2007 training starts next Saturday 3 February
A reminder to all that training starts 3 February.
See you then!
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Tenugui designs
Here are some interesting tenugui designs. Not all of these are kendo tenugui, some were souvneirs of a particular place like we have souvenir tea-towels. This is definitely a kendo tenugui. It reads from right to left and says "sword heart/mind, bright way" meaning, I think that to develop a sharp mind like a sword makes your path in life clear and bright. I think this is beautiful shuji (calligraphy). This one was a souvenir from the famous Buddhist temple "Ryoanji" in Kyoto. The design depicts the reason the temple is so famous, its stone garden. This is the club tenugui of the Ryujokan dojo in Kumamoto. It was produced as a limited edition for the 1992 Australian Kendo Championships in Melbourne. It is based on the Ryujokan joseki, the character "ken" with a long 'tail'. Here it is sideways. This tenugui is a souvenir of Kagoshima in southern Kyushu. It has two of Kagoshima's most famous sons: Okubo Toshimichi and Takamori Saigo. Bo
Ben, are these kids being taught (or corrected on) bowing technique? I've heard that Westerners "bow with an accent". To what degree is there variation amongst Japanese, particularly regional? In other words, can someone tell roughly which region or socio-economic background you're from by your bow?
ReplyDeleteMy impression is they're probably being taught the basics of bowing, like we teach our beginners in kendo. Most Japanese kids don't know this stuff. BTW you should check out http://www.ogasawara-ryu.gr.jp/english/index.html
ReplyDeleteIt is one of the oldest schools of martial arts but is most famous for its etiquette. In fact I've read that nearly all forms of Japanese etiquette come from this ryu. The old nanna i that in the pic could well be from there.
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