@@Alanhock75 thanks I'll do my best to try manage those pointers. I'm gonna throw up some more recent footage sometime soon. Hopefully some improvements are visible. 😂

@@Alanhock75 Thank you for this detail. Could you elaborate? Do you mean from the moment you're ready to begin the next Kata or is it a case of minimising the need to do two movements to "unlock" the sword from the moment noto is completed? I ask because I know that as you step back towards the shiai Sen you're still displaying zanshin. So would it be the case that you want to be ready to draw at all times? Just wondering how far to take it in that sense. Thanks again. It's a detail that upon reflection I have noticed in the posture of more experienced folks now that you mention it.

@@KendoSwordsman my Sensei explains it, that once the sword is back in the saya the thumb is relaxed into the push out position so you are ready to deal with the next enemy, it shows awareness and is one less thing to do if the sword needs to be drawn and applies to all katas- I think it’s a subtle point and shows depth of practice and fighting spirit

@@msifu81h43 you're welcome of course. Glad it can be of benefit to people like yourself.

I appreciate that comment. Glad it can be of benefit to you. Kind regards to your Sensei as well.

@@KendoSwordsman Will do!

Building a better way of life, yes I agree with that. A better society? One would hope but that takes many cooperating to achieve. Doing your part can only help though so, sure okay. 👌 The white belt fights black belt thing, I'm not sure if I follow you correctly, so correct me if I've misunderstood : Do you mean a white belt fights the black belt so that they may improve? If so, something to consider : I arts who where belts the black belt is a symbol of a beginning and not an end. It usually means one has acquired the fundamentals and is now ready to learn what the art really has to offer. Kendo and Iaido have no belts but the shodan (1st Dan) to Sandan (3rd Dan) roughly equate to a "black belt" phase with the 3rd being the point at which one is recognised to have "acquired the basics". The 1st Dan being the grade at which one is "ready to begin". If I took your meaning correctly though that you need those with more experience to reference and try to level up to, then yes. Though as a person in the higher of those two positions you often find the "white belts" also have something to teach you in return. Perhaps not so much in terms of technique but certainly in other aspects such as how different people interpret your coaching methodology. How they respond to different tactics. Why they're there and what they're searching for and so on. So a healthy dojo needs both high side and low side and everyone in between to be a healthy environment. Also I tend not to think of it as fighting at all but rather mutual study and improvement. A symbiotic relationship of sorts. Although I'm sure you were likely not being literal. As I said feel free to correct my misinterpretation of your comment if I've not understood correctly.

I think there's a D in there as well. Which is, "you're maybe not such a great person to begin with and not looking to change your ways" . Unfortunately still reasonably common in martial arts. As I said in the video though I think these people occupy a very tiny percentage and the majority will better off from where they started to varying degrees, and it may mean different things to each person depending on what they came searching for and, what they end up discovering about themselves.

I'm not sure I agree about the first instance you mentioned as a sort of means of fate keeping. As far as entry into bogu every Sensei and dojo usually has its customs. Those are to be respected generally, but yes, I would certainly not put people in armour on a whim. There's a few factors which include their safety, the safety of everyone else and as you mention their own basic skill level. As long as there's a reasonable level of those three aspects in place then I wouldn't hold someone back from armour because "time is a wasting" as they say in the classics and we need to "crack on". You do need to have "paid your dues" a bit though for sure. I might cover this in a video soon because I feel like there's some things to unpack and discuss of note on the topic. Thanks for the comment. Well done for coming back to Kendo after all those years as well.

Thanks. I've worked a lot on those very points since making these videos. Bagged my shodan menjo in January, and now trying to continue to improve from there. The Furikaburi I managed to get on top of pretty quickly with some help from a friend visiting the dojo, and I picked up on the saya turning early from him and elsewhere on RU-vid pretty soon after. Still working on the kirioroshi though. It's better but it's really tough. Especially because it's so hard to see from behind the sword. Now, I've been given the green light to practice our first Koryu set and that's added another layer of complexity because I have to go back and forth between the two 😂 Iai is a tricky beast.... Yeah, about the hall. We managed to buy an old church hall with some luck. It had some damp issues we had to resolve. So we were advised to knock off some of the plaster to allow the brick work to breath. Just temporary. Hopefully we'll be able to get renovating over the summer and put a nice tidy appearance about the place with a bespoke dojo feel together that's a bit more welcoming.

