All posts by Jeff Marsten

Building Community

Teaching Methods, , ,

Building the kendo community takes motivated students, and an approach to teaching that fosters individual progress with community growth.

Enhancing Motivation

The individual student has to have the motivation within them.  The assumption rightly, or wrongly, being they have some level of motivation or they would not be in your class.  Kendo is a voluntary activity for teens and adults.

Young kids that start kendo because of a desire on the part of parent(s) are much less likely to be motivated to do kendo.  In general, the majority of these students drop out because they did not want to do kendo to begin with. 

I made a rule long ago, I do not take kids whose parents want the kendo, I only take kids that want to do kendo. 

Quizzing the parents, when possible, is always a good chance to avoid a serious waste of time, effort, and resources on the reluctant child. 

Motivation is a force within the individual to succeed, and is the grit and guts to push themselves beyond.  Tapping into and enhancing motivation requires that the club/class/sensei provide the environment and tools for the individual’s motivation to increase. 

Individual Mentoring

Mentoring and motivation enhancement are closely related but not the same.  Mentoring is primarily a hands on approach at guiding the individual and removing roadblocks that they cannot remove themselves.  Before removing any roadblock, it is critical for the individual to struggle to remove it themselves. Part of mentoring is to be a spirit guide – not in the traditional sense, but as someone that has already been down the path, help guide the individual to make the right turns and understand the process. Mentoring also means helping with technical corrections and making training suggestions.

 

Fostering Relationships

To build a community it takes everyone – students to teachers, and children to adults. Therefore the approach to each group needs to be intentional to the group involved.

For Children and Kids:

Make it fun.

Children need to bond together so that they have friends in kendo, and so that the atmosphere at the dojo is not oppressive but uplifting and challenging.  Group suffering is good and provides pride of accomplishment.

Guidelines for children practicing Kendo

Incorporate special youth camps that include games beyond kendo, or kendo based games like:

  • Tsuba Toss – contest to see who can toss their tsuba into their men (in the fashion of a water balloon toss)
  • Race to put on bogu
  • Suri ashi Race  – like a relay race in track
  • Sensei Says – done like Simon Says, increasing # of repetitive strikes (e.g. men; kote-men, kote-men-hiki doh, etc…)
  • Balloon War – taping balloons to targets, strike to pop the balloons, last one standing wins
  • Piñata – blindfolded with bokken

Have outside activities like a swim party or bowling party – any kind of activities that make the child want to come to kendo to be with their friends. 

For Teens and Adults:

Drilling needs to carefully build correct habit, so there is continual process improvement  through repetition – each time getting better.  This produces excellence even if you are not a “natural.”  Experience and training gets you to the top level of excellence beyond the norm. 

Talent needs to be combined with effort to produce highly skillful kenshi.  This skill with effort brings achievement in shinsa and shiai.  This makes you a valuable commodity in the overall group because you can now contribute to the  community as a whole.  The community is the whole, and unless we grow the community we will not grow on a personal level.

Think in one direction, combine together by means available from the things around you, and pay attention to detail.

We have the following kendo opportunities available:

  • Women’s Practice on Friday @ Bellevue
  • Special Saturday Classes
  • Youth Camp
  • Yudansha Workshop
  • Seminars

Showing up – attendance is the beginning

 

Building Seme in 3 Steps

Teaching Methods, , ,

Start Attacking

  1. Uchi-Seme: attack pressure created through uchi komu (repeated multiple thrusts and strikes) – Uchikomi keiko.

An example method, rensoku waza, multi-hit pursuit drill – attacker takes center with strong step in from tip to tip into their uchima performing shibori (to wring out the towel) as they enter in past issoku-itto no maai (if necessary). Receiver retreats from repeated continuous attacks to kote, kote-men, and men (it is also possible to do migi doh) depending on the skill level of the attacker. Doing suri ashi the receiver transitions to far side of the dojo blocking all but the last strike. Attacker and receiver both need to be aware of their spatial relationship and the impending wall. The attacker must not drive the receiver into the wall hurting your partner (this may seem obvious but experience has shown it is not). The attacker can see the distance to the far wall and must stop before the receiver reaches danger. Trust must be built between both parties so the drill functions with sincerity and seriousness.

