The Gyokuryuki crosses the Kaimon strainght for the first time PL Gakuen, located in Osaka, won the inter high games (boys) in 1972 for the first time, and has won it 7 times in total. Especially between 1975-1985 it was considered one of the two top kendo schools along with Read More
Sori – the curve that captures the charpness and beauty of the Japanese sword As mentioned in one of our previous articles about Japanese sword craftsmanship, the katana was originally preceded a straight sword with no curve at all; known by many names including the apt ‘chokuto’ – literally ‘straight Read More
Counter Techniques They spend a lot of time practicing counter techniques. In addition to the usual counter technique practices, they have a practice where all stand in front of one player and strike his/her men one by one, and the receiver tries to pull out counters all in a row. Read More
2018 makes it 55 years since Kyoto Uzumasa Boys Kendo Club was established. In 2011, at the National Dojo Boys Games held by All Japan Kendo Dojo Association at the Nihon Budokan, they became the national champions for the elementary school section. In other years they have reached 2nd and Read More
“Become a legend” Sho Umegaya Responds as he Beats 4 in a row at the Final (2013 Gyokuryuki High School Games) The most interesting aspect of the Gyokuryuki Games is that it is held in the “fight until you lose” format. This means that no matter how much you are Read More
As mentioned in the past, the Japanese sword is designed with the purpose of “chopping”. This means that making the blade shaper and giving it more cutting ability becomes the most important thing. To make it cut better, you need to make the blade thin, but if it is too Read More
The youngest of all participants, post-war player reaches the top of Japan for the first time at age 21 In 1960, at the 8th edition of the All Japan Championship, a player in his 20s reached the top for the very first time, Up until then, all champion players were Read More
The sharp point of a Japanese katana is called the “kissaki”. It is sometimes also called the “boshi” – hat, but boshi can refer to the kissaki itself or the hamon (temper pattern) that spills onto the kissaki. Kissaki is used more often to avoid this confusion, it is also Read More
In a kendo match, in order to win against an opponent who is at a similar level to you, you need to prepare to pull out the moves you are good at, or have tactics that cause your opponent to lose focus so you can seize the upper hand. Here Read More
Japanese has a word “tsukuri-komi” which refers to the structure and style of the sword blade. In a previous article about the sword’s appearance, I mentioned that the tachi had a strong back-bend whereas the uchigatana had a strong bend at the edge. The angle of the bend, the thickness Read More
