Kiaaaaaaaaai

One of the most “embarrassing” things for begginers in kendo is kiai. Many people, when starting kendo feel ashamed and avoid “yelling” loud. This is normal and a very common behaviour either because people are naturally more shy or because don’t like to attract attention. But, can you imagine kendo without kiai? Weird thing, right? As all martial artists know, kiai is one of the most important parts of practice. When in a kendo shiai your strike will only count as an ippon (point) if you make a convicent kiai. More than just “yell” to intimidate the opponent”, kiai expresses your spirit, your will, your strength. It’s also a way to get yourself ready for shiai. 

Besides being important, it is a beautiful thing to watch and listen. A shiai is much more interesting if the opponents express their will and strength making good kiai. So, I’ve been working on this lately. I must confess that I’m not a very shy person and I only felt uncomfortable about “yelling” in the first month of training. After that, I started to use my vocal cords to make a big noise but, of course, this is a wrong thing to do (it’s wrong in terms of technique and it’s bad for your throat - trust me!). But I’ve been working to improve my kiai and make it come from my stomach, as it’s supposed to. I must admit that I did some progress but I still have to work on it. I’m really striving to give the most of me and to show my will to make the perfect strike. 

Thus, I decided to establish a train for my kiai. This consists in: practicing yoga (unfortunately, I only have time once a week) and use relaxation techniques. Kiai has much to do with correct breathing and I learned how to breathe properly before I started kendo through relaxation techniques. These techniques allow you to learn breathing using your stomach and not just your chest. I believe they can be very useful for kenshi because they promote correct breathing and, consequently, a better oxygenation of the body. Yoga also helps with this and that’s why I finally decided to give it a try. As some of you may recall, I chose kendo because I wasn’t very enthusiastic about yoga. But, after falling in love with kendo, I resorted to yoga as a kind of “complementary training”. From what I read, among other things, yoga promotes a better posture and breathing. For these reasons, I thought this modality could help me improve my kiai and my center of gravity. I can’t tell about the results because I started recently, but I will keep you updated ;)

Sorry!

I’ve been a very bad girl! I’m sorry I just disappeared... But I have an excuse: I was injured all this time... in the hospital. But I’m fully recovered now and ready to practice and to write again :)

My Kendo Routine

Hi there people! How have you been? Good, I hope :)

Today, I decided to tell you a little about the kendo exercises I usually practice at home. I know we can’t “do kendo” at home, but we can, and we should, try to improve our techniques by training them repeatedly. Besides, my husband also practices kendo and, sometimes, we do, the ... jigeiko thing ;) Oh well, but, let’s get to the point. Below, you can have a resume of the exercises I practice more frequently at home. Enjoy!

Ashi-sabaki

Yes, I do this at home, especially now that it is too hot. My floor is very fresh and I like to walk barefoot along the corridor. At the same time, I try to do all the kendo footwork I already know. Believe me, it’s never too much. I feel that this kind of exercise increases leg strength and, because of that, all movements become gradually more light and flexible. This exercise is not scheduled. I do it many times when I have to walk in the corridor.

Suburi

My shinai is always ready in the corner of the room and I grab it to do suburi many times. I prefer to do suburi at a moderate speed because, this way, I can improve my precision and learn the movement mechanics properly. Thus, I use to do 80 suburi at a lower speed and, then, increase the speed till I complete 150. Once a day, I do 200 katate suburi alternating between left and right hands.

The basic techniques: Men - Kote - Do

When my husband practices at home with me, we do Men, Kote and Do exercises - These are done slowly and focused on the correct technique. We do it for about 30 minutes.

Kirikaeshi

Image from: http://kendoinfo.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/winning-the-world-kendo-championships-with-kirikaeshi/

We also practice kirikaeshi and kirikaeshi-do about 50 times. I particularly like  this exercise and it really helps me improve my, coordination, precision distance, and breath control. I believe it’s a very good exercise involving the basics of kendo technique.

Kata

Kendo Kata: Ropponme

Even when my husband doesn’t practice with me, I do kata exercises. I have to admit: at the beginning, I didn't like kata. But now, I love them! I do kata every week, more than once. Kata are a good way of understanding more profoundly the art of kendo and they certainly help me to relax. My favourit kata are the sanbonme and nanahonme. 

And that’s all! I don’t have the time to do more, but is better than nothing, right?

What’s your kendo practice routine?

* Images taken from the internet.

1st post

I have so much to say that I thought a lot about my first topic. I don’t want to start this blog with the question “Being a woman in kendo” or something like that because I don’t want this to turn into a segregation blog between kenshi women and men. To me, when practicing kendo we are all in the same boat. All of us strive for continuous improvement. Obviously that there are differences between men and women, just like there are differences between men and between women. Every human being is unique.

So, my first topic will be about little things kendo is showing me slowly. 

How did I find kendo? One of my senpai use to say that kendo found me :). To tell you the truth, I’ve always loved the asian culture, particularly the japanese culture, but kendo was completely unknown to me. I was never an athletic person and I have some health issues. My doctor said that I should try Yoga or Tai Chi. I didn’t dislike the idea but it wasn’t interesting enough for me, either... So, I decided to look for something that always intrigued me on google. I remember I googled this words: “Martial arts with weapons” and the first result was the link to the page of the nearest kendo club (wich, by the way, is far from my home :)). I decided to try it and I was fascinated by the rigor, the discipline and the constant striving for perfection that kendo demands. At that moment I thought: “This is something that I can do for the rest of my life; this is something for which I’m willing to sacrifice myself.”. And that’s how I began to do kendo.  (I’m sorry if I disappointed you but there is no romance behind my motivations for kendo - all the passion I feel for it was only raised by the experience I had).

But, how did this affect my life till now? Well, I can say that I’m a little anxious and perfectionist. Thus, sometimes I get really frustrated when I realize that I can’t achieve excellent results quick. However, this is getting better since i started kendo practice. I find myself everyday thinking about the long road I have to walk and I get surprised by the fact that doesn’t seem to bother me (I think I’m becoming more patient). This is why kendo is a life style and not a sport - it is a constant learning and improvement of yourself as a kendoka and as a person. Everyday I remember there are to many things to learn. Due to this, I’m learning to deal with frustration, stress and pressure. I’m not aiming to be perfect anymore - Perfection doesn’t exist. Now, I just want to improve myself a little everyday. That’s it! And I love how simple it is (despite the fact that it is hard).

Every practice is a mixture of satisfaction and frustration. This is constantly happening and leads me to accept that things aren’t always like we would like them to be. But if I give up, then things won’t even come close to that. This tells me that the really important thing is to never give up. Ever!

I feel I’m progressively becoming more tolerant and motivated, and less anxious. I still have a long way to go but I will get there. One thing I’m sure about: with kendo practice I’ve won a new smile. A stronger and more confident smile. A smile capable of accepting new challenges! 

I know that I’m such a newbie! In fact, who am I to talk about kendo? No one. But this is the way I see it now. 

Hi everyone!

I decided to create this blog so I can share with the others the way kendo is changing my life. I discovered this wonderful japanese art five mounths ago and, since then, it has been a constant learning. I don’t have my own bogu yet, but soon I will :). I also hope I can help other kenshi women to beat some challenges I’ve been encountering. I belive that all of us can learn from each other, but kenshi men are very welcome, also!