Hi all,

I have in my hands three different versions of kendo study guide.

Copy#1 is the pre-1998 Questions for Kendo Ranking Examinations. It
looks hand-typed.

Copy#2 is the PDF file for Promotional Exam Study Quide that you can
find at www.eanet.com/sckf/refinfo/shin_txt.pdf

Copy#3 is the info file you can find on the SCKF page at
http://www.eanet.com/sckf/refinfo/keyconc.htm

Funny enough, all three have different definitions of Mittsu no Sen.

I will attempt to share my thoughts on my current idea as to which one
I find "logical".

First, I used Paul Budden's Kendo Kata book as a source of reference
from the original 1930 document stating the sen exhibited in each
kata.

So, at least, we know that the Long Sword Kata 1,2,3, & 5 are
SEN-SEN-NO-SEN and the Long Sword Kata 4,6, & 7 are GO-NO-SEN. So,
only 2 of the 3 Sens are exhibited in the Kendo Kata, according to
Takano Sasaburo sensei's "original explanation" anyway.

So, going along that logic, let's look at the definitions we have for
each sen, while NOT matching them to the vocabulary.

There's Definition #1 = "Forecast the opponent's intention to strike
or thrust before he begins the action. In other words, To use seme and then strike the opponent just before he moves when their mind has
committed to the attack. A good example of this is DEBANA-WAZA."

There's Definition #2 = "When the opponent has started their technique
but the action is not completed. Move effectively avoiding their cut
and strike yourself. Evasive techniques such as nuki waza are often
used in case like this."

There's Definition #3 = "When the opponent is in mid-attack, deflect
it and counter attack.

So, clearly, the type of definitions exhibited in the Kendo Kata is
Definition #2 and #3, as it is rather hard to display you detecting
the opponent's mental commitment and struck before the opponent actually "moves" in Definition #1.

So, now, we simply have to match Def #2 and Def #3 with the historic
evidence xeroxed in Paul Budden's book.

So, clearly, Definition #2 has to be the def of SEN-SEN-NO-SEN and the
Definition #3 has to be GO-NO-SEN, as switching the definition match
the other way around makes NO SENSE whatsoever.

Now, according to Takano Sasaburo, there's SEN, SENSEN-NO-SEN, and
GO-NO-SEN.

So, matching these defintions further, shouldn't the alternative vocab
matching presented in the PDF file and the SCKF page be:

SEN = Kakari no SEN
SEN-SEN-NO-SEN = SEN-ZEN-NO-SEN (ZEN = before, front, same kanji as
MAE)
GO-NO-SEN = SEN-GO-NO-SEN (GO = behind, after, same kanji as USHIRO)

If my logic is correct, then, the PDF file has the Mittsu-No-Sen
completely mixed up.

The SCKF page definition mixed up the first statement because
SEN-SEN-NO-SEN and SEN-ZEN-NO-SEN is the same thing. The definition
is line 1 should be "1. Sen or Kakari no Sen: before the oppoent attacks (e.g. debana waza). However, definition 2 and 3 on the SCKF page should be correct.

The old pre-1998 copy is actually the set of definitions that adhere's
most closely to Takano sensei's original interpretation, if I analyzed
correctly. However, the original 1998 copy doesn't match the three
definition of SEN with their alternative names of "Kakari-no-sen" and
etc.

Thoughts?