​@KendoSwordsman Congratulations on shodan! Hopefully you can make it to the Northern seminar, if so I'll come and say hello 👋 We'll be in the same group.

Yeah, it wipes off no problem. The chiburi doesn't get rid of it all though. I think it has more to do with how any liquid behaves on the blade once it's mass is reduced to the point where the inertia isn't going to be enough to overcome it. Like throwing a single sheet of toilet paper Vs an entire roll. The single sheet is light and wind resistance is much stronger in relation to its surface area etc. Sure, the little droplets will move around a bit but they'll not be going far. Whereas when there's a pool of the stuff, most of it will move together in unison and travel further with the increased mass conserving the momentum . I'm not a scientist though, so don't quote me on that 😂 Anyway it was a fun little experiment from the guys and there's no harm in it.

@@KendoSwordsman yeah, surface tension takes over the smaller the droplets get.

Well, this time he under thought and over clock his Chiburi 😂! I especially like his last one when he swung it even harder and sort of pivoted into a salute or whatever that's called when hold the sword up vertically next to yourself. That was funny. I know he knows that was funny. His co host was right about the noto though. Especially if you've practiced it properly for even like a week or two. It's just the natural way and the faster way to away a katana. Safer too for sure. I almost jabbed hand trying shove it in like that when I fumbled it 😂 That could've been messy. Iaito are still very pokey despite it not having a live blade. Thanks for the comment.

If he thought he knew everything then what was the point of the experiment in the video?

I see. I haven't started watching it yet because my wife wants me to wait until she's ready as well to start. It's so frustrating because I hear it's really good so far.

Do we know roughly when they started being introduced? Was it during the period where swords were still legal to carry out in public etc or did it only emerge later with more modern koryu? I only know about the intentions behind how they're taught in the context of Iaido and similar budo.

The sideways noto comes from the use of tachi. So that works perfectly. You don't want to slide the edge along the saya, as you'd eventually cut through it.

I hope it helps. Let me know know after training with this in mind for a while how things work out. Also Chiba Sensei's guidance to be prepared for the ai Uchi (same time) attack. If you can anticipate their decision to strike (by making the Seme at your timing) , or defend etc then you should get the opportunity for the ippon.

Thanks for the feedback. Glad it helpful to you. Now the bad news: It is said, that when you have your first Dan rank, you are ready to begin. By your third Dan rank you will have acquired the fundamentals of Kendo. It usually takes people a year or two as adults to get the first dan. A year after that you'll be eligible to test for the second. 2 years after passing the second you'll be eligible to test for the third. Other factors are going to be access to high level instructors, seminars, competitions and so on to gain experience. That plus the effort put it will determine how quickly you get a handle on things.

@@KendoSwordsman Thank you! That helps alot. 😀

Yeah, retreat is far from ideal. The idea is not to become stuck in one spot and to be as mobile as possible. If you can understand the maai to the point where it's tempting for them to strike but not easy, then you can apply your waza more easily. The ideal situation is to enter issoku itto and not have to step out of it. However you shouldn't simply stand there and be struck either. I think once you know you're maai with precision, you can bait with the kote more successfully. At first for many people they use the Nuki men, but once you're confident you find yourself going forward more. So like Chiba Sensei would say, be prepared for the aiuchi (same time attack). It's very difficult to fence against a Jodan who seldom backs off. Its much easier to beat one that has weak Ashi sabaki and is fixed in one spot or that fences from too close. Maybe I'll do a follow up video to clarify this,because people's level will vary who watch this. Thanks for the feedback.

Never retreat. If you're stepping in, you should be ready to strike and if you have time to step back, you have time to strike.

@@gluebox1 In principle I absolutely agree. However I think in order to do that you first have to understand the maai and you need to be able to understand where they will miss from to be able to use the Nuki men for instance. Also you need to know you can move in any direction. So while its all well and good to say never retreat as the ideal, in practice, most of us mere mortals will have to retreat to some extent in order to learn more precise control of the distance. A sort of "learning to walk before you can run". Its a similar situation with blocking in Kendo I find.

Really happy that this video is of benefit to you. That's why I do it. Thanks for the kind words.

