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Mid-Year Grading

NUS Championship Series 2

Two such tournaments have been held thus far following its commencement on the 8th of March, 2010.

NUS Championship Series 2: 14th of June, 6PM @ MPSH6.

Additionally, our club members get to experience what it’s like to host a tournament, which will definitely come very useful when we are hosting the Singapore Youth Kendo Tournament in 2011! J

Coverage of Match

Says Jing Yang:

“Kendo can be a tiring yet exciting and thrilling experience. In tournaments, the kendoka with the best skill (sometimes with some stroke of luck) will prevail.

This tournament had been an enriching experience for me. Being a junior, I was hoping to spar with the other juniors. Unfortunately my first match placed me against one of the experienced seniors, Shannon!

The match was tiring yet exciting and also a learning lesson for me. Shannon, being much taller than me, had a distinct advantage in scoring my men, while the opposite is true for me since it is harder to reach his men. Hitting a stationary target and trying to hit a moving one are totally different altogether, and especially when the moving target is trying to score a point off you as well!

The match was dragged as we both couldn’t score the winning point over each other. There were a few chances where I failed to grasp, and there were also some pitfalls which I nearly fell into. I guess the most scary or harrowing experience in that match for me would be when he nearly pushed me out of the boundary for the second time to win the match.

Though in the end I lost, I learned some important lessons from the match. One of which, being: Footwork is an important and indispensible part of mastering kendo!”

Following the end of the tournament, Jing Yang was awarded a special tenogui by Peter Sensei for his sheer perseverance in his battle against Shannon. Good job Jing Yang!

The Men's Finals

The two share a long history together and each are well aware of the other’s favourite techniques! Right from the start, knowing that Yong He is especially adept at kote cuts, Jack makes it clear that it will not happen. He then pulls out every trick he has in an attempt to take a point off his rival. Yong He, knowing that Jack will pull all sorts of stunts, plays it safe to guard against this.

Jack, seemingly disturbed by his lack of success, opens up his kote a little. This does not go unnoticed by Yong He who manages to successfully take a point from that opening, much to the disappointment of Jack. His guard against kote cuts should definitely be stronger now but somehow, in the spur of the moment of battle, it opens again. Yong He sees it once again but as he goes in for the cut, Jack noticed him and reacted to perform a classic kote-nuki-men waza! The point count is now 1-1.

Having to guard against Jack’s many techniques and yet unable to press in for a kote cut due to fear of another kote-nuki-men, our Captain is backed into a corner. Jack, seeing this, was definitely feeling confident and was on the offensive. Yong He’s cautious play however prevented a second point from being taken from either sides and the match went into sudden death mode, “enchou”. The first to take the point of the other would win the match along with the glory of being the champion of Series 2 of the NUS Kendo Tournament.

Yong He, having fought cautiously all this while, had a sudden change of mindset. With a spirited battle cry, Yong He managed to take a point with a difficult waza, hiki-do, much to Jack’s surprise. Our captain is victorious and Jack is forced to concede defeat (for now at least).

At the end of it all, we award our winners of the tournament, from both the women's eliminations and the men's eliminations.

Post-Tournament

Ji-keiko: free sparring with a partner

Will any fated rivals have to duke it out again?

Will the girls put up a fiercer fight in the Women's Eliminations to show the guys how it's done?

And will our returning ex-Captain show us the results of his training in Japan... by thrashing us all?!

Stay tuned for our coverage of the next NUS Kendo Tournament to find out :)

16th East West Tournament

On the 6th of June 2010, the NUS Kendo Club participated in the 16th East-West tournament.

Why Kendo?

On Wednesday, 12th May 2010, the current members of NUSKC gathered for their Annual General Meeting. As we applaud the outgoing executive committee for all the hard work that they have put into the club, we also gathered to vote in our newest exco!






As the club grew through the years, our members have come and gone--but not without leaving a part of their legacy behind. Each one of us joined the club for our individual reason, and during our stay, we will each bring in something different to the club, ensuring it stays dynamic always.

So now, while the new committee embarks on their mission to bring the club to greater heights, let's ask some of them this:


Let's take a look back at why we first decided to sign up...and why we've stayed on since. :)

"I came to know about kendo after accidentally stumbling across a website on the web. I got interested in it and finally found a chance to learn more about it during the matriculation fair. After a short enquiry with the seniors at the kendo booth, I soon found myself jotting down my name on the contact list. The rest as they say is history. I guess the key thing that attracted me to kendo was its strong attachment to the ancient warriors of Japan, the samurai.

