and again before i leave work for the keiko tonight, and it connects you into the moment, both good and bad, so that you can visualise that perfect men cut, or even the feeling of fatigue you get in the second hour.

it is hard to explain but it is a from of warm up, and diminishes that feeling of disorientation i get at the beginning of keiko...

and i know some people in this forum practise 23 times a week, but some of us struggle to make it to keiko twice a week (thru work/family commitments etc) and its a way of making the most of those limited practise opportunities.

[KhawMengLee]

To ask may be a moments shame, but not to ask and remain ignorant is a lifelong shame.

Did you get this from This is Kendo by Junzo Sasamori and Gordon Warner?

heh, its a good book.

MENG

[Matthew Lagden]

no, someone at my dojo told me it, but they probably got it from 'this is kendo'.

i've also seen it on a UK club website. its good advice though.

[Achilles]

Hamish et al,

I must respectfully disagree with your position (well, not *totally* disagree).

I'm sure that quiet, written reflection does have a beneficial impact on one's pursuit of kendo, but to me, it seems tangential, much like running or tennis benefits by building endurance, coordination and self-cinfidence. Yeah, it's all helpful, but you're still better off spending your precious time PRACTICING KENDO.

A good example: Almost every sensei/sabomnim I have ever practiced with has always made a point of using kakari-geiko to completely exhaust students, and THEN making them do kiri-kaeshi/yungyuk or ji-geiko. The point is, when you're exhausted, you CAN'T THINK. And that's good. You're not supposed to think, you're just supposed to GO. Your body is supposed to snap into action. Good kendo/kumdo by my understanding is a instinct, it's learned and repeated bodily. This is wholly in line with zen-conceptions of "no mind". Your brain shuts off, your mind floats in the void while your body does what it has been trained to do over countless, gruelling hours.

Journalling, as well as being fundamentally narciscisstic, is antithetical to this notion. I'm sure it doesn't hurt, but why waste valuable time? I don't know about the rest of you, but my days are budgetted down to the second.

The last example will hopefully appeal to those of you Japanophiles out there. Try to think of the *real* samurai, not the rare 1% of the wealthy hatamoto or socially enfranchised ronin-senseis. Think of the starving ashigaru, think of the ji-zamurai who scratched by on a quarter-koku, a jingasa and his grandfather's rusty old no-dachi.

Do you honestly think these men were reading and writing in journals? Hell no. All they did was fight. And that's why they were so damn good at it.

[JSchmidt]

Achilles, I can't correct a bad habit, unless I know it's there.
In order to correct that bad habit, I need to spend X amount of time consciously thinking about it, so that the body adapts the correct/improved habit and then you can just go. without thinking about it.
Yes, thinking bad/reaction good...I agree with that...but if you react the wrong way, then you need to correct that...and one of the ways you can correct is by visualisation.
Do you ever think about kendo at work?..or while commuting, etc?...about how you could improve?.

Jakob

[David J]

Achilles, as "Mr Alternative Viewpoint", I'm starting to suspect you're being contrary for the sake of it..... :D

You are right in saying that practice is good, more practice is better. We're saying that considered practice is better still. As Jakob says, you work to improve specifically, not just more, more, more. I refer you back to my comments on Lance Armstrong.


Originally posted by Achilles
I'm sure that quiet, written reflection does have a beneficial impact on one's pursuit of kendo, but to me, it seems tangential, much like running or tennis benefits by building endurance, coordination and self-cinfidence. Yeah, it's all helpful, but you're still better off spending your precious time PRACTICING KENDO.


But surely in that case, you shouldnt be active on this forum, you should be PRACTICING right now! And you seem to keep ignoring that no-one is saying that you should avoid keiko in order to write about it, but that you can find time to record your goals and progress, and important points that your sensei or your seniors have made to you, AS WELL. I write my journal at a time when I have done two hours of keiko and am travelling home - how is this a waste of time? And what else should I be doing? Sometimes I reflect on my Kendo as I am falling asleep - should I be doing suburi then too? ;)

To use another example, for a long time I have been trying to learn to swim, with little success. I realised last night that what I do is go swimming, try as hard as I can and swim as hard as I can, and get nowhere. What I need to do is slow down, reflect and work on specifics (like when to breath - my main problem) - in fact use the same approach I have taken to learning Kendo, with I believe, good results.

