15 min of Fame

[Zatoichi_1800]

Originally posted by pgsmith
Here's some video showing some proper cutting technique... http://www.bugei.com/index2.html

And ... http://www.ecmas.com/toyama/video.asp

Those should keep you busy for a while!

Cheers,

Saw the James Williams vid...awesome. totally gets you pumped. Great work from director.

Bob Elger vids are good too.

[FastEd]

Originally posted by Zatoichi_1800
Iaido and Kendo really. Just that the teachers are not capable of overseeing everyone in class. The dojo's are small, cause its freaking expensive a square foot in the city, and packed with too many people. If you are close to sensei fine. But if you're far back, all you hear "oops sorry". I had taken Aikido classes like that and I hate it. I like small groups. Just here in NYC you open the yellow pages, there pages and pages of Martial Arts schools. Its become too diluted to really find a quality teacher here.

Not to be rude dude, but what you are describing is just the norm! Try any first year University course then talk about getting lost in the crowd!

If you want to learn this stuff then suck it up and stick it out. If you are not will to spend 5 years in the crowd before Sensei begins to recognize you, then change interests.

[gendzwil]

You should try training in Japan. We just had our annual seminar, 80 people together in a 2/3 size gym. My sensei remarked "now this is like real kendo!" The rest of us were just trying to avoid crashing into one another and getting hit in the back of the head by a stray shinai.

Anyways, what Ed said. If you think you're going to walk into any traditional dojo and get special attention from sensei, you're dreaming. After a year he might bother to learn your name. Meanwhile, you deal with sempai (senior students). Beginners come, beginners go, we take them seriously as soon as it appears that they are taking kendo seriously.

[Ric Flinn]

Adrian,

Listen to these guys, they know what they're talking about. If you go in with the attitude that you're probably just going to jump from school to school, nobody will ever take you seriously. Why should they? Don't expect an instructor to commit to you until you've commited to them.

Personally, I hear people tell me all the time that they're going to join this or that club, they can't wait, etc. but few ever actually do it. Maybe they come for a few classes then stop. I'm sure lots of others on this forum see the same thing. So don't be surprised, and don't take it personally, if you don't get all the attention you think you deserve in the first 3 weeks of class. Just go. Be a sponge. Be respectful. Be patient.

Anyway, here's another place I'd certainly check out if I were in the area: www.newyorkbudokai.net

Good luck.

[Zatoichi_1800]

Thanks again for the info. I guess I was thinking like an american and not japanese. Your all right about having to earn the sensei attention. And with all those yuppies, they probably get many students that drop out after awhile. I'll check out that school that Ric Flinn submitted.

OK, so you guys managed to save a lost soul...now where are the other home videos. If you guys need help in uploading video into your computer and/or website, don't hesitate to ask me for help. Its pretty simple. And the investment is less than $100 bucks.

[socho]

Adrian,
yep, thinking like an American again . One thing you will not see in Japanese-style dojo is the "hey, look at me" stuff, especially from a new or junior student. Posting a video of yourself cutting, without training, doing stuff you 'learned' from a book or video, because it is cool or whatever, does not reflect the 'humble spirit' that is at the heart of many Japanese sword arts. Nothing really wrong with wanting to cut, or wanting to learn to use a sword, or wanting to get feedback on what you are doing, but if it is outside the context of a specific art, then it really belongs in the general discussion forum, not here, IMO.

Good luck, be safe

[Charlie Kondek]

What Ed and Neil said.

Of course, you will get some individualized instruction at the outset. But in kendo, and probably iaido, too (I come from a very small iaido club so am not sure what's standard), you're shown something, and then it's work, work, work on it for a looong time, usually with the rest of the club. It's really humbling, but you have to knuckle down and immerse yourself in it if you really want to do it.

There are some EXCELLENT dojos in NYC. I know of the following, and can recommend them all because I have practiced with their club members and sensei at Midwest gatherings:

Ken Zen Institute
54 Thomas St.
New York, NY
Kendo Tu Th 7:00-9:00pm Sa 6:30-9:00pm Su 12:00-2:00pm
Iaido M 6:00-8:00pm W 6:00-8:00pm Sa 4:00-6:00pm
Contact: Daniel Ebihara (212)406-9104

New York City Kendo Club
Jan Hus Church 212-874-6161
351 E. 74th St.
New York, NY
Tu Th 6:30PM, Sa 2:30PM
Contact: Noboru Kataoka (212)877-8722

Shidogakuin NY Doshikan
225 East 43rd Street (btwn 2-3 Aves)
2nd Floor
New York, NY
Su 3:00-4:30pm Iaido 4:30-6:00pm Kendo-beginners & youth 6:00-7:00pm Kendo keiko
Tu 6:00-7:30pm Kendo-beginners & youth 7:30-9:30pm Kendo-adv. & keiko
Th 6:00-7:30pm Kendo-beginners & youth 7:30-9:30pm Kendo-adv. & keiko
Contact: Shozo Kato (203)637-5475



BTW, I have some video of me doing kendo, but no net space to host it. Yet!

[Zatoichi_1800]

BTW, I have some video of me doing kendo, but no net space to host it. Yet!

You can try getting those free webspace like www.ionichost.com They give you 50megs free. Or to make it easier join these 2 free services for video sharing:

http://dazzle.mightyeyes.com/
10 megs free


http://www.picturedot.com/
Not sure the limit of file size but they give you just 2 free uploads.



"Muad'Dib, Muad'Dib!"

[Charlie Kondek]

Hahaha! "My name is a killing word." Cheers, Adrian!

[Marc Renouf]

OK, you asked, so here goes.

You are an accident waiting to happen. The first thing I'd like to point out is the safety issue of trying to do tameshigiri in a confined space. Your body knows that what you are doing is tremendously dangerous, which is why you instinctively duck your head and hunch your shoulders as you cut. This is very poor form. Good cutting posture should be upright and strong, not weak and cringing.

As for your noto, I have to agree with Paulo. I realize that you are taking pains not to cut yourself, but that just illustrates a point: you are taking pains not to cut yourself. The only time you should ever look down at the sword like that is if you are handling a sword that is unfamiliar to you (until your body gets the hang of the length and weight of the sword). Your noto should be so well-practiced, so smooth, and so flawless that you handle your live blade the same way you handle an iaito. You need to have that much confidence in your movement. If you don't, you have no business picking up a live blade. The fact that you are unsure of your movements tells me that your grounding in the proper mechanics of noto is weak. I suggest you leave the tameshigiri alone for a while and seek instruction from a qualified teacher.

As a side note, one of the things that will help is to get proper gear. It looks like you're just holding the saya. I wouldn't think of trying to do that kind of noto without having the saya firmly secured in my obi. You don't have to kit up in complete samurai dress to practice kenjutsu, but at the very least an obi gives you another point of control when attempting noto.

If you actually do end up practicing iaido or kenjutsu with a qualified instructor, you will in all likelihood look back on these videos in six months and cringe in embarrasment.

So yeah, to reiterate what others have said, what you're doing is really dangerous.

[Zatoichi_1800]

Duly Noted...