After joining the club, I've learnt a lot about myself. For me, kendo not only allowed me to learn techniques that is very close to swordsmanship but also more importantly enabled me to explore and learn more about myself. Of course, the training is no walk in the park but only through sincere and tough training can one truly begin to understand one's limits both physically and mentally. It is primarily this constant curiosity about myself that drove me and motivated me to persist on in kendo."


-- Yong He

"It is more than a martial art. Apart from being physically and mentally challenging, it comes together with values and etiquette."

-- Weber

"Firstly, I will say that Kendo is tough, honestly. But to me, this is what keeps me in Kendo. Each time you managed to ‘survive’ the training and finally take off the men (helmet), that feeling of cold air blowing onto your face is very satisfying, especially after a hard training. It gives you an unprecedented sense of achievement.

Kendo doesn’t simply just train one’s physical capabilities and endurance. Kendo also incorporates the training of the mind. It teaches one discipline, focus, spirit and endurance. I have not only learned about the martial art form, but also a lot about life from Kendo.

Lastly, the strong bonds that are formed--with fellow kendokas who you've endured tough trainings together with--will stick with you throughout life forever."

--Kenneth

Finally, the incoming committee would like to share a few words:

"Kendo is a form of martial arts from Japan. Its origins could
be traced back to the era of the samurai. As such, kendo is differentiated from
the other forms of martial arts by having a strong link with the ancient heritage of the samurai and bushido. Therefore, in kendo, the values of budo are as treasured as the techniques that were passed down through centuries.

In order to hold on to these values, the NUS Kendo Club believes in the holistic development of each kendoka. By “holistic development”, we mean the development of not just the technical skills of a kendo practitioner, but also his/her development as a person.
There are several key components of kendo namely, kihon (fundamentals), shiai (competition) and shinsa (grading). Each of these components is
essential to a kendo practioner. That is the reason why our club has placed
equal emphasis on all these components.

The Club envisions itself to become a club that provides the necessary environment for its members to improve both as a kendo practitioner and a person. Our club will strive hard to achieve this goal and will continue to do so in many years to come. We sincerely invite all who are interested in their personal growth in kendo, and even in life to join us in this endeavor.

Why Kendo? Why not!"

Training Kendo in NUS

By Yong He

Breathlessness, sore and tired limbs, blisters and an occasional bruises. These are all common side effects of tough kendo training. For a non Kendo practitioner, Kendo seems like a violent sport with the kendoka hammering their shinai on each other. Coupled with the strange screaming and shouting similar to that of a war cry, its not hard to see why non-practitioners would think so. The training in NUS however has led me to a different conclusion about kendo. In fact, to me kendo training is not only physically demanding, but also mentally taxing (sometimes more mental than physical). The training, tough as it might seem, is able to cultivate mental strength and focus within the practitioner and enforce character building. Here are some basic training exercises that we practise to hone our skills and push our limits.

Kihon

Kihon practice in kendo means the practice of basic strikes in kendo. In NUS, the practice involves performing cuts to the men (head), kote (forearm) and do (torso). These strikes are fundamental to all other techniques in Kendo. Therefore, the cuts are repeatedly practiced over and over again to achieve perfection (or at least try our best to achieve perfection)

Kirikaeshi

This is the most basic of all exercises. Its usually the first exercise that we do after the warmup exercises. Kirikaeshi combines the movement of the upper body and the lower body and emphasizes on one's ability to perform consecutive strikes to the opponent while keeping proper posture, correct distance and balance. Although it is a very basic exercise practiced in many dojos, kirikaeshi requires a lot of focus and coordination for practitioner and his partner.

Jigeiko

Also known as free sparring. This is usually left to the end of the training whereby we will put all that we have practiced earlier to the test. Jigeiko, however, is not simply about fighting your opponent. One has to overcome fear, doubt, hesitation, doubt and surprise to be able to fight effectively. Jigeiko is also used as training for shiai (tournament matches) whereby players usually play for 2 points.

Below is a video of the 52nd All Japan Kendo Championships Finals. (Just to show you how a match in Kendo is fought at a high level)

In my opinion, the values of kendo that I have learnt were far more important than the technical skills. Without these values, kendo might simply become just another sport rather than the budo that it really is.

Calendar of Events (AY2011/2012)

Updated 29th July 2011