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[Denkoo]

i live out in a small town, and there is not a kendo\iaido school within a hundred miles, so i bought a book on Iaido, and i dont want to practice it to much because i want to make sure that i do it right, and i was wondering if anyone could give me any tips?

[lancerwilliams]

i live out in a small town, and there is not a kendo\iaido school within a hundred miles, so i bought a book on Iaido, and i dont want to practice it to much because i want to make sure that i do it right, and i was wondering if anyone could give me any tips?

I will give you a tip that other Kendoka that have been practicing for a long time might not agree with. I also live in a small town and I don't think there is a Kendo school within at least 300 miles. I have wanted to take Kendo since I was a teen-ager, but there was never a school around and there was never anyone to play with. Well, thanks to modern technology I now have that opportunity.

Go to e-bogu.com. They have some Kendo Principle videos that cover material from entering a dojo to advanced bogu techniques. They go over the techniques in real-time, slow-motion, and they repeat them enough so that you can get a good look at them. They also point out common mistakes.

One area you might have a problem with is if you don't have someone to practice with. You can't do Kendo without a partner, I just don't think it is possible. I will tell you this though, since my friend and I have started practicing Kendo together our friendship has grown to a level that I never thought it would. We now have a great mutual respect for each other, and we love practicing Kendo. If you can talk one or two of your friends into shelling out the initial expense, it is well worth it.

I know that the videos will never replace a real Sensei, but those of us in rural parts of the world have to make do with what we have.

Oh yea, the videos are $100.00 and they rock!

[Khabbi]

Im sorry to say that teaching yourself with tapes and books is not possible.
Maybe some canadian dude ( on this site ) can help you find a dojo . Or maybe you can go once a month or once a week to the closest dojo and train.


good luck

[Denkoo]

ok, thank you for the tips.

[Khabbi]

Im wondering why other dudes / dudets aint jumping in backing me up

Well anyways dont follow lancerwilliams exampel , theres a reson why we have a Dojos and Sensei's.


And lancerwilliams , Kendo without a sensei or a dojo isent kendo , its just hitting each other with sticks .

[Denkoo]

yeah i get what your saying i guess i just gotta read the books until i can get an instructor

[not-I]

Dudettes, lol

Well, i agree. You can't learn proper kendo without a dojo and a sensei. many of us are lucky, and have a good dojo practically around the corner from us, and if you live in boonie town, usa or sticksville, canada, it just makes your quest more difficult. I guess there's nothing wrong in trying to practice on your own with books and videos in preparation for the real thing, except there is a great danger of developing bad habits that will not be easy to iron out later.

In any case, I think if you are really drawn to doing Kendo, you will find a way to a dojo somehow, somewhere, sometime, come hell or high water. The romantic stories of swordsmen trekking on foot across half of Japan in the middle of winter just to find a sensei have a point.

Im wondering why other dudes / dudets aint jumping in backing me up

Well anyways dont follow lancerwilliams exampel , theres a reson why we have a Dojos and Sensei's.


And lancerwilliams , Kendo without a sensei or a dojo isent kendo , its just hitting each other with sticks .

[lancerwilliams]

[/QUOTE]And lancerwilliams , Kendo without a sensei or a dojo isent kendo , its just hitting each other with sticks .[/QUOTE]

I understand that you can't experience what really is without finding a dojo and a sensei, but in the absence of either this particular set of videos seems to be very good. I have been studying martial arts for over 20 years, so I already have much of the discipline that is necessary and I know what the dojo experience is all about. I actually miss the dojo very much, but in the absence of one, I am using these videos until I can find a place that I can visit periodically.

There is nothing wrong with using videos in any martial art to enhance what you already know. I also know that trying to teach yourself can lead to developing bad habits, but from what I have see from many other posts on this website most kendoka, in the US particularly, don't have a sensei anyways.

Ten years ago I would have completely agreed with you, but times have changed and technology has provided a way for distance learning in many different areas. Martial arts is one of those areas. Obviously, since Kendo is an art that is based on sword-fighting, you must have at least someone to spar with or you are just swinging a stick.

I know what you are saying though, there is more to Kendo than just swinging the shinai. There is a whole lifestyle that can typically only be emulated by the sensei, which is why for the most part you absolutely have to have a sensei and a dojo. But in the absence of either, make do with what you do have.

[Khabbi]

"but from what I have see from many other posts on this website most kendoka, in the US particularly, don't have a sensei anyways. "

No , 100% of all kendoka have a sensei and a dojo , coz without a Dojo and Sensei , You aint doing kendo , Suburi and Kata is a part of Kendo , but its not realy kendo if your just doing suburi ,

"since Kendo is an art that is based on sword-fighting, you must have at least someone to spar with or you are just swinging a stick."