Also, given the intensity of your commitment, I am intrigued as to what your goals are....?

<rei>

Dave

[Matthew Lagden]

Jakob, David,

I'm glad you two waded in, as you put it much better than i could, but i have to agree 100% with the two of you.

noone is going to tell me that the time i just spent on my lunch hour reading my journal and thinking about what i want to get out of tonights practise won't have helped me to do better practise.

and as for your comment about ashigaru etc, well you don't know how good they were, and nor do i. but i bet a great swordsman like musashi thought very deeply about his kenjutsu...

and my feeling is that most ashigaru, ji-Zamurai and the like ended up dead in a ditch first time in battle, grandfathers no-dachi or not.

[Matthew Lagden]

plus, much as i would like to, i am not allowed to do Kiri Kaesh on my boss, but i can read my journal and post here, and mostly fool him into thinking i'm working.

which has to be beneficial. beats working at least....

[Achilles]

Dave,

I am concerned that you feel that my input is contrary for the sake of being contrary. This bothers me because I worry that you will then dismiss my points out of hand, even though I feel they are valid.

I hope this is not the case. I feel the points I make are well supported and do not wade into conversations unless I believe in what I am saying.

I'm only active on this forum at times when I *can't* practice kendo (dojang is closed and my wife will *kill* me if I practice suburi in the house and start the dog barking, I'm at work, etc. . .) and I like the sense of community I get from interacting with you all. It has nothing to do with kendo/kumdo, I just like people who have similar interests and I like talking with them. My life is about more than kendo/kumdo, so this is sort of like socialization for a geek like me ;)

You asked after my goals. My goal is simple. I want to be a master swordsman. How do I define this? I want to be able to defeat any opponent I face according the rules of the sport we engage in. This holds for kendo, kumdo and broadsword and shield in the SCA (where I have been woefully inactive as of late, but still hold the baronial championship for my area). For me, the real yardstick of skill is who wins in a tournament situation. I know this seems narrow-minded and missing the point to most on this forum, but it is my firm and honest opinion. I know of no other real way to measure skill with a blade other than how you can defeat, and who can defeat you.

[lewis]

David, Ben and Hamish have effectively discussed two of the current trends in performance sports training. I see no reason why they should apply to kendo any less than they apply to cycling, climbing, golf, wrestling, triatholon, shooting, or any other sport.

One main purpose (and in my opinion the most important) of a training diary is to force you to evaluate your practice objectively while it is fresh in your mind. Another is to provide a written record of just how much training you really have done. It is human nature to remember things as better than they actually were, and to forget some things entirely (next practice I need to work on X). The training diary is not magic, it is just a tool to help you to overcome this nature.

Visualization is also very powerful, but as has been mentioned, it is much more than just 'thinking about doing kendo.' Although a purpose of visualization is to psychologically prepare yourself for competition, a much more important purpose is to 'create' responses to certain situations. With kendo as an example, if you see kote openings but can't capitalize, that would be something to work on with visualization in an attempt to make your kote a reflex (conditioned response) rather than a thought.

Both techniques have been the subject of many articles and books in the last decade. If you are interested, it would be easy and worth it to read at least one short article to get the most out of your effort.

Personally I don't keep a kendo journal. I have kept journals for other sports when I was trying to compete at my best (before I had a career, kids and a mortgage). IMHO, if you are a committed, long-term athlete, journals (and visualization) are an easy way to kick your performance up a notch or two or three.

[David J]

Achilles - I was (largely) joking, and wanted you to realise that I was (hence the smilie at the end). Your input on this forum is always welcome, and as with Confound (wherever she's gone...) it keeps the threads lively to hear varying opinions.

I was wondering about it though, since we seemed to be looping round - we were saying that we did this in "other" times to when we did keiko, and you seemed to be implying we should be practicing instead....You have now admitted that there are times when you think of Kendo and cant do it (eg when on this forum)....

I respect your commitment, and ambition. I have no doubt that you believe in what you write, but Matthew, Jakob etc and I dont seem able to get our respective viewpoints across to you on this thread - either that or you are chosing not to agree or disagree with the points made (or are too busy to do so). Fair enough.

