Future Kendo Plans

I had this in the previous post, but due to posting problems, I was only able to salvage what you see in the previous post.

I wanted to discuss me thinking about my future in Kendo. I see myself doing this until the day my body will not let me do it anymore. I know that I have found my art. I look at forums, I watch videos, and I also pay attention to my own Kendo in hopes of improvement of myself. All I know is that there is no stopping now!

I have a few cosmetic plans. They aren't too important (except for one), but it's something that I like to keep in mind once my credit limit increases and I make more money. For one thing, I would like to buy zori, but I might wait until I go to a seminar for that as sort of a traveling gift. I also have plans on getting better quality kendogi, hakama, and bogu. I can use the set I have now until they are not fit for practice or sell them second-hand to someone looking for a cheap set. I can make or buy a stand for my old bogu set and use it for suburi practice when I don't have a human person to hit on. The one cosmetic thing that is important is having a place to train. I assume that the regular rooms in my future house may not be sutible for Kendo training, so I do have plans on making an addition to the house or a seperate shed or something so I can do training there without having to worry about places to train. I want spring floors, suitible for Kendo as well as high celings and proper ventilation. As far as decoration, I guess I can get posters, wallhangers, flowers and some paint to give it the "Kendo" atmosphere. I might have other uses for this place as well, but only time will tell.

Of course, I can't get better just by buying bigger and better things. I have thought beyond the clothes. I would love to bring friends over for some friendly jigeiko sometime if they accept the invitation. If I do come through with the addition to the house, then things will only get better. But I wouldn't mind going outside to do some training as well, since I also want to expand the knowledge of Kendo to others that may not be familiar with the art. My goal is to also get to a position where I can teach people Kendo. I can do a little teaching, but it wouldn't be as good due to the fact that I am still new to Kendo and I haven't seen enough great cuts to know what a good one looks like. But once I do get to the rank where it is acceptable for teaching, I shall take that opportunity to volunteer to do so. Once I retire, I could take it up full-time. Passing on my knowledge to others would be one of the greatest honors for me.

To get to that point, I would like to read more material by subscribing to Kendo World Magazine for the long haul and buying videos to study. I would also like to attend the seminars. I haven't read too much on it, but I have heard that they are really fun. If I could do it next summer, I might go for it.

I do see the bill that I would be footing for all of this, but I usually feel better if I don't think about the total price and look at them one at a time.

Edit: I see that I have repeated the first paragraph from my first post, but that shouldn't be a big issue, right?

Finally, a post about Kendo!

I did some Kendo training yesterday on my own. I wanted to write about it then, but the internet was out all night due to a terrible storm passed by that is oh so common in the south due to heat and humidity.

Anyways, during my training, I did some deeper thinking while I was doing my suburi. While I was doing katate suburi, I payed much more attention to my footwork and I noticed that my movements became stronger and my feet stayed straighter as a result. While my footwork became stronger, my suburi could use some work as it was a little wobbly. I could say that it is because I was only swinging with my left hand, but I should have it swinging straight as if my right hand was there...or at least that is my goal.

I wanted to do shomen suburi, but I ran into some trouble there. I was doing just fine but my wrist started bothering me when I was doing it. So that I wouldn't damage my wrist, I decided to stop there. But when I was doing what I could, I did make note to swing with my left hand exclusively as if my right hand wasn't there. I did a few slow practice swings before doing the exercise so that I can get the feel of it. After that I did a few swings concentrating on the feeling I got with the slow swings until my wrist started bothering me. After that, I watched the DVD that came with my Kendo World Magazine at some of the matches that were on it, then finished it off with a few episodes of Love Hina.

I have also been thinking about my future in Kendo. It is definately something that I would like to do until the day that my body tells me that I cannot practice anymore. But beyond that, I thought about how I would practice and how I would improve. There were a few material things involved like buying zori and a better kendo-gi and bogu set :), but I did think beyond that. One thing that I would like to do is make a written Kendo journal, maybe starting at shodan since it is considered the true beginning of one's Kendo journey. But I have also thought about making one now and then starting anew once I do hit shodan, that way I can look back and see myself during the kyu days. I could keep typing here, but there just seems to be less personality when I am typing stuff online. I also feel that computer information can be easily lost in the future, becoming extremely hard to find, even if you forget one letter in the url or filename in the archives hidden deep in the computer. At least a written one will allow me to easily go back to a bookcase and read it immediately.

I also have ideas for cross training. Because I have easy access to a gym, I plan on starting once I go back to school. I plan on trying out some suppliments to build about 10-20 lbs of muscle. I don't want to get too muscular cause I don't want it to impede my Kendo progress, not to mention I don't really plan on being too muscle-bound. I also have plans of running and doing more DDR to help with cardiovascular strength. I also have plans to alter my diet to make me more healthy. I want to do more research on this so I don't waste any time with no gain. If any of you have any ideas on physical training, feel free to send your suggestions my way.

Quitting Job and New Kendo Resolution

Well, as the month of comes to a close and August shows up, thoughts of going back to Purdue come up. In light of that, I have put in my two weeks notice in at Malibu. While the work can get hectic at times, I really enjoy working with the people there. We are just one crazy bunch of people! If I don't get an internship next year, then I will definately try to get in there again!

As far as Kendo goes, I have made a resolution. In light of the Chicago Taikai that will be happening in October (I think), I have decided to work harder on increasing my Kendo competency. I plan on doing this by practicing harder once I get back to school and reading up on the books that I have so I will be more knowledgeable about Kendo and shiai. I also want to make sure that I am ready to take my ikkyu exam if things go nicely. If any of you have any tips on preparing for the ikkyu exam, or any promotion exam in general, you can send them my way. I just want to make sure that I am ready for anything that will happen and adapt to things that I don't expect.