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.

[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 ). 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? 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.