So basicly its you and a friend both in Bogus hitting each other in the back yard ?

[Kaoru]

Im wondering why other dudes / dudets aint jumping in backing me up

Well anyways dont follow lancerwilliams exampel , theres a reson why we have a Dojos and Sensei's.


And lancerwilliams , Kendo without a sensei or a dojo isent kendo , its just hitting each other with sticks .

haha, Well, one reason... it's because I haven't found this thread yet until just now... hehehe! Now I'm backing you up, Khabbi-san.

You all know what I'm going to end up saying...

Denkoo-san,

NO. You CANNOT teach yourself Iaido, and you had better NOT be using a real live blade.(Sharp blade) Please do a search for other posts I have made on using a blade without proper instruction. I don't feel like repeating myself today.

But, I WILL say this. You are just asking to lose a finger or worse, by trying to teach yourself Iaido. Just think of all the bad habits you will learn and how hard it will be to unlearn them when you DO find a sensei. Trust me, it's not fun. And YES, you really CAN cut off a finger or worse. The untrained person has a very high risk of injury. Live blades are very unforgiving. And, by using a book, you are never going to be trained. I can promise you that. You can even cut yourself by cleaning the blade, which must be done every day. Oh and I will say this. You will not be using a live blade for about 5-6 years. You will begin with bokuto(wooden sword) and then, when the sensei says, you will use an Iaito.(blunt-edged sword.)

Please, if you MUST insist in messing around trying to teach yourself, PLEASE go buy a bokuto instead. That sword you have, will most likely be a wallhanger, which is extremely dangerous to you and those around you. They aren't made safely for training purposes. They also break easily, because they are stainless steel. People without sensei don't know the difference, and just think they can use any sword. This is false. There are those swords meant for the wall as display, and cost very little, and those meant for a person training with a sensei in a dojo, that run over 300 dollars or more. Your safety and others must be thought of. This is important. That is why I am telling you this.

hehe, well, I guess I just gave the abbreviated version of what I usually say anyway.

And, you do not know if there is a dojo around where you are or not. You never have asked anyone.

Now, if you will please give me your location and state, I can help you find a dojo in either Kendo or Iaido possibly. The Iaido is harder to find, but I do have resources I can look in for that. Kendo is pretty easy to find, but the other is not unless you know where to look.

Please pay attention to what I said. Iaido is NOT Kendo. It cannot be learned from a book or video. It is more dangerous to learn than Kendo is, as well. I am also going to say, to cover it all, you can't learn Kendo from videos and books either. Those materials are meant purely to be used in ADDITION TO proper instruction in a dojo.

Kaoru

[Kaoru]

Lancerwilliams-san,

I just noticed your location... You don't have a dojo and you're in TEXAS??? There are 16 of them in your state!! OMG... I can't believe you never looked if you haven't yet. Sorry for being incredulous, but this is so silly. Before you say one more word, you'd better go to the page below to see which dojo is near or at least, 2 hours near you. YES, that is common to have to drive that far. A lot of us do, and if you want it bad enough, you will do that, at least once or twice a month even. Some is better than none. And, you'd better look, or I'll bug you until you do, hehehe! Videos... For heaven's sake, just go to a dojo, ok? I'lll start to think you're just lazy if you don't...

Here is the AUSKF page with the list of dojos. Scroll down until you see Texas listed. See all those dojos??

http://www.auskf.info/mainpages/Stat...RST_States.htm

Some dojos have websites even. You had better read this link, because I am not going to list every one of those here, ok? Too many!

Kaoru

[Dave Fowler]

Well this topic pretty much says it for me, but what if the nearest place is a 5 hour flight away? While I'll be trying to make it out at least once a year for basics, that would be about it, the rest of the time are going to be poor little o me and a video :-) Though I have done kendo for a few years so that should help i'm hoping.

[JHusch]

Did you try to look in Mexico for a dojo? Only draw back is I hear they make you where those big hats ontop of your Men......

[not-I]

Did you try to look in Mexico for a dojo? Only draw back is I hear they make you where those big hats ontop of your Men......

It's called a sombrero, goofball.

[moocow65]

If books and tapes are all you got, then why not learn from them? That's what they're there for right? How many people on this forum learned jodan and nito exclusively from books and videos? I know at least 75% of you don't have a REAL jodan or nito sensei. Yes yes, I know it's different because you're in a dojo and everything, but you're still learning from a book and video. lancerwilliams, I think it's okay to learn from books and videos when the closest dojo is over 100 miles away. At least you're making an effort to learn kendo. The main thing to remember is that when you join a dojo, you're pretty much a beginner no matter how long you studied those videos. Keep an open mind, and accept and build on all the criticism you might get from possibly developing bad habits through the videos.