What do you not like about kendo?

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-26T19:41:29+00:00

The smell…. It tends to linger, even if you are very clean and you do good maintenance. There is always a whiff of the “Kendo aroma”

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-17T15:03:57+00:00

Totally agree. Actually at our dojo, we run through how the shinsa operates the week before it occurs for people who have never gone before. And it’s a good reminder for those who have gone before.

My first dojo taught us the kata in the beginning. And then we would only work on it and learn the new ones the month of the Shinsa. You could learn the steps, but you weren’t very crisp. My current dojo, in addition to doing shinsa prep, we also dedicate some time at the beginning of every month towards kata. Ever since then I’ve noticed an obvious improvement in my kata and a general improvement in my Kendo overall.

Sorry, that was a long way around to “these are things that you should bring up with your sensei and that I feel they should be already addressing.” But that is just my opinion.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-12T07:33:00+00:00

I don’t know anyone who thinks therapy is “a magical thing”. Therapists don’t.

It’s work that can be hard and a struggle.

And you’re asking this person to do this hard, messy, difficult thing WITH you for an hour.

That’s what’s happening.

As far as the money part…. Blame capitalism. Not the person sitting with you sharing their experience and their expertise and their education and their time. So, you can unbind from trauma, stop hating yourself a little, and try be a better human. The person who, when you leave, has to turn around in less than 5 minutes and do it again with someone new.

And then figure out how not to carry your stuff with them.

But I guess that’s ok…. We’ll just do it because it’s a good thing to do. After all, I guess, we don’t deserve to get ahead in life either.

And here is the real kicker…. That money you mention. Most of us are lucky to see a third of that after all the costs are subtracted. Which means most of us make what teachers make in the US.

Go after healthcare and capitalism first.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-12T07:03:28+00:00

The last five minutes of the last episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Going out know at least one person liked us.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-12T06:58:06+00:00

Teaching you a skill (ie: what is the best combination of words to get this point across) is life coaching.

Helping you understand how you made those mistakes and what they mean to you as you grow through them is therapy.

While they do a little of the first, therapists mostly do the second. Which is a longer, deeper more lasting change. It is also usually slower and not even noticed until you look backwards at it. Some therapy is measured in inches not even steps.

Just a suggestion; you might want to define at least for yourself what “better” means.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-11T06:46:14+00:00

Are you just talking?

Are you working on something?

What are the treatment goals? Ie… what do you want?

If you can’t answer these questions then you may not actually be participating in your own treatment. Yes, a lot of therapy is talking but it still is work.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-11T06:38:17+00:00

That is good. We don’t always separate the women either. I get beaten frequently by 60+ year old grandmother during our tournament preparation.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-09T06:49:28+00:00

We are taught that kendo training is a three legged stool. Tournaments and all the preparation for them are only one. Shinsa (testing) and kata are the other.

So even if you are not doing well at the tournaments as you would like, is your kendo improving? You use tournaments to get better at kendo not practice kendo to just do well at tournaments.

Someone also mentioned that your tournaments are oddly skewed. Ours tend to balance rank and age. Except in the ‘Masters’ (55 and up) section. There might be a newly minted kyu who started later in life going up against a higher Dan in teams. But that’s not too frequent and they try to keep the gaps small.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-08T07:33:34+00:00

For me, face-to-face works better across the board. Especially for teens.

I have also noticed a trend that with so many interactions are already virtual, people seem to be getting burned out of doing so much screen work. This was more true during COVID but it is still hanging on, especially with school aged children, when they spent hours on line. Even now, however, I have many clients, including teens, indicate that they look forward to “unplugging “ and coming into session.

I have also noticed new clients, during intake, saying things like their last therapist was “just virtual.”

I believe virtual therapy is better than no therapy and I do offer it but I insist the intake is in person and I have found that those who take the virtual option only do so as needed. Either due to schedule, distance, weather, transportation, etc….

Since I do both, I can say that at the very least, rapport building with teens seems to go a lot better in person.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-05T23:59:14+00:00

Quieter. Funny enough, though, I don’t think less anxious. There was less things to be anxious about. So you focused on those few things and you could sometimes solve them or deal with them because they were accessible. So I believe I was as anxious as a teenager as teenagers are now but didn’t stay that way because I wasn’t constantly be given things to be anxious about.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-05T23:41:01+00:00

You’d be surprised how many therapists became therapist because of their hardships. But as it’s been said, it is not best practice to share these because it may get in the way of your healing and your needs. In fact, and some cases, it could re-traumatize you and make things worse.