What intrigues me though is that someone with such a "sporting" focus to their Kendo seems so dismissive of methods for focussed improvement that have been tried and tested in other sports. I dont think of my journal as being one of the "spiritual" (cue forum alarm bell...:D) aspects of my Kendo, its one of the most practical.

<rei>

Dave

[Achilles]

*Please* don't lump me in with Confound. We're entirely different animals ;)

I want you to know that you *are* getting your viewpoints across. I both hear and understand you. I just happen to *disagree* (and not even totally) with you, but I don't want you to think that you're not reaching me, you certainly are.

As for my sporting focus. I agree with you, that *is* how I approach kumdo, and would like to see an expansion of that approach. But there are a lot of things "tried and tested" in sports, that are just plain lame. I hate to keep fielding anecdotes (because they don't really prove anything), but I can't resist here: My wife is a dedicated runner (actually, she WAS a dedicated runner until she broke her knee) she used to always tell me that real runners have to change their running shoes every 3 months. I'm thinking "what a load of BS, that's just what the shoe companies say to make money". To prove it, I ran a 5K (under 7 minutes miles), and then another, in 2 year old sneakers. Then I ran a 10K in HIKING BOOTS (made good time too), nary a blister my friend.

I know it's a silly anecdote, but my point is this: Just because it's common practice or popular, doesn't mean that it's a good idea. There are a LOT of dumb ideas that have gained even national acceptance (hell, look at Islamic theocracy, there's a perfectly good example of a disastrously dumb idea that is enthusiastically supported by MILLIONS of otherwise highly intelligent people).

I guess that's why I'm so willing to be labelled "Mr. Contrary". I don't just follow a point of view, I need to be convinced first. I know, I know, it's NOT very Asian. But then again, neither am I ;)

[JSchmidt]

"Then I ran a 10K in HIKING BOOTS (made good time too), nary a blister my friend."

Nice...then try in a pair of running shoes and see which one was most comfortable (and easiest).

Jakob

[alexpollijr]

A'ight, so now we'll have an 'Achilles' thread?

Anyway, Achilles is such a fine person to have around. If everyone was to agree in every single point, we would lost a wonderful and often very amusing myriad of possibilities. Allright, he likes to take the opposite view, but I guess that is what makes us think, sometimes. Or maybe it's just me.

About the journal, I voted in the 'waste of time', because I belive thinking/watching and writing are different things. You can indeed learn from 'watching practice' and off-dojo reflection, but writing? Unless you are quite a dispersive person, I don't need to sit down with pen and paper to focus your thoughts.

[Justy]

I keep a journal, though I update it very infrequently. I'll make a few quick notes on what I have to work on, I'll make an entry once in a while to log my experiences... maybe one page every three or four practices.


Achilles originally wrote:
I know of no other real way to measure skill with a blade other than how you can defeat, and who can defeat you.

You're aboslutely right, 100%. That's pretty much the only way to measure skill, if your goal is to measure skill. To "Strive for improvement in the art of Kendo" is indeed one of the goals laid out in the AJKF's definition of kendo. More power to you.

But some of us choose to focus on other parts of kendo. I choose to focus on "Forever pursue the cultivation of oneself." Measuring skill doesn't enter into it. For me, anyhow.

I'm about to start driving autocross. I don't care about beating other people or winnning trophies, I just want to drive and make the best run I can (considering that I'll be driving a rebuilt 1975 Honda Civic in a world of Acura RSXes and 4WD Eagle Talons, that's probably a good attitude!) If it turns out that my PAX time (kind of a handicap system for "lesser" cars) wins me a trophy, cool, but my progress won't be measured by how I do against others, it'll be measured by how I feel about my own performance. This is how I will approcach autocross, this is how I have approached kendo and iaido.

Yes, in large part my outlook on kendo/iaido and autocross is a bunch of metaphysical crap. I like it anyhow. :)

[James]

Achilles- may not being oppositional for the sake of it
; but when you bring Islam into a thread - don't blame people for thinking you're trolling (religious fundamentalism is a 'different thread').

I agree, yes I do!, the goal of kendo, as most combative arts, is to react intuitively - going to agree with you again!, saying constant drilling is probably the number one way to get there (starting when you are 6 is good too).

In the west with a life mapped out we just don't get endless dojo time, and As Mattew says, going into a training session fuelled by what you wrote on other sessions IMHO is bound to make for a more focussed practice.