I wouldn't advise that. If they're so long as to be unmanageable then there's a good chance the men is also too big for your head. If you cut them, that'll destroy the men and it'll cost too much to have them shortened by a workshop because that would be very labour intensive. If they're really way too long, I'd sell the men and order a new one that fits better. As for then sticking up, that's what this video will help you address. It also helps you get the fitting right. Best of luck 🤞

Cool. Thanks. I enjoyed your Kata as well by the way. Great weekend as a whole. Will definitely consider coming back over for it again.

Glad it's been helpful to you! Thanks for taking the time to stop by the channel and for commenting etc. Much appreciated.

Their current sets are mostly aimed at entry level to intermediate but are still generally pretty decent. My only concern with the set is the hybrid fibres used in the kote. Typically synthetic fibres compress more easily and have poorer protective longevity than natural fur fibres. It does help keep the price down though. Otherwise it seems solid enough. For £5 more on offer at the moment you could check out KendoStar's Vanguard set. It's got some good extra protection features on it. Massively popular set. Super protective from what I'm told by friends who own the set and durable as well as light weight. If you search here on RU-vid for KendoStar Vanguard, Andy's detailed videos on the set will come up. (This is the standard Vanguard set, there are a couple sets in the series ) Considering the current offer that would be my recommendation based on your budget. Both companies are trustworthy and reliable but Andy's customer service is exceptional. Don't be afraid to email him with questions, or for help with sizing etc.

@@KendoSwordsman I see thank you for your recommendations, I will keep looking for a bit more since I started kendo 3months ago and the dojo will lend me a bogu when needed anyways . The main differences between vanguard and titan set would be that the first one is more protective and the other more durable because of the stitching and leather vs orizashi applications? Most of the people in my dojo have stuff from kendo star too so I will ask them as well but I really like how the titan looks. It is also possible that you can buy pads separately will that help close the gap in protectiveness between those two?

@@maximiusiv3741 the Vanguard is better in every way to be honest. Those "bumpy" looking areas on the strike zone of the men are what increase the protectiveness quite a bit. Yes a men protetector would do that as well but it compromises the fit somewhat because your men would be sized for your head. So adding in extra padding means that your men will have to stretch around it to be tied correctly. Sometimes this can result in the monomi (the gap in the mengane to see through) resting too low. That all being said its doable. My original 9C set has a men protector in it and it works just fine, but my KS Kaisei set fits way better and has almost the same level of protection without needing the additional padding and that's more of a prestige competition type set, so protectiveness isn't as high on it as it is on the vanguard. Andy has a couple other sets in and around the same price bracket though with different asthetics. You could give those a look. Still the Titan looks like a decent choice. I'm not knocking it but I do think the KS sets generally offer more all round than most other Budogu manufacturers now. I do get that some of the sets styling (when optimised for highest protection) may not be to everyone's tastes. Either way you'd still be making a decent choice for your first owned set. Best of luck with this.

@@KendoSwordsman Alright, I will check them out, thank you.

Well, I'm sorry to say this but it's the truth. For most people, the deeper lessons of Kata and even more so the Koryu forms are simply not a major practical consideration in the context of Kendo at the levels that they'll be making their decision to take Jodan or not. Basic practicalities tend to the back bone of the matter. Although I choose to study Kendo Kata in depth and choose to practice Iaido as well, most Kendoka do not. They practice the Kata because they are a requirement. So it can be the case that a player may have many years of experience in Jodan before they start to really consider the "Riai" of the Kendo Kata. They may reach 7th dan and never practice or study a single Koryu form in it's original context and yet, the would be a very accomplished Jodan player by that point in a position to teach others and so on.

Also, I'd wager that the first form in the Kendo Kata is certainly the most fundamental, however it is a starting point. The third form is arguably the most important when it comes to the lessons imparted by the Kata in the context of Kendo's purpose which is framed through the concept Katsujin-ken. This progression is echoed in the 3 kodachi forms.

Yeah it's matte.

@@KendoSwordsman nice. I am going for the red one. Thank you for the information.

Sorry about that. I understand. Unfortunately I don't have the raw footage anymore or I'd re edit it. You're not the only person to have raised this. Thanks for the feedback. I don't use these editing methods anymore but unfortunately that's not going to be of help to you on this particular occasion.

🤦‍♂️... 😆 Silly me, of course. Thanks. I'll correct all of that when I get some time (I have a newborn baby in the house) . Baby brain!

​@@KendoSwordsman Well, congratulations then! %)

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated 🙇

Thanks, I think you're probably right. It's also a little "detached" from the torso just as the thrust is made.