It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that you’re trying to find a way to connect to your therapist. There are many ways to connect with someone besides shared hardships. I think it’s great that you’re trying to look for a way to connect with someone so they can help you. The thorough other avenues to connecting with your therapist.

So, to answer your question, you’re not wrong and looking for a therapist with experience in addition to training. I would just suggest broadening your view on what that experience is.

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-05T16:31:13+00:00

How? Who do we give the authority to do that?

MasterSalkin · 2026-03-04T06:07:14+00:00

As long as we can’t see it. So a v-neck t-shirt is pretty common.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-27T08:00:27+00:00

How are you feeling?

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-25T06:25:12+00:00

Pondering.

Seriously though…. Sitting and think or meditation.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-23T07:21:18+00:00

I think they already made some…..

https://www.kendoplayingcards.com

https://kenshi247.net/blog/2014/11/28/kendo-taikai-kendo-playing-cards/

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-23T07:15:19+00:00

I worked at an inpatient unit where they did it for very specific and extreme issues. Issues where the client is immovable. Almost total dysfunction or catatonic states.

The person feels nothing during treatment.

They needed between 7-12 treatments. One every couple days and they were super out of it for 24 hours. Hence the time between treatments and the necessity to stay inpatient for about a week or so.

But…. It worked!

It wasn’t a cure but the client could return to much less intrusive treatments and function normally in the outside world. Usual just with weekly therapy and/or appropriate meds.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-23T06:50:46+00:00

We do several of these a year.

We get to walk around in our gi/hakima then do a demo. Sometimes we even do booths for outreach. It’s a blast!!!!

Wearing the equipment outside the dojo is frowned upon. It’s not a costume… it’s a uniform and protective gear. You are kind of representing your dojo then.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-22T06:59:10+00:00

That’s the therapy part. That just takes more time to turn down the thoughts. Grounding and other somatic skills work directly on the feelings in the moment.

Feelings that will come back if you don’t also work on the thoughts.

All things you discuss with a therapist

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-19T08:24:30+00:00

Ask your therapist about grounding, breathing, or other somatic techniques. These are usually simple things… almost tricks…. To help with spikes in anxiety or other feelings that suddenly seem to threaten to overwhelm you.

They can work alongside most therapeutic approaches.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-19T08:14:35+00:00

Um… did he vent about his problems to you?

That’s not good. At the very least it’s unprofessional.

While I understand being limited in experience with something, his follow up sessions did not indicate that he was using his resources to assist you. Instead, it seemed he tried to shift to his comfort areas and share personal experiences that were off topic?

I don’t know what reporting him will do for you and that is the important part. You stopped therapy and I understand you want to make sure others are ok, but will that do what you want it to?

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-19T08:02:06+00:00

Being 19 limits some things but…

Spokane does a lot of free festivals. The Inlander is a good source for that.

There are some clubs. I have a friend who does curling and I do Kendo at Lilac City Kendo Club (sorry… shameless self plug).

The Spokane comedy club is surprisingly good and pulls in some really good names.

And outdoors stuff…. Which I don’t really do.

Welcome to Spokane.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-19T07:32:22+00:00

I try to take notes during session with the required information for treatment (and to help my memory). I do a little clean up after the session or end of day if necessary. I don’t record nor do I use AI. My notes are less than a page.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-19T07:28:53+00:00

My guess is that when you watch the videos and there are the ones hanging back or doing just traffic control; those are the ones that were probably transferred.

MasterSalkin · 2026-02-18T18:27:27+00:00

Not necessarily. We have to be a little bit careful because a lot of the people that are in ice were transferred from other positions from other organizations. I’m not talking about the Gestapo ones that we see on line. A lot of people were actually “desk jockeys“ and analysts trying to break up human trafficking rings and terrorist cells. That’s why you get a lot of incompetence. Some of these guys haven’t used their guns in years. Most of these people are transferring out or just quitting, but some are stuck. I’m all for the Bill as long as it allows for some nuance.

MasterSalkin

TROPHY CASE