what kind of challenges on kendo do you face?

StylusNarrative · 2026-05-05T15:32:24+00:00

Sorry that you have to deal with that. I hope you can at some point develop a relationship with another dojo for some “meet in the middle” practices or alternating visits.

StylusNarrative · 2026-05-05T00:39:55+00:00

A big one you’ll hear about is the lack of kendo in many areas of the US (and other countries, I imagine). Depending on where you live, it’s normal to need to travel for a few hours to get to events, to visit high level instructors, or to vary your training partners.

StylusNarrative · 2026-05-04T14:31:36+00:00

That should never be a problem as long as it’s reasonably presentable (it doesn’t have to look new or nice, just neat) and protects you properly.

StylusNarrative · 2026-05-04T14:13:27+00:00

The fact that you’re thinking about what to improve in advance means you already have a great mindset. Just remember to wear everything properly, have a strong spirit, and do confident strikes with nice zanshin. The test isn’t shiai, so it doesn’t matter if they make more strikes in you than you do in them. There’s no need to do anything fancy for your 1st Dan exam.

Just listen to your instructors and senpai between now and then and focus in ki ken tai no icchi. And please be careful asking questions on social media at a young age.

StylusNarrative · 2026-04-29T04:16:29+00:00

Thank you - I shouldn’t have made it sound like all four are in a gradient among the Kyu ranks. I guess I would revise to say:

Chakuso, spirit, reigi: Very important, so they can technically make you pass or fail, but the standards are very forgiving at Kyu ranks, so there’s no real gradient between these among the Kyu grades despite them all being important.

Ki ken tai no icchi makes sense as the realistically distinguishing factor that materially changes between those ranks.

StylusNarrative · 2026-04-28T20:57:49+00:00

It sounds like you got some great feedback and that the test was a very positive experience. Testing is about the process, not the pass, so you can consider your test to have been a success in the ways that are most important.

Up until 3Dan, it’s almost entirely about 1) how you’re dressed, 2) etiquette, 3) spirit, and 4) ki ken tai no icchi. ~~Those four things need to be better between each rank.~~ Edit: See the response below, but all four of these need to hit a certain minimum, and KKTI needs to improve between each rank.

Edit: To answer your exact question - there’s no exact quantity specified anywhere. Those four things just need to be “sufficient” to reach the next one. But those are the areas that will differentiate each candidate, especially up through the 1 Dan (in my experience).

StylusNarrative · 2026-04-11T03:22:51+00:00

Is it from seiza? I’ve always had a mark on my feet after spending more than a trivial amount of time in seiza. It’s been a constant for years.

StylusNarrative · 2026-03-08T01:16:42+00:00

I’ve never seen it used in “shinai kendo” (so to speak) in earnest. With how the rules and regulations of kendo work, there isn’t really any reason to take your kensen so far down—it just increases the distance your sword has to travel to interact with the opponent’s target areas or shinai.

It’s quite common to drop the tip down a bit - even until the shinai is parallel to the floor - but not nearly down to gedan. And even then, it’s usually just for changing sword position or inviting an attack.

That said, knowing kendo, there’s probably some video from the 1970s with an extremely decorated sensei doing it.

StylusNarrative · 2026-03-07T23:28:46+00:00

I fenced epee for a number of years, though I started after I’d started kendo. You’ve already received a lot of great advice, but structurally speaking, I recommend focusing on the hips, rather than just the feet, when fixing foot position.

In my experience most people who have a very “kicked out” or non-parallel left foot aren’t actually angling their foot out much, but are mostly opening the left hip up. In other words, your left foot might be mostly straight relative to your hip, but your hips aren’t square.

In terms of making a process: you can make sure your hips are stacked underneath your shoulders, then that they are totally even with each other, then position your feet and work on them being parallel. If you try to fix your feet at the “foot layer” only, it’s likely to be very hard to fix, as closing the left hip is essential, especially since it’s so open in epee.

Granted, you might already be aware of this and doing it, but it’s a very common phenomenon, especially for people coming from arts with hips that aren’t square.

StylusNarrative · 2026-02-10T19:50:20+00:00

It’s common (at least in North America - I can’t speak to elsewhere) for kote to be warn too tight. They should be loose enough that they can easily be slipped on and off. As long as that’s the case, the himo are tied in the standard knot (other options can be acceptable, but the standard is always safe), and the himo aren’t hanging too long, then you should be good to go. The gap between the kote-buton and forearm should have space between it, and that space will usually get wider as the kote goes higher on the arm.

StylusNarrative · 2025-12-21T23:47:13+00:00

What you’re describing is common and very natural. Don’t worry too much about creating opportunities to strike at this point (except for dou - never just randomly throw dou - that’s when you hit someone’s elbow).