We should remember some people just aren't writers, like some people aren't visual and some are tone deaf (that'd be me). Not saying they can't write, but rather, it just doesn't do it for them as a way of organising their thoughts or motivating themselves.

For the rest of us it's a good tool.

Excuse me, just going to get my nib out :D

[ben]

The thing about writing is that it is a way of fixing your thoughts (or an approximation of them) that you can revisit in the future. You can come back in a year's time and say "Sheesh! Did I REALLY think that was important? I'm so much clearer now," or conversely, "Wow! I seemed to know what I was on about then. Why have I lost my way?"

Also, the mental effort required to put down on paper what until then had been just a swirling, jumbled mess is in itself a clarifying process. Often the big light bulb will go on while you write, and you won't even need to read back what you have written. It is far from a "narcissistic" activity. It only becomes narcissistic if you feel that you're writing this down for posterity.

And I disagree slightly with James, religious fundamentalism is not another thread, it's another newsgroup.

b

[ben]

One other thing. What we are doing here is a kind of public or collective journal of all our kendo experiences.

IMHO a personal journal has far less ego-attachment than writing for others to see in order hopefully to elicit either approval or disapproval. I, with 131 posts to date, am more guilty of this than most. ;)

b

[James]

Apparently it's in a cave somewhere, but no-one can find it.

[Confound]

I am of two minds on this issue.

On the one hand, I have sympathy with Hamish's analytical approach to kendou. it makes sense in my experience, and logically. thinking about your performance, and systematically reviewing it for ways to improve are definately two very useful tactics. however, i worry that one might reach a level of over-intellectualizing.

on the other hand, I wonder what use a journal exclusively devoted to kendou would be to me? i already keep 3 seperate journals, none of which are devoted to kendou. why start a 4th?

in the end it comes down to your devotion to kendou. if it is a serious study, one which you intend to follow for many many years, then a journal is probably useful. for me, kendou is a study I do hope to keep up for a long time, but I'm not someone who is going to worry about sports performance. that's not why I do kendou.

c

[David J]

What an excellent thread! Bet you hadnt expected all this, James! :D - and good point sir, not everyone is a "writer" of thoughts, we're all wired a little differently. Maybe for some it really would be a waste of time...I'd say those people might need to actually try it though to know for sure ;)

Confound (welcome back) - three journals??? That a lotta writing...

Justy - nicely put. Good luck with the autocross - your "crap" attitude looks set to have you get something good out of the experience :D

Sorry if I have contributed to making this an "Achilles thread" - I did say though, that his often very different perspective is worth hearing.

So, Achilles - it appears we wont convince you - no matter, its an interesting subject anyway. And if you can run as fast and well in hiking boots, good luck to you, but I do have to take issue with two rather unnecessary things in your post - Islam - lets not go there eh? You may not have a religion, but if you can imagine a similar comment transposed against your belief system (even if that is "America" or whatever), I think you'll realise that you are running a risk of very genuine and unneccessary offence (for, as far as I can see, no useful purpose). Likewise, a sweeping statement / implication that all Asian people accept things without due consideration is also rather foolish.

Maybe you didnt mean anything here, I'm guessing you didnt - but consider other people's feelings a little if they are part of the huge groups that you are potentially insulting.

<rei>

Dave

[mingshi]

This is indeed, a badly presented idea.

Writing, much like Kendo, requires a certain amount of talent. If you have to spend two hours to THINK AND WRITE what you've learnt in the two-hour class... Man, if you're not dyslexic, you're too dispersive during practice. Is this what you mean by "No Thinking"? I don't have to think to write.

Writing a journal, or a diary, is a matter of personal interest. Without going into my life in detail... My journal is a reflection of my daytime action, what worth consider in life, what inspires me today, etc. Hence I'm not writing a journal for Kendo! It's my habit of writing down notes after going to lectures and exhibitions. If you've to spend a few hours writing your impression of today's life down... please stop being so spiritual AND GET A LIFE!! Is it so hard to think about what you've done?

There are plenty of Keiko Diary floating on the net, if you can read Japanese you can always browse through them. More or less techniques they've learnt, advice from Senpai/Sensei, and personal reflection. Personally I found writing down observation in class very helpful, and marking down every Senpai/Sensei's special skill. Say, XX has good Kote cuts, how good it is, and observe that. I've an evaluation of (more or less) each Jikeiko, what I've learn from that person and such. A Senpai told me that in every Jikeiko, all I have to do is to get one clean Ippon, which I also kept in record. Besides, tournaments are always inspiring for learning new techniques, and working out strategy.

