Old foundation.
Today, there was the celebration event of Kenshinkai kendo dojo's 15th year anniversary. Even though I couldn't practice, I went to go help and support Kenshinkai. I joined Kenshinkai in 2005 and lasted til around 2008.
I started my martial arts practice when I was 12 with kendo. Started with me watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and my dad noticing. He made me do kendo basics almost daily. We didn't have access to shinai so I just practiced with a broom stick that was taped around the handle. When I turned 18 in year 2000, I joined the Toyama Ryu Battojutsu dojo in Orlando. When I first started Toyama Ryu, it was difficult at first because of my prior training in kendo. All the habits that I practiced through kendo sometimes worked against or for battodo. So I thought it would be best to start all over again and just pretend like I didn't know anything. Through time and practice, I was able to start fresh and was able to improve in battodo.
When I moved up to NYC in 2005, I didn't have a dojo to practice battodo. With the introduction from Dan Park, I got to meet the Kenshinkai kendo lead by Ken Kishino and Keiko Umemura sensei. When I first started Kenshinkai, I was in "battodo" mode and was swinging like I was trying to cut in Toyama. However it brought some pain to people who was getting hit on the head by me. It's been so long since I practiced kendo, I could not turn the switch back to kendo mode. I asked the seniors in Kenshinkai if once again, I could start over from the very beginning. No problem. Learned kihon, suburi, footwork etc for kendo again.
I created Bykkokan a few months after and was still practicing kendo. As I was doing kendo and then started teaching battodo, I noticed how some of it could be transferred into Iai/Battodo. In kata, you have to express as if you are going against someone. Now, I learned kendo when I was younger, but at that time, it was just movements and suburi. No one to do keiko against. When I started again, I got to learn kendo as a whole. All those things I learned before was hit with a realization making me think "This is what that was for!!".
I've heard so much about Kishino sensei from other kendo practitioners about his skill, but when I first met him, he was such a nice, goofy, fun guy. Then I went up against him for the first time, and he just in chudan kamae. But it had such a presence, feel. Like a strong spirit, making you think about this and that. He doesn't even try to swing at you. He pressures you to swing first and then cuts through your cut to cut you. So efficient, no extra movements. Strong stance, strong presence, straight forward but doesn't look like he's trying hard to do it. After practice, he goes back to his nice, goofy, fun guy mode again.
After practicing with him, I noticed what I was missing in chudan expressed in my battodo kata to make it stronger. I started trying to express the same presence that I felt from Kishino sensei. Strong stance, strong presence, but subtle. I always tried to present a feeling like that in my kata, but these lessons with him made me really understand what it felt like to be against it. It made my kata, more "real" to me. I noticed, the things from kendo improved my gekken as well, stronger stance makes for stronger pressure, stronger pressure means you can make your opponent do, what you want them to do. These lessons of kendo from Kishino sensei helped me really grow.
Kendo, means a path of sword. It helped me improve my own techniques so much without having planned it and why I teach "kendo" in a way at the dojo. Learning kendo at Kenshinkai helped me become the swordsman that I am today. Kenshinkai was there for the dojo's first class and supported us for events. This is why I will always love being part of Kenshinkai and kendo.
I started my martial arts practice when I was 12 with kendo. Started with me watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and my dad noticing. He made me do kendo basics almost daily. We didn't have access to shinai so I just practiced with a broom stick that was taped around the handle. When I turned 18 in year 2000, I joined the Toyama Ryu Battojutsu dojo in Orlando. When I first started Toyama Ryu, it was difficult at first because of my prior training in kendo. All the habits that I practiced through kendo sometimes worked against or for battodo. So I thought it would be best to start all over again and just pretend like I didn't know anything. Through time and practice, I was able to start fresh and was able to improve in battodo.
When I moved up to NYC in 2005, I didn't have a dojo to practice battodo. With the introduction from Dan Park, I got to meet the Kenshinkai kendo lead by Ken Kishino and Keiko Umemura sensei. When I first started Kenshinkai, I was in "battodo" mode and was swinging like I was trying to cut in Toyama. However it brought some pain to people who was getting hit on the head by me. It's been so long since I practiced kendo, I could not turn the switch back to kendo mode. I asked the seniors in Kenshinkai if once again, I could start over from the very beginning. No problem. Learned kihon, suburi, footwork etc for kendo again.
I created Bykkokan a few months after and was still practicing kendo. As I was doing kendo and then started teaching battodo, I noticed how some of it could be transferred into Iai/Battodo. In kata, you have to express as if you are going against someone. Now, I learned kendo when I was younger, but at that time, it was just movements and suburi. No one to do keiko against. When I started again, I got to learn kendo as a whole. All those things I learned before was hit with a realization making me think "This is what that was for!!".
I've heard so much about Kishino sensei from other kendo practitioners about his skill, but when I first met him, he was such a nice, goofy, fun guy. Then I went up against him for the first time, and he just in chudan kamae. But it had such a presence, feel. Like a strong spirit, making you think about this and that. He doesn't even try to swing at you. He pressures you to swing first and then cuts through your cut to cut you. So efficient, no extra movements. Strong stance, strong presence, straight forward but doesn't look like he's trying hard to do it. After practice, he goes back to his nice, goofy, fun guy mode again.
After practicing with him, I noticed what I was missing in chudan expressed in my battodo kata to make it stronger. I started trying to express the same presence that I felt from Kishino sensei. Strong stance, strong presence, but subtle. I always tried to present a feeling like that in my kata, but these lessons with him made me really understand what it felt like to be against it. It made my kata, more "real" to me. I noticed, the things from kendo improved my gekken as well, stronger stance makes for stronger pressure, stronger pressure means you can make your opponent do, what you want them to do. These lessons of kendo from Kishino sensei helped me really grow.
Kendo, means a path of sword. It helped me improve my own techniques so much without having planned it and why I teach "kendo" in a way at the dojo. Learning kendo at Kenshinkai helped me become the swordsman that I am today. Kenshinkai was there for the dojo's first class and supported us for events. This is why I will always love being part of Kenshinkai and kendo.
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