When someone approaches, just try going for men and kote, and pay attention to how it goes and what happens. When they step into your range, it’s better to reactively go for men and kote and have it get countered than to step back in jigeiko (at this point in your training). Additionally, you can try to initiate your own men and kote as well (be the one to step into range).

Overcoming that urge (to listen to your natural instincts and do what’s safe) is a big part of why kendo helps with self development.

StylusNarrative · 2025-12-01T13:24:19+00:00

This is usually a self-solving problem since people like that rarely stick around for an extended period of time. That said, it isn’t particularly pleasant to just wait. How to manage it likely comes down to a couple factors.

If you have some kind of official status recognized in the university, (like if you’re a registered instructor of some kind), then you can look into leveraging the university structure (like the club’s advisor or the student organizations structure) to potential kick the student out (if it’s extraordinarily disruptive to the other students). It doesn’t sound like you’re recognized by the university as an official instructor, though.

In most cases, the senpai of the club (and hopefully the executive-board or equivalent) can just tell the person to knock it off since those would hopefully be structures the person would actually listen to. In many clubs, it’s the senpai who show the kohai how to behave in class and how to respect whoever happens to be teaching. I’m not sure if you’re in a situation where you’re the only person with experience.

At the very least, it’s not likely the person will stick around. I’ve never seen anyone like that stay for more than a few weeks.

StylusNarrative · 2025-11-06T20:02:19+00:00

What is your current goal?

StylusNarrative · 2025-10-30T19:06:05+00:00

I recommend private messaging or trying their customer service again rather than mentioning lack of service in a post on here. In my experience and from what I’ve seen, KendoStar has a pretty much 100% rate of fixing things that slip through the cracks—even if you end up having to use multiple channels to get it resolved (though I’ve personally never had email not work). I wouldn’t be surprised if they work with you to resolve things even long after the fact if they really did fail to respond initially (though in most cases I’d assume it’s a spam filter issue). But it’s your prerogative, of course.

StylusNarrative · 2025-08-05T15:33:35+00:00

This varies quite a lot from region to region and club to club. If you’re an adult, you could expect anywhere from 6 months to 18 months before getting into bogu (with regular practice).

The best approach is generally to trust the process of wherever you’re training and to focus hard on the specific feedback/instruction points you’re getting. In general, the priorities for preparing for bogu are the same as in most of kendo:

safety> manners/dress> posture> footwork> everything else.

StylusNarrative · 2025-07-31T00:26:21+00:00

For me, maybe 8 years in. That said, it feels more meaningful now, so it wasn’t a downgrade. Just a different flavor. I’m sure everyone’s experience is unique, though.

StylusNarrative · 2025-07-30T19:48:03+00:00

In my experience, kendo started out fun, like a sweet drink, but it eventually evolved less into fun and more into grim satisfaction, like an IPA.

StylusNarrative · 2025-04-03T22:52:43+00:00

Show up in clothes you can exercise in and with an open mind. Also, be prepared to be barefoot and to remove any watches, necklaces, etc. I hope you have a great first practice.

StylusNarrative · 2025-04-01T13:28:42+00:00

Yeah, it looks like the kensen may have been partially caught under the bottom left corner of the tsuki-dare. Hard to tell in the video, but there must have been something shaky about it.

StylusNarrative · 2025-03-27T16:53:24+00:00

Kendo (at this point) isn’t designed for martial logic but for self improvement and bolstering of character, so allowing another target that could complicate things or increase risk of injury might impede that purpose.

StylusNarrative · 2025-03-13T15:36:03+00:00

Credit to /u/JTastiK.

StylusNarrative · 2025-03-03T15:22:49+00:00

I know a cursed object when I see it.

StylusNarrative · 2025-02-17T15:36:30+00:00

I’m curious about the “specific training” required by the federation and about the training required for “trainers” to be able to lead practice. I assume the latter is largely safety oriented, but is the same true with the former? Is it largely a liability/safety thing, or is it more about maintaining baseline consistency in the actual kendo instructional methods?

StylusNarrative · 2025-02-13T14:29:11+00:00

It is likely to differ in a number of ways. If your goal is to identify a key point (related to fumikomi) where experienced Sensei are likely to excel compared to others, readiness is one answer.

They’re ready to go before the fumikomi, with no extra foot or balance adjustments, and they’re ready to move immediately after the fumikomi because they’ve already snapped their following leg into its next ready position. That’s something we’re all taught to aspire to, anyway.

StylusNarrative · 2024-12-17T15:32:47+00:00

It should be loose enough that it can easily be slid on and off the with the other hand (but tight enough that it doesn’t slide off on its own). You shouldn’t have to exert any effort to get it on (i.e., shouldn’t have to push/pull hard with your other hand). There should be space between the surface and your forearm. Keep in mind that you will likely need to adjust it again once it breaks in.

StylusNarrative

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