In this world the only person who knows you the best is not your Sensei but your self. 15 minutes of a day, wherther you choose to do 1000 suburi or go to toliet with a journal to write on is up to you. Afterall, as Socrates said, "An unexamined life does not worth living".

[ben]

I think you just quoted Socrates against yourself Mingshi...

No matter. You can easily reorder his quote:

"The unlived life is not worth examining."

:)
b

[S. Takamori]

My sensei always told me that kendo and budo are "BUN BU RYO DO"
Practise and studying together...

[Confound]

my favourite gem from socrates is "I know only that I know nothing", while we're quoting the old nutjob.

3 journals? it isn't so bad. one at home, one at school, and one for miscellaneous writing exercises. it comes with the territory.

c

[Kendoboy]

"The point is, when you're exhausted, you CAN'T THINK. And that's good. You're not supposed to think, you're just supposed to GO. Your body is supposed to snap into action. Good kendo/kumdo by my understanding is a instinct, it's learned and repeated bodily. This is wholly in line with
zen-conceptions of "no mind". Your brain shuts off, your mind floats in the void while your body does what it has been trained to do over countless, gruelling hours." - Achilles


I must disagree with this. As others have said, people who visualize doing things excel in whatever they are doing. The reason for this is that rather than no thought, as you've said, your subcontious mind takes over. For example, do you think about walking much during the day? no.
What about breathing? no. Because your subcontious is in control of those things. There are many ways to commit things to your subcontious. One is to to things so repetitively that they are jammed in there. Another is to visualize them, and thus when you do it, it will seem to your mind as though you've done it a million times before. To really prove my point to you, can you remember the 3rd step you took from your bed today? probably not. Tomorrow, before you are taking the third step, take it slow, close your eyes, and see yourself doing it a couple times, then take the step. It might seem weird, but I guarantee that you will remember that step for a while.

I know this works because I used this technique when I was learning to skate on my pond back home. Visualization DEFINETLY helps!

[Moonlight_Blade]

that sound like a complete waste of time I practice by my self every other day for 3 hour sensei tell me this is way to much practice and I respect what he tells me but I just like kendo so much. he tells me I will burn my self out but I don't think thats true I do the same thing with ROTC.

[litige]

I must disagree with this. As others have said, people who visualize doing things excel in whatever they are doing. The reason for this is that rather than no thought, as you've said, your subcontious mind takes over. For example, do you think about walking much during the day? no.
What about breathing? no. Because your subcontious is in control of those things. There are many ways to commit things to your subcontious. One is to to things so repetitively that they are jammed in there. Another is to visualize them, and thus when you do it, it will seem to your mind as though you've done it a million times before. To really prove my point to you, can you remember the 3rd step you took from your bed today? probably not. Tomorrow, before you are taking the third step, take it slow, close your eyes, and see yourself doing it a couple times, then take the step. It might seem weird, but I guarantee that you will remember that step for a while.

I know this works because I used this technique when I was learning to skate on my pond back home. Visualization DEFINETLY helps!

The thing is, you cannot visualize on two things at the same time. Specialy in kendo. You have so many things to do. It's like playing chess, do you vizualise 10 moves before?? no just about 4. Kendo have much more action and many things happening at the same time.

[litige]

that sound like a complete waste of time I practice by my self every other day for 3 hour sensei tell me this is way to much practice and I respect what he tells me but I just like kendo so much. he tells me I will burn my self out but I don't think thats true I do the same thing with ROTC.

Ok, but you didn't tell why it was a waste of time...
why your whole life isn't a complete was of time...what do you use the time for?
Is, not doing something a waste of time? Is your 3 hours a day of kendo a waste of time? why? If you go to sleep at 9h30, and between 9h00 and your dodo time, you only watch "nothing" on TV, would it still be a waste of time if you kept a journal?
What is ROTC???

