I’m sure the Budo practitioners know how “maai”(gap, space) is important in Budo. There is an appropriate maai between you and your opponent during the fight. Being too close or too far apart is no good. “Maai” is the correct distance between you and your opponent. People who excel in Read More
Jodan is known as the “stance of fire” or the “stance of heaven” and it is the first of the kamae (stance) you learn in the Nihon Kendo Kata. It is an aggressive posture and requires not only a lot of arm strength, but also courage and dignity. We asked Read More
Taisho match with both teams tied, a fully spirited move grabs the victory. Takahashi fought to erase the pain of the past defeat and overcome a tricky situation The 11th World Kendo Championship, men’s team games, held in Santa Clara, California in the United States, saw an intense encounter earlier Read More
Master Kendo Step The last of the 3 factors is the “body”. This refers to the position and footwork as you pull out the moves of men, kote, do, and tsuki. Especially your foot is very important in your position, posture, and movement. How to use your foot in stepping Read More
Corporate Kenshi who pioneered the “jodan-boom”. In his later years he became the pioneer leading kenshi with the double sword. In only his second year as a company kenshi, as the Post-War competitive Kendo scene was established, he fought his way straight to the top! It was Toda Tadao who Read More
Japanese National Rugby Player, selected for the World Cup, has succeeded through applying the concept of “maai” that he learned through kendo. The 2019 Rugby World Cup, hosted by Japan, was a great success with the whole country enlivened by the event. This was a historical event for the Japanese Read More
This is the final part of our series on Sasaki Kojiro and his latest depiction in the film Musashi, as well as the sword that was made specially for the actor Matsudaira Ken to use in his protrayal. If you haven’t read them already, then check out Part 1 and Read More
We continue our previous article concerning Sasaki Kojiro’s infamous long sword the Monohoshizao and how it was brought to life for the silver screen in Mikami Yasuo’s ‘Musashi’. Previously our chairman Kimura Takahiko and famous jidaigeki actor Matsudaira Ken discussed the character of Sasaki and what it was like portraying Read More
A brand new style of shinai handle on the horizon! Inspired by the katana, that the shinai originally represents, it features an asymmetric design that gives you great awareness of the position of your shinai as well providing an extremely comfortable foundation for your kamae (posture). As part of the Read More
In the recent Movie “Musashi” by Mikami Yasuo, the famous jidaigeki actor Ken Matsudaira plays Sasaki Kojiro – Musashi’s infamous final nemesis. In this article Takahiko Kimura, Tozando’s chairman, discusses with Matsudaira about his role and the development of his signature weapon – the “Monohoshizao” (known affectionately as the laundry Read More
