Alex in Wonderland

Recently, a new book regarding the history of kendo was released by the publishers of Kendo Nippon Magazine. The book, A Bilingual Guide to the History of Kendo, is, as its title suggests, a bilingual guide to the history of kendo. The author is Sakai Toshinobu, expert in sword history and professor at the University of Tsukuba. The English translation was done by me.

The book is comprised of a number of essays outlining the earliest sword ideals ...

Tags: alex bennett, bilingual, history, kendo, sakai toshinobu, tsurugi

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For those who are interested in what is required for Renshi... Looking back, it is a little bit corny. But hey, I got a golden certificate to hang on my wall

Submitted for the Kendo Renshi Examination 2006-02-12

The Concept of Kendo
The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword).

Why practice Kendo now, and how relevant is the official Concept of Kendo? What benefits ...

Some thoughts...

The traditional martial arts (budō) of Japan boast a history that is centuries old. The samurai warriors applied themselves in the study of martial arts not only to master the techniques of killing, but also to develop their ‘spiritual armour’. The teachings of systemized martial schools from 14th century were simultaneously abstruse, mystical and practical in nature. They held the key to the ‘Holy Grail’ of combat ‒ a superlative combination of body, mind ...

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Sao Paulo wating for the 14th WKC to start. At last, I have time to sit down and catch up. The most recent project keeping me out of trouble has been the translation of a book published by the Nippon Budokan a few years ago. With nearly 400 pages, it was quite a mission. But now, after one year of seriously hard work, it is being printed as I write this blog.

I know what some of you may be thinking. "A book about the ...