[Moonlight_Blade]

Ok, but you didn't tell why it was a waste of time...
why your whole life isn't a complete was of time...what do you use the time for?
Is, not doing something a waste of time? Is your 3 hours a day of kendo a waste of time? why? If you go to sleep at 9h30, and between 9h00 and your dodo time, you only watch "nothing" on TV, would it still be a waste of time if you kept a journal?
What is ROTC???

ROTC staneds for resrve officer training corp. it is used to teach teen in highschool to become better leader kendo and other martial art is some of the many things we are taught to instill discipline in cadets that help them become better leader and a better person this is run by the U.S goverment and most high schools in the us have them this is my 3rd year in the program so i hardly have time to write a journal or even take kendo out of school becuse of its after school activities till 5:30p.m. kendo every other day to 6:00p.m to 8:30p.m I get home and practice kendo drills and kendo technique for 3hrs so till about 11:30p.m spend an half hour on homework eat dinner and wake up at 6:00a.m. and do the same thing over again till friday and relax on the weekends its Kinda a hard life. and the only time I have to watch T.V. is on the weeked and I mostly read any ways so I realy have no time to write one sorry for the comment earlyer I was haveing a bad day so I really did not explain it that well.

[JSchmidt]

Wow. That gotta be the longest run-on sentence ever!.
I gather they don't teach punctuation in the ROTC?:D

Jakob

[Curtis]

Sounds like a real misplacement of precious time and effort. Let's say you spend an hour writing in your journal. That's an hour you could be spending doing suburi or suriashi.

Marsten-sensei once told me that kendo "is about doing, not so much talking." Writing is just passive talking.

This ties back to the whole frustrating thing I encounter with all these people who try to pursue kendo/kumdo metaphysically. It ain't about writing, or therapy or mystical asian secrets. It's about getting your ass in the dojang and sweating until you want to die, then grabbing a shower and some sleep and coming back the next night to do it again.

My advice? (yes, I know you didn't ask for it) Less writing, more practice.
This apparently is an old thread that has popped up on my new posts.

I must make a correction here though. Marsten sensei in fact does tell his students to keep a journal. Especially when attending seminars. When he speaks of doing vs. talking he is addressing at least in part those who like to stand around at practice on the sideline just talking kendo or whatever instead of getting on the floor. This is not to be be confused with actual mitori (watching) keiko.

[delphideo]

Sorry for sounding so newbie and all, but what exactly is kendo journal and what does one write in one?

[litige]

ROTC staneds for resrve officer training corp. it is used to teach teen in highschool to become better leader kendo and other martial art is some of the many things we are taught to instill discipline in cadets that help them become better leader and a better person this is run by the U.S goverment and most high schools in the us have them this is my 3rd year in the program so i hardly have time to write a journal or even take kendo out of school becuse of its after school activities till 5:30p.m. kendo every other day to 6:00p.m to 8:30p.m I get home and practice kendo drills and kendo technique for 3hrs so till about 11:30p.m spend an half hour on homework eat dinner and wake up at 6:00a.m. and do the same thing over again till friday and relax on the weekends its Kinda a hard life. and the only time I have to watch T.V. is on the weeked and I mostly read any ways so I realy have no time to write one sorry for the comment earlyer I was haveing a bad day so I really did not explain it that well.



Big agenda you must have. Doesn't it suck to have no time like this?

[Moonlight_Blade]

Wow. That gotta be the longest run-on sentence ever!.
I gather they don't teach punctuation in the ROTC?:D

Jakob
well you thinks my run on sentence was cool I faliled english this year to and spelling is horroble also. But I am glade I passed and i just typed it to fast thats all.

[Moonlight_Blade]

Big agenda you must have. Doesn't it suck to have no time like this?
yes i am thinking about quiting R.O.T.C. just to keep my grade's up and relax some more I am to tense all the time may that why I am so stressed all the time. and it would give me some more time in the dojo too. So maybe I after 3years of kendo I can actually go to a Tournament that would be fun to try at least once.

[BOMB JAPAN]

ROTC staneds for resrve officer training corp. it is used to teach teen in highschool to become better leader kendo and other martial art is some of the many things we are taught to instill discipline in cadets that help them become better leader and a better person this is run by the U.S goverment and most high schools in the us have them this is my 3rd year in the program so i hardly have time to write a journal or even take kendo out of school becuse of its after school activities till 5:30p.m. kendo every other day to 6:00p.m to 8:30p.m I get home and practice kendo drills and kendo technique for 3hrs so till about 11:30p.m spend an half hour on homework eat dinner and wake up at 6:00a.m. and do the same thing over again till friday and relax on the weekends its Kinda a hard life. and the only time I have to watch T.V. is on the weeked and I mostly read any ways so I realy have no time to write one sorry for the comment earlyer I was haveing a bad day so I really did not explain it that well.






