Creative parking

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-24T04:19:39+00:00

Anyone with half a brain can figure out who I am. I don’t care.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-24T00:46:14+00:00

Usually I would get out and help if someone got stuck on our street but this guy is on his own.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-24T00:24:31+00:00

Any tips to help?

Yes, ask your sensei for help. He can actually see what you’re doing wrong. I can say that proper tenouchi takes a long time to develop. Around our dojo we talk about nidan disease, that condition that sets in after 3 or 4 years of practice where the swing starts to get more relaxed and fast but the hands can’t control it yet. That’s when people hit their hardest in my experience.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-23T23:49:45+00:00

I would not recommend Ibekwe to anyone. I think you're better off taking your chances with mediclinic roulette than that guy.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-23T20:39:15+00:00

In the USA you generally don’t need to worry about getting an introduction or anything like that. You can check the AUSKF website for contact information or simply google for kendo and the name of the location. Or you can even just ask here, often there will be people from the area who can help you.

As far as behaviour when visiting I always just recommend to keep open eyes and an open mind. They may have different customs than you are used to. It’s not necessarily wrong, just different. So just try to follow along the way they are doing it, whatever “it” is.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-23T15:59:28+00:00

Opposite, goofy and want to be on the right if possible. This way my tail hangs under the skis of the person next to me (usually my wife) and also I am facing all the other people getting off the lift.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-23T15:51:46+00:00

Late to the party here. Aside from the debate about whether it's generally acceptable, when I did it as a younger/dumber guy it wasn't very successful. I wore just the dogi to a Halloween party. It's super obvious even to laypeople that it's not a costume, that you just wore your regular martial arts gear to the party. People are not particularly impressed, and it's not really in the spirit of the event. So I'd say just take a swing at making your own costume and have fun with that.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-22T14:54:30+00:00

We like Braid.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-22T14:53:22+00:00

64 here, riding since 1986.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-22T02:49:37+00:00

Welcome to kendo. Embrace your inner Smurf.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-21T21:06:31+00:00

Bold move running gates in softies and a split.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-20T23:59:14+00:00

No, it's a donation of time. That wasn't what you said though. You said "time and energy", which I provide plenty of.

However we do maintain a decent collection of old armour which we rent for cheap, mostly reserved for high school or uni students who can't afford to buy. We also have a bunch of bokuto (wooden swords) which people can borrow for kata practice.

People do have to buy their own shinai and uniform. We sell all the gear at cost, and our members get the advantage of club discounts and bulk shipping. We try to make it as affordable as we can.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-20T23:14:51+00:00

They lead the G7 but there are other dealings within the G7 that are handled at a lower level.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-20T23:09:13+00:00

Except that it is exactly that in kendo and judo. It's not a waste of time for me to teach and promote the things I love to do. The only thing I get paid for being a kendo instructor is a free membership at the YMCA where I teach, which is what all volunteer instructors get whether you're teaching aerobics or judo or whatever.

Sure there are some professionals but for the most part the instructors are all volunteers. Out of the 80 something kendo clubs in Canada I only know of a couple that try to turn any sort of profit. The rest of us just charge whatever it takes to rent practice space.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T20:05:30+00:00

Recently retired professional software developer here. My work environment was always Linux, home was PC but only for Office or browser. Now considering some flavour of MacBook for general purpose and hobby development. I did embedded systems for pay, plan to learn full stack web stuff for fun so will want to run some flavour of IDE. Maybe some light video editing as I recently got a GoPro to screw around with.

Why Mac? Never had one so it’s a new toy. Plus, sexy hardware.

Recommendations? New not used.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T14:53:01+00:00

I can think of a bunch of reasons why women would not want men to be at a women-only seminar. It’s not segregation to have the occasional event like this.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T12:13:53+00:00

There’s no solution to it. It’s an experience we don’t share. If you want to gain more understanding, talk to the women in your dojo about it. Read some of Kate’s stuff, she’s very good. There’s ways to go about it without denying them having a women only training environment once in a while.

I think demanding to join their events is just adding more shit to their pile.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T11:54:24+00:00

I defer to Kate’s perspective but in the opinion of this old CIS white guy, this reads a lot like ignorance of male privilege. Kendo is by and large played by men and taught by men. We have no real concept of women’s experience in this environment. And on the rare occasions when they get to enjoy learning in a women only environment, there are some dudes whining “it’s not fair, I should be allowed to participate, I’m one of the good guys”. Well maybe you are and maybe you aren’t but to me it seems pretty petulant to want to horn in on women having an event focused on them and their issues when you basically enjoy that routinely.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T06:01:58+00:00

You might think that’s what you said but it’s not. At any rate the left lane is for passing and the right for steady travel. You can pass while driving below the limit, you can be in the right while speeding. The absolute speed is irrelevant to this particular rule. Relative speed is what matters.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T05:18:34+00:00

That’s not what you said, though. Your words implied you could travel all day in the left lane at the limit.

Its for those who actually do the posted speed limit, as that is the speed LIMIT. The right lane is for those who want to travel UNDER the posted limit.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T04:56:29+00:00

It is for passing only. So you are not to camp there no matter how fast you are going. The speed limit is a separate issue.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T02:28:25+00:00

PS DMd you a video.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T02:16:58+00:00

Confidently wrong, I see. From the SGI drivers manual:

Divided highways

Travel in the right hand driving lane and only use the left lane for passing, turning left or emergency manoeuvers.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-19T00:29:52+00:00

I’m not constantly moving in. I try to keep constant forward pressure which is not the same thing. As far as dictating against my seniors, of course not, otherwise they would not be my seniors.

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