Keiko: A Kenshi's Journey

This past weekend our club participated in the University of Washington 38th Annual Invitational Kendo Taikai, and all throughout the day we managed to show strong kendo.  This year we had the smallest group from our club that I think I've ever seen; only four of us went to compete.  We ended up having to borrow a fifth person to complete our team, and he turned out to be a great asset.  I would like to say thank you to S. DeBlieck from Sno-King for fighting with us this weekend! We started out with our usual tradition of driving over on Friday, and were in time for a bit of training at Bellevue with the locals there.  They have such a large group at their dojo, it was wonderful to practice with so many new faces!  This time I came away with fewer bruises and injuries than the last time I practiced there, so I was grateful for that.  After a late night of Telemundo with my dojo mates, I finally got some rest in. We awoke early on Saturday, ate, and ...

I was a little divided on what I should write, because I have a few ideas going through my head.  A lot has been going on lately, much of which has involved me running the main class.  It's been fun, exciting, and kinda challenging on my part, but I think I did well.  I definitely talk a lot.  What little knowledge of kendo and techniques that I possess, I try to pass on when I teach.  It's not much, but I do my best and I think all of the people that were in on my classes had fun and I hope they learned a bit in the process. Recently, I have been focusing a lot on my "secret lunch training."  These are times when I go to the dojo, during my lunch break from work, and work on things by myself.  I do fully understand that kendo requires tutelage in a dojo setting, but I also believe that time spent practicing on your own is very valuable.  Since my home dynamics have changed and my time in the dojo has been cut down a little bit, I'm finding othe...