You fail english...thats unpossible.

[litige]

You fail english...thats unpossible.


Your nick name really suck.

[souljah]

You fail english...thats unpossible.

I don't think you should be commenting on other people's English. Retard.

[Moonlight_Blade]

You fail english...thats unpossible.
my English my be bad but you shuold not make fun of seriosly.

[Hai_hai]

May I interject...
Y'all need to get along. Fo shizzle my nizzle?

[Charlie]

I don't think you should be commenting on other people's English. Retard.

"Me fail English" etc. is a quote from the Simpsons.

I write in a budo journal, but only when something important occurs to me, and when I attend seminars. These can be concrete things about techniques or just general things. After all, budo = life, then a budo journal is about both, isn't it?

My earliest budo journal entry are thoughts on death and dying. My most recent journal entries are from a seminar with the Miyazaki brothers. Some entires are about things like kiri-kaeshi. One time I wrote two lines about blowing it off if you have a bad practice. Sometimes I draw thoughts in it. Etc.

I would journal a lot more except that I write a lot, personally and professionally, so I don't usually have time and energy left over for journaling. I think it's a wonderful thing to do. This thread is very old and so I'm not sure Achilles is still following it, but who "has every part of the day planned down to the second?" Man, my personal feeling is if you're not making time to shoot hoops, read a book, dance, scratch your butt, arrange flowers in your garden, etc. then what's the point?

*burps*

[BOMB JAPAN]

"Me fail English" etc. is a quote from the Simpsons.Thank you. Some people need to know a little bit more of infomation before they start talking s**t.

[litige]

Thank you. Some people need to know a little bit more of infomation before they start talking s**t.

Like everyones listen to the simpsons....
Do i miss info if I say your nickname is not cool?

[BOMB JAPAN]

Like everyones listen to the simpsons....
Do i miss info if I say your nickname is not cool?

I don't care what you think. Drop the subject. We don't need a flamewar.

[LNGUYEN]

BOMB JAPAN,

Even I am not Japanese but your screen name makes me feel uncomfortable to accept or read any of your post. It is just the same as I have a screen name: "You are a stupid fucker asshole"

Just a thought and hope that I don't offense you by my thought

[litige]

I don't care what you think. Drop the subject. We don't need a flamewar.

We could do a Bomb war...

[Cypher]

Bomb Japan....?

Great idea for a nickname in a forum dedicated to the Japanese martial arts, populated by practitioners with great respect for Japanese culture.

Glad to see you gave THAT one so much consideration.

[Bleda]

Its just a name, its not like he is preaching ill-will towards anyone. The ones that started all the illwill is you guys for bitching at him.

Anyways one thing achilles didn't touch on was that ontop of training samurai were VERY proud of their caligraphy, tea ceremonies, painting, poetry, etc. They were very big into the mental side of improving their abilities as a soldier and a leader. While i don't write a journal i do use visualization to improve my swordsmanship and it has helped greatly, thinking back on previous bouts i see where i made a stupid mistake, or a missed oppurtunity.

I also disagree with him that tournaments are the only measure of skill, tourneys for the most part are a measure of speed and timing. They do not take into consideration of the real life factors such as adrenaline, preparedness, and randomness. A good example is karate/tkd tournies where the one who wins is usually a wiry quick little guy. It doesn't matter that his hits would have had no chance of stopping a real aggressor or that he was left in an undefendable position, they give him the point for his attack and say ooo ya he's good! The only true way to measure skill is in a real fight with real swords, and real fear of getting cut. Personally i don't think a pure kendoka would fair very well in that kind of tournament since the targets available are so limited and the way scoring allows hits that while not perfect are still quite lethal to go unawarded.

