Author Archives: gibbo

Recently I practised with an old bear of a sensei at a Sunday morning practise that I go to on and off. It turned out that he was actually Ozawa sensei’s sempai, from NittaiDai. Who referred to the big O … Continue reading →

My last post was about, essentially, how shit I have been recently. In fact, maybe my last few. What is strange, is that, following that and the (thankfully very) minor neck injury, I had two frankly awesome practises, one straight … Continue reading →

I’m having a very mixed experience trying to get to grips with re-firing my kendo. Although I am getting all sorts of advice in many different forms right now, I think the overall theme is that (probably as a result … Continue reading →

or the drawing board, but I need a re-think. Yesterday, I was in the single worst shiai that I have experienced since coming to Japan. Out 2-0 in the first round. The result I can live with, but everything that … Continue reading →

Thanks to Taiphoon 6 coming 2 weeks ago, the weather since then has been great. A total lack of burning sun, only ruined by the high humidity, but it has made keiko for the past two weeks just about do-able…. … Continue reading →

No, I don’t mean that my mojo is back (it was never gone!) but that the heat that nearly killed me last summer has returned with a vengeance. I’m trying to be a little more intelligent this year (only a … Continue reading →

Yesterday I went to Shinkiba to wave a few flags around, having been asked to ref at a small high school taikai, namely the Kanto and Koshinetsu engineering school kendo taikai. Never heard of it? No? No biggy, me either. … Continue reading →

Sometimes, it takes someone getting a bit shitty with you to realise that you’ve been walking down the path in the wrong direction for the past few months. On Thursday, a sempai of mine from Shinjuku that I have a … Continue reading →

Depending on who I am fighting (the actual person, not the style or anything abstract like that), I do sometimes wish I could fight with my legs, also know as a swift kick to the tare. I reckon burying my … Continue reading →

Last night I was asked to referee at a Kanto region Snr High School taikai. I’ve got no idea what the taikai is, who wil be there, or where to by the right colour necktie from. But as I conversed … Continue reading →