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ulvulv
31st October 2002, 14:13
As Mr Hyakutake Colin said in another tread that there is kendo in Japan that is not affiliated to ZNKR, I ask out of pure ignorance if it is only a affiiliation issue, not a kendo-technical issue. Are there differences technically, and is there a lot of kendo-activity outside znkr?

hyaku
1st November 2002, 00:23
Hello again uvulv

I think first of all you have to understand what kind of association the ZNKR is and what you are affiliated to. When I last visited their offices at Kitanomaru Koen they were about as big as the toilet facilities for my office. Its not some posh chairmans office with lots of officials wandering about. The IKF as a subsection handles foreign Kendo.

ZNKR is run on a Prefectural basis. Then there is yet one more main split. We have City Renmei and Gun (country/county?) Renmei.

The city has a retiree as a part time secretary who wanders in from time to time. Basicaly they have yearly set schedule of taikai, gradings, places where they have to send a rep. Just a matter of phoning around. Can you do fill in on this and that?

A lot of the Sensei you see coming abroad are on a sort of retirement/bye bye present system. Others make foreign ties. Pay out of their own pocket or get "assistance" from another country that values their teaching and go on a more regular basis.

Another feather in the cap of Intanashionaru-ism. Some charge younger sensei for introducing them to the world outside.

There are meetings on various levels eg Junior High Renmei, High school, Then there is the School Teachers Kendo Association. The Sensei are invariably sports teachers who teach sports.

I also teach kakutogi. Students have a choice of either fundamental Judo or Kendo to try and instill a sense of self discipline, etiquette etc. Dont know if it works though. two hours a week is hardly enough time to have any effect. From that you can deduct one hour to herd then into the dojo and get all the gear out. Its usually quicker fore them not to change and just sit them in seiza for a longer time. Most of them cant take more than about 5 minutes.

The there are the Police who are mostly students that were in competitive Kendo (or Judo) At present all the staff at the local prison, borstal numbering over 100 are all from my Dojo.

Then there is shonen (kids) Kendo mostly run by semi retired Kendo people at private dojos. They are a community activity Parents bring or send there kids to the local Dojo. On Goto islands (Nagasaki) the kids line up in four or 5 lines of 30 kids. Theres not much more to do there!

It is the private I mean when I mention seperate dojos outside the ZNKR. One could say the population is very small. But if we compare it the total Kendo population outside Japan its not so small I suppose.

Yes technicaly the Kendo outside differs in outside clubs.

You must must appreciate that ZNKR Kendo has changed tremendously over the years. Watching a video made from a very old movie it no longer resembles what it was. Whether or not thats is a good thing I will leave you to decide

Bearing this is mind there are clubs that have chosen not to keep up with the times and you could find yourself out in the sticks doing some old style Kendo.

Kendo is Sogo Budo. Most small Kendo communities are affiliated to a bigger one.

The main point I was trying to get over is you dont "have" to belong.

When we talk of technicalities they are those of that particular association that are observed. These techniques are also not the be all and end all and in actual fact are quickly drifting away from what one would descibe as swordsman-ship in a lot of ways.

God forbid the day that the ZNKR would have any say whatsoever in the way we run and conduct a Ryu. Lets hope it has the opposite effect and that those that do both Koryu and Kendo can effectively stop too many changes in Kendo.

Please don't think I am complaining but its not all as you would expect it to be. Come over for a grading and a few words in the right ear and I am sure I can get you a pass! Not the almighty image as you would expect?

Sorry its long

Hyakutake Colin

ulvulv
1st November 2002, 10:42
Thanks for a quick and good answer. It is refreshing with an answer that is not biased by lying in one of the trenches, attacking or defending koryu, seiteiai, znkr, not znkr etc. Not training in Japan, I have experienced that ZNKR-affiliation can be a quality mark, as the instructors that are sent out of Japan from ZNKR hold a excellent level, even though a few of them are in the "almost dead" category. Most of them are not in the "retirement bye-bye present category", as most are from 48-60.

We all want our practise to be as good as possible,and it is good that people like hyaku have share experience and knowledge that can give more nuances and correct proportions to the wider context that our daily practise is a part of. :)

hyaku
2nd November 2002, 00:26
Originally posted by ulvulv

Thanks for a quick and good answer. It is refreshing with an answer that is not biased by lying in one of the trenches, attacking or defending koryu, seiteiai, znkr, not znkr etc. Not training in Japan, I have experienced that ZNKR-affiliation can be a quality mark, as the instructors that are sent out of Japan from ZNKR hold a excellent level, even though a few of them are in the "almost dead" category. Most of them are not in the "retirement bye-bye present category", as most are from 48-60.

Almost dead? Hold on a minute son I fall into that category. :laugh:

As I mentioned it is a bye bye/retirement present. Because at 60 Japanese particularly those in education/ police retire. Of course it is second start for most of them, some start new jobs. But although they are still active their association responsibility ends at this time and they get that trip.

I receive quite a few phone calls from friends that are retiring from work and have been asked to go to Europe and other countries as a ZNKR delegate at a Taikai.

A lot of the younger ones work in the private sector. This is why they can find time to visit. You would be amazed how difficult it is to get time off here. A foreign trip is usually just that and is a seperate entity to work.

I should say that there are a lot of Kendo Clubs that owe their success to good Kendo teachers. For example a particular school may be winning national championships.

Then out of the blue that particular teacher is moved to another area and the bottom drops out the club. You would think that, "Ah this guy is here to stay". But its not the case. "Those in the offices upstairs" do value someone if he has excelled in Budo. But not that much!

My local ZNKR offices are at the Sports Council office. For example the old School Teachers Kendo Assoc Chairman is now 61 and the president of the council. A retired policeman is the ZNKR Chairman.

Why is there this age thing? Its simple. A sixty year old would have been starting kendo when it was reintroduced after WW2 and would have been ones of the first to get a dan grades after the war.

ZNKR Seitei Kata is a different story as some of them jumped a few grades when it was introduced.

Bottom line is that I am visiting two schools because they dont "have" a Kendo teacher. I used to run the Police Kendo Dojo for a while too.

Hyakutake Colin

http://www.bunbun.ne.jp/~sword/

ulvulv
3rd November 2002, 14:05
Did not mean to imply that 48-60 years old would fall into the "almost dead" category.;) I was referring to a japanese kendo-teacher, who said that it is a somewhat humorous translating of "hanshi", "han-shi"="almost dead". He said that as a hanshi-title is the highest achievement in kendo, it is also a reminder that your life is about to come to the natural end.
I am aware, and amazed that lots of the teachers we see outside of Japan, actually contribute heavily not only with their knowledge in the sword-arts, but also with their own money, paying their own trips, setting up groups with equipment, hosting students when in Japan etc.. It was sad to hear that a great znkr iaido-teacher who has done these kind of contributions to the development of iaido in Russia, has been grounded in Japan, due to accusations that I heard was based on misinformation. This is perhaps not material for a forum, and I do not know how public it is. Giri is more important than juridical conclusions, I guess.