This drill will build uchi-seme (especially in adult Kyu and juniors) and renzoku waza. The drill builds the correct mind-set to make more than one strike and builds the receivers skill through blocking based on kirikaeshi.

Keep Moving

  1. Ashi-Seme: creating pressure and chance through the use of footwork and rhythm.

Put your breath in your left leg and feel the opponents breath through their shinai. The attacker can use a push-pull-strike by stepping in and doing shibori (to wrap your shinai around the opponents) creating center pressure then draw to to-ma just beyond tip to tip (beyond the aite uchi-ma) then when the partner tries to step in and fill the void (irimi) the attacker is already set and launches an attack of kote, men or doh. It may be necessary to repeat the footwork several times before the rhythm is right to create a chance.

Always be ready to receive an attack when you step back, never let your left heel touch down but load the push off leg ready to go into the attack. This means it could be the right leg if you setup an oji waza instead of shikake. You have to analyze the aite and perceive how they react to your footwork and rhythm.

Stay Focused

  1. Kizeme-Seme: using your spirit, projecting through the tanden, and perceiving when the opponent’s ki drops and then striking.

In enzan-no metsuke – mentally attack, win, and then cut.  You see the aite both physically and mentally, so you perceive their intention. Do not let your mind get stopped by the movement of their shinai nor especially the kensen. Instead, view and watch the aite from nose to toes, because until their body moves they cannot cross the void to strike you. Observe how they move and when they move so you can forestall them at the start. If you perceive they settle then this is the chance, be mindful of their breathing and rhythm. Start the process by just stepping in and suppressing their shinai when they decide to attack. Once their mind has gone into attack mode they have to shift back to defense mode if you move first. This shift opens a window for much like a revolving door where you can wedge in and gain the initiative.

Start with people that are of slightly lower skill than yourself, usually about the 2-1 Kyu level or even higher depending on where you are in the food chain. As you build this skill you move higher up the food chain, and start striking rather than suppressing the opponent. Tsuki to the mune is also a method that can be employed.

Approaches on Teaching New Beginning Students

Instructors

The very first thing that is required of anyone teaching brand new students is to understand their motivation for being in kendo.  This helps you in responding to the individuals needs as well as giving you clues into the group think.

Firstly, with the little kids – do they want to learn kendo or do their parents want them to learn kendo? If it is the parents you need to create a situation that makes for two critical items:

  1. It is fun
  2. They are bonded to other “friends” in the class.

If it is by the child’s choice then you can go to point 3 which also applies to adults.

  1. Make it challenging.

Teaching teens means do not embarrass them and build a relationship with each one.  This relationship will get you through the critical first couple of months.  Show interest in them as an individual and build loyalty and trust by showing you are interested in their learning, you are vested in them as a person.  Teaching adults is different in that they make a conscious choice to learn kendo.  Adults have busy lives and want a bang for the buck! As an instructor you need to swamp them and push forward.  They need to feel progress even sometimes when there is none.  Keep pushing forward and then circle back and revisit weak points as much as necessary.  Send them home mentally and physically challenged.  Lastly for all students especially adults treat them with respect.

POINTS IN GENERAL

Take the class list and memorize each individual and get a picture in your mind of each student.  This helps them to know they are important to you as the instructor. Learn everyone’s name on or before the first day.

Maintain a sense of humor and let them know failure is an option and will probably happen frequently in the starting months of kendo.  Making mistakes is OK and expected.

Never teach to the lowest common denominator, if someone cannot keep up leave them behind, sink or swim.

Constantly correct the small details, they are building muscle memory and habit, letting something incorrect persist insures that will become their habit and the longer it persists the harder to fix. Once in bogu fixing things is doubly magnified in the difficulty of modifying behavior.  Once they are doing keiko correcting and implementing change is very hard and do you have time to concentrate on an individual if you have a large class that needs your attention.  Attention to detail, be repetitive, be consistent! The first few weeks keep to a limited number of items to correct. Remember they need to hear it 40 times (hands up, feet straight, heel off the ground, correct grip, smaller steps). Do not be reluctant to nag them into submission.

