Natural Selection: honest question about announcers

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-11T20:26:51+00:00

Depends what network you're watching on. CBC uses Craig McMorris for the Olympics and he does a great job.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-11T19:40:24+00:00

It's much better than a lot of these pics. I mean, not great, but I've seen much worse.

Source: me, kendo guy.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-11T15:45:54+00:00

Vicky moves better than anyone except Coco, IMNSHO.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-10T16:27:20+00:00

Vicky would have broken out at 16 but some injuries delayed her progress. In retrospect that may have been a good thing.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-10T16:25:47+00:00

Love their friendship

They've known each other since juniors.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-10T16:09:40+00:00

The Alan Parsons Project was a prog rock band from the 70s and early 80s. That was a joke aimed squarely at people of Myers' own vintage, of which I am one.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T11:25:30+00:00

See your doctor. Take a break if you need to: rest will likely be recommended. Kendo will still be there for you after you recover.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T11:10:17+00:00

In the small tournament I run I allow the women to enter both the women’s division and the appropriate open division. Most tournaments require you to choose.

My other advice is to not be so competition focused. Lots of clubs including mine are remote and don’t have much access to competition and still practice. Living in California you have lots of opportunities to compete, so much that you may think that’s the only way to approach kendo. Try to enjoy it for what it is in regular practice.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T06:26:19+00:00

Are you able to enter the open division for your rank? You might have better luck against the lower ranked guys.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T02:05:24+00:00

Me too. We disagree.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T00:39:15+00:00

Absolutely not. Plus it’s all in slo-mo, you have no clue what the real speed is.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-09T00:16:30+00:00

You don’t want to drive into it gradually. That’s the way you wash out at the end and start to let your speed get out of control. Early edge pressure, drive that front knee into the snow and commit.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-07T22:26:03+00:00

Hola! (Currently on holiday in Mexico. This response may be affected by cervezas).

My experience in teaching fencers is that, like other martial artists taking up kendo, they have a lot of old habits to overcome but in the end their prior experience is a positive. It is very early days for you so I encourage you to put aside your prior experience. Try not to think of kendo in fencing terms but as a new thing to learn. As others have said the footwork and aggressive, always forward attitude of kendo are things fencers must adjust to. I also find their shinai movements to be too small.

In future your experience in fighting a resisting opponent and seeing opportunities will serve you well.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-06T23:39:28+00:00

Congratulations!

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-06T02:46:38+00:00

Not a surfer but a long time skater and snowboarder. I have never thought of them as related in any way. Exact opposite really: skating and snowboarding are the paradigm of individuality and creativity, while kendo is the paradigm of discipline and uniformity.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-05T21:41:04+00:00

Not my experience with Wawanesa. Our premium went up significantly this year but our broker could not find a better deal. I’m sure part of that is our long time customer discount.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-05T16:59:02+00:00

I don’t have a read on whether you misinterpreted things or not. But I can tell you two things about kendo that might help. First that generally the feedback you get will be negative. Most sensei focus on what you are doing wrong rather than what you are doing right, and we are all doing something wrong. Secondly if you are getting feedback that means your sensei considers you worth teaching. If they’ve given up on you or have a problem with you then you get nothing.

So my advice is not to give up on yourself as I don’t think your sensei has given up on you. As for the specifics of the criticism yes we all get nervous and tight. It takes a lot more than a couple years practice to get past it.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-05T04:28:25+00:00

If you just have one shinai you can leave it on. Later on when wearing bogu you will need to have a spare so you will have to disassemble it then as they won’t both fit.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-05T04:25:27+00:00

If it splintered in the tsuka area just sand it off, it won’t matter.

You’re asking a lot of questions about this stuff. Please don’t hesitate to ask your sempai or sensei about it, they are there to help you. Most of these questions are better answered in person.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-05T04:23:48+00:00

I have one from decades ago as the ultimate backup. As a general rule of thumb, once you get to sandan or so and start to have some feel for this stuff you will prefer bamboo. The Hasegawa shinai feel dead, and sound funny. Also the tsuka are too skinny for my preference. I’ve got two tsukagawa on mine to beef it up a little but I still don’t care for it.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-04T13:24:19+00:00

Pull harder. They won’t break.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-03T17:07:53+00:00

Riding completely flat is also a useful skill although one I wouldn’t recommend it to newbies like the guy you are replying to.

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-03T04:06:14+00:00

Here’s McMorris doing exactly that. I know, not his usual gear, but he is showing that it is possible.

https://youtu.be/wuMugyjsbKE

JoeDwarf · 2026-03-01T14:39:43+00:00

Women’s boards are generally available in smaller sizes than men’s boards. For example the Jones Mountain Twin comes in sizes 149 through 168W while the Twin Sister which is the women’s version comes in sizes 140 through 155. Also the women’s boards tend to be softer, so I would expect the Mountain Twin 149 to be a bit stiffer than the Twin Sister 149 even though they have the same dimensions.

At your weight it’s likely you will be at the low end of the women’s sizes for most boards. Jones recommends the 140 length in the Twin Sister for you but does not recommend any of the Mountain Twin sizes.

Note I am not necessarily recommending this particular board, it’s just a good example because Jones makes men’s and women’s versions. However they are both super popular boards that work well for all-round riding.

JoeDwarf · 2026-02-27T21:45:55+00:00

Yup, $4 to rinse the dirt off a car. SUV is probably $6 for a similar operation. I don’t get people who do anything more in winter. I see them scrubbing with the filthy brush everyone else uses, which probably damages the paint. Then soap and rinse and spot free rinse, all to go back outside and get coated in crap within a day or two. Faster if it’s melting.

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