2013-05-26 20:28:00
Today I passed my ikkyu exam in kendo.
Ikkyu, being the final grade before shodan ("black belt"), means that you're on your way to understanding kendo and that you almost grasp all of the basics. Almost. The real hard work starts now :)
As I said to my friends who also took their exams today: "The introductory class is over, we are now rank beginners". Another analogy would be that a guide has shown me the mountain and that I now need to start climbing it. My foot is on the first step of the stairway.
I am very happy that all of the help my sensei and sempai have given me and that my 2.5 years of effort have led to at least some progress. Also, obviously I wouldn't have come this far without the continued support of my lovely wife and of my friends who cheer me on.
If anyone's interested, my dear friend Menno shot a video of my kirikaeshi and my two jitsugi. I was very happy to hear his reaction about my kendo, to paraphrase: "This is cool stuff! I now understand what you meant when you said your lung capacity was useful; your kiai kicks ass!". ( ^_^) I'm the one starting on the left, as Tomokiyo-san put it: "Lucky number 7".
kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports, awesome,
View or add comments (curr. 4)
Posted by Thomas
Yep, that's very true :)
I have been reviewing the video in slow motion and there's some good and bad stuff.
Good: my posture, my kamae, my footwork, the sync in kirikaeshi.
Not so good: I'm >80% reactive not aggressive, when striking I lower my posture.
Many of my strikes actually miss by either not using the monouchi, or by not hitting the datotsu-bui.
All in all I'm not unhappy though :)
Posted by Chris (website)
Congratulations again! That's such great news to hear. You very nearly have all the pieces you need to start shaping your kendo into what you want it to be. I look forward to reading more about your growth through this site :)
Posted by CeeGee
Congratulations!I passed my own Ikkyu a few months ago, was nervous as hell, but got through it.
I too am about 80% reactive, trying hard to correct this. It's a long, long road!
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2013-05-27 12:12:00
Posted by Menno
Every grand journey begins with a small step.