Читать книгу Kendo. A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Swordsmanship онлайн

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Hitori geiko

Practicing with children

Other forms of training

Shiai

Refereeing Kendo Matches

Grading Examinations

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This book is written expressly with the objective of helping you make your kendo training more effective. It is aimed both at people starting to climb the kendo ladder and more advanced students who want to ensure they are making the most of their time in the dojo. Without attempting to delve into kendo’s lineage and history, I have peppered this book with elements of its philosophy—simply because you cannot divorce physical actions from the reasons for doing them. Whether your objective for practicing kendo is to train your mind to achieve a state of mushin (no-mind), or be a winner in competition—or simply to keep fit—it helps to know why things are done a certain way.

I do not claim to have invented a secret formula for success. All the ideas here are “out there” and have repeatedly been impressed on me by a number of senior teachers over my forty-plus-year kendo career. There are no short cuts in kendo, but there are ways to ensure that you do not waste time doing things that are useless or counterproductive. When I started kendo in the UK in the early 1970s, we were pretty much cut off from the pool of knowledge that existed in Japan. Despite the efforts of one or two pioneers who knew more than the rest of us, a lot of technique was self-taught. I went on to live and work in Japan where I had access to some of the great second generation sensei. I did however, have to spend my first year unlearning my bad habits and starting again from scratch. Clearly the most effective way to improve is to start by doing things correctly and to conscientiously continue the correct practice of basic techniques throughout your kendo career.