Kendo World

16/08/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=3000
"Budo Beat 69: Stuck in the Quagmire – 8th Dan Exam Post-mortem"
In this installment of the Budo Beat Blog, Alex reflects on another failed attempt at the kendo 8-dan exam.

"Basically, it was sh*te. As always, there is no great injustice to report. No story about bad luck, nor any convenient claim that my opponents didn’t give me the right sort of kendo to show my best. I stepped onto the floor, did what I did, and it was not enough. That is the brutal simplicity of the 8th Dan grading. Whatever explanations failed candidates try to construct afterwards, the result is sitting there in black and white, and you just have to deal with it. Still, failure is useful only if you are prepared to examine it before vanity gets there first and starts rearranging the evidence. So here I am, staring at the wreckage with as much honesty as I can muster. Where, exactly, am I going wrong?"

It wasn't all bad, however, and in this post Alex also discusses what went right, as well as what is needed for anyone who is sitting a kendo grading.
#剣道 #八段 #剣道女子

03/08/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2991
Budo Beat 68: Golden, Not Gilded – NZKF 50th Anniversary
In this entry, Alex writes about the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Kendo Federation and the legions of mostly unthanked volunteers who are essential to keeping clubs and federations going.
#剣道大会 #剣道 #剣道部 #剣道女子

31/07/2026

Volume 8 of Fine Ladies Kendo Worldwide is on sale now!

Volume 8 of Fine Ladies Kendo Worldwide is on sale now! Check out the contents below!Available from Amazon. Link to the UK store is HERE but it should be available in your region's Amazon store.The Pioneers of Women's Kendo Interviews1. Nemoto Michiyo (Japan)2. Judith Bösiger-Isenschmid (Switzerlan...

30/07/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2981
Budo Beat 67: Same Mountain, Different Paths – Iadera and Creativity
In this instalment of the Budo Beat Blog, Alex discusses the recent and 10th edition of the Iadera Seminar in Croatia, at which he is one of the instructors. He discusses the different methodologies employed when teaching large groups of people with different language skills, as well as the challenges and benefits. This gives plenty of food for thought for those who are in teaching positions.
#剣道 #剣道部

14/07/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2971
"Budo Beat 66: L’Amour de l’Armure – In Appreciation of Bōgu"
In this Budo Beat blog, Alex reports on a lecture he attended on the evolution of yoroi - Japanese armour. The armour changed depending on the specificities of combat - or lack of - in different eras. He also discusses the parallels with modern kendo armour.
Check it out!
#剣道

01/07/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2953
"Budo Beat 65: Dead Serious about Honki – Why the most ordinary Japanese word may be the most demanding one in budo"
Alex asked well-known kendo teacher Karukome Mitsuyo-sensei for one word to sum up budo. Her reply was "honki". In this blog post, Alex describes the meaning of "honki".

"After more than forty years in Japan, 'honki' is one of those words I hear so often that I had almost stopped hearing it. People are told to work honki de. Students are told to study honki de (with honki) It has some of the same feel as the more familiar maji de, but honki carries more weight and less slang. And if someone makes a mess of something important, people can get honki de pi**ed off, too. It is not an obscure term from a Zen text, nor one of those impressive budo expressions that becomes more mysterious the longer people try to explain it. It is totally ordinary Japanese. Everyday Japanese. The sort of word a five-year-old understands perfectly well."

Read more to find out about another seemingly simple word with deeper meanings.
#剣道 #武道

23/06/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2946
Budo Beat 64: Skin in the Game – People, People, People
In this blog instalment, Alex discusses the "ningen" (human) connection found in budo after a recent visit to the Shorinji-Kempo club at Gakushuin University. The students were part of the COVID generation, meaning that for a large part of their elementary and junior high school lives they had no direct contact with people. They are now relishing the chance of contact with people through budo.
#武道 #少林寺 #少林寺拳法

18/06/2026

Highlight and ippon compilation videos from the recent 1st Asia Oceania Kendo Championships are up on the Kendo World YouTube channel now! Click the link below for the playlist!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJhXcqKChOMqaSsdasKWyMhpVHcOY6a0k
#剣道大会 #剣道 #剣道男子 #剣道部 #剣道女子 #剣道具 #残心 #武道

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18/06/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2940
"Budo Beat 63: Where the Snow Falls – On Standing at the Centre of Things"
In the library of his new dojo - Jigokuden - Alex was drawn to a book about Yamaoka Tesshu - famed Zen master, calligrapher, and swordsman. In this book he found a saying by Tesshu that reads: "Good snowflakes, one after another, do not fall elsewhere."
Of course, it's not really about snowflakes but something far more philosophical. It common parlance, it could be phrased as, "It is what it is."
Click the link above to find out more.
#武道 #禅

12/06/2026

https://budobooks.jp/?p=2935
"Budo Beat 62: Shinpan is Done with Flags, not Keyboards!"
In this blog entry, Alex reflects on his role as a shinpan in the final of the recent 1st Asia Oceania Kendo Championships and the reaction to some of the decisions made, notably the difference between how shinpan - in the moment - view the matches compared to people watching on video. Essential reading.
#剣道大会 #剣道 #剣道男子 #剣道部 #剣道女子
Photo courtesy of Let's Kendo (www.letskendo.com)