[BOMB JAPAN]

Its just a name, its not like he is preaching ill-will towards anyone. The ones that started all the illwill is you guys for bitching at him
Thank you. My name is actually a inside joke between me and this other guy. He's white and thinks he's Japanese. He has schizophrenia. So it normally is really funny to watch him get pissed off. He's also a passive type of person so if you say anything he won't do anything back. One day me and a few other people decided to piss him off at lunch by saying "BOMB JAPAN" all through lunch. He got so pissed off his face got red and his hands were shaking. I watch anime, and love to sword fight. So I really didn't mean it when I said it. After awhile he figured out I didnt mean it (Mainly because I was reading Love Hina books).

[Kendo-Militia]

Thank you. My name is actually a inside joke between me and this other guy. He's white and thinks he's Japanese. He has schizophrenia. So it normally is really funny to watch him get pissed off. He's also a passive type of person so if you say anything he won't do anything back. One day me and a few other people decided to piss him off at lunch by saying "BOMB JAPAN" all through lunch. He got so pissed off his face got red and his hands were shaking. I watch anime, and love to sword fight. So I really didn't mean it when I said it. After awhile he figured out I didnt mean it (Mainly because I was reading Love Hina books).


If it is inside joke keep it between you and him not the forum.

[Moonlight_Blade]

If it is inside joke keep it between you and him not the forum.i AM MAD YOU PEOPLE ARE GETING SO WORKED UP OVER SOMEONES FRICKEN SCREEN NAME ITS REALLY NONE OF YOUR BESENES WHY HE PICK THAT NAME ANY WAY A NAME IS JUST A NAME A LABELE FOR SOME AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONTRDICT HIM.

-LIFE WITH EVERY BREATH THAT IS BISHIDO-

[Cypher]

....yeah. Thanks.

[LNGUYEN]

i AM MAD YOU PEOPLE ARE GETING SO WORKED UP OVER SOMEONES FRICKEN SCREEN NAME ITS REALLY NONE OF YOUR BESENES WHY HE PICK THAT NAME ANY WAY A NAME IS JUST A NAME A LABELE FOR SOME AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONTRDICT HIM.

-LIFE WITH EVERY BREATH THAT IS BISHIDO-


Then Moonlight Blade, Please tell me if I can pick my screen name as I stated above: "You are a stupid fucker asshole". Just tell you a secret, it is an inside joke between me and some a...ole.

[Bleda]

Then Moonlight Blade, Please tell me if I can pick my screen name as I stated above: "You are a stupid fucker asshole". Just tell you a secret, it is an inside joke between me and some a...ole.
Yep go for it LN, it doesn't bother me aslong as you act in a responsible and helpful manner on the boards. Seriously you are being really immature and ignorant about this, its just a screen name, grow up and get over it. If you're unable to cope with that then just ignore his posts.

[Cypher]

I'm certain litige, LNGUYEN, Kendo-Militia and myself are truly apologetic for our 'immature' and 'ignorant' opinions on this matter.

[Thank you. Some people need to know a little bit more of infomation before they start talking s**t.]

[I don't care what you think. Drop the subject. We don't need a flamewar.]

Certain levels of belligerence are not particularly welcome. Dont accuse people of 'talking s**t' when you are surely the most outstanding perpetrator.
If you'll care to notice, both instances of disagreement arose from your failure
to disclose information rather important to others interpreting the situation, such as your Simpsons-based comment and your username.

But, I sincerely apologise for acting in an 'immature' and 'ignorant' manner. Forgive me.

[Cypher]

I'm certain litige, LNGUYEN, Kendo-Militia and myself are truly apologetic for our 'immature' and 'ignorant' opinions on this matter.

[Thank you. Some people need to know a little bit more of infomation before they start talking s**t.]

[I don't care what you think. Drop the subject. We don't need a flamewar.]

Certain levels of belligerence are not particularly welcome. Dont accuse people of 'talking s**t' when you are surely the most outstanding perpetrator.
If you'll care to notice, both instances of disagreement arose from your failure
to disclose information rather important to others interpreting the situation, such as your Simpsons-based comment and your username. Hardly 'responsible and helpful' really.

But, I sincerely apologise for acting in an 'immature' and 'ignorant' manner. Forgive me.

[Lucien]

Going back to the original thread, does anybody here keep a kendo journal online?

I see that Usagi-san does in both English and Portugese - http://usagikendo.blogspot.com (http://usagikendo.blogspot.com/) -

Does anyone else?

Awaiting Hai Hai's pithy response

L