When correcting explain the correction in at least two versions, try to understand how the individual learns.  If it is a large class this is even more critical and if possible get help but make sure the helpers are a help. The overall message needs to be uniform and consistent.  It is and undesirable situation when the instructors contradict each other, it makes your whole operation suspect.

Provide the students with a lesson plan and goals.  Try to state the goal of each class at the beginning of the class.  This helps to focus you and the students toward the same objective.  Having a lesson plan also lets the student know what is next and what they will miss if they are not at class.

Publish the reigi and enforce it, especially build this in juniors so when they become sempai they provide the structure and leadership for the club.  Remember this is America not Japan and we are doing cultural blending.  Some of the reigi is inherent for Japanese it is not for non-Japanese.  They did not grow up with some of the items as cultural norms.  Extra definition to create the why maybe necessary and will help cement the concept in their minds.  State class policy at day one such as cell phone usage, water breaks, sitting, cleaning the dojo.  Everyone breaks together and do not leave class without telling you ahead of time.

Do not be afraid to challenge the students as to why they are taking kendo.  Worse case is juniors whose parents want them to do kendo and the child does not.  They are a waste of resources in time, money and effort.

Do not be timid about enforcing correct behavior, a couple of students can tear down the dojo discipline and learning environment.   If incorrect behavior is allowed it is teaching by example to the others especially the juniors.  Set high standards, be sincere in your teaching and show the students you care about them.  Teaching beginners is an excellent way to improve your own basics and knowledge.  When you have to show and explain how it works you gain a greater understanding.  Remember you are a mirror, every bad habit you have the beginner will copy, they are generally less quick to copy what you do correct.

Kendo is primarily visual learning, the student watches and copies your example.  The student needs to understand that silence on your part is acceptance, too many compliments create false impressions of progress.  On the opposite side do not be afraid to recognize correct and serious effort.  Even adults respond to positive recognition in the class context.  Handing out silly gifts from the Dollar Store designated as FABULOUS prizes can produce a greater level of effort on the students part.

Those who practice kendo learn that most input to the student is in the form of correction.  It does not hurt to inform the beginning student of the “traditional” kendo methodology.

5 Dan written test 7/30/89

Kendo Shinsa

Jeff Marsten 7/30/89

Question “A” 5th Dan exam

The attitude required for instructing kendo.

The attitude of the sensei encompasses many facets of the student-teacher relationship all at once.  The sensei must be a leader and an example of correct thinking and correct behavior both inside and outside the dojo.  He must always demonstrate that he is trying hard to do his best.  If you are doing the best you can then no one can expect more from you but it is always necessary to reach deeper and keep learning.  The sensei continues to learn because the students will teach him as he teaches them.  Just as it takes 2 people to practice kendo the teaching is a shared experience.  Ken & Michi, it is through constantly striving to improve your michi that the sensei will learn and lead.  If you teach kendo you are responsible for how your students turn out, you must bring out the best in each student through hard training and a good example of life.  If a student’s behavior is poor than the sensei is responsible to correct him and change his behavior.

Kendo is not a sport in which you try to beat someone and win a trophy.  Kendo is a way of life to try and develop yourself.   When you have a match you are responsible whether you win or lose because you are your opponent.  When you lose it is because you need more training but should never consider your partner as someone to beat,  you must constantly test yourself to strive to be better and continue progress throughout your kendo life.

J.Marsten

I found this the other day in the book The Sword of No-Sword which I had pulled out to re-read a couple parts.  I shared it with my students who thought I should publish it here.

2015 Shinsa Seminar

American Kendo Seminar, ,

On July 11th, 2015 there was seminar on taking the promotion examination for 3rd through 5th Dan.

A total of 34 individuals attended and the feedback was extremely positive.  Because of this another seminar will be planned that will include the material from the March seminar on being an examiner.  The next evolution will be multiple days with a lot more emphasis on drills and preparation.  Participants received blank Root Cause Analyse forms and Pyramid of Objective forms to help work on their problem areas and goal setting.

 

7-11-15 shinsa seminar

 

 

Instructors: Robert Stroud, Kyoshi Nanadan, Tatsuhiko Konno, Kyoshi Nanadan and Jeff Marsten, Kyoshi Nanadan.
Location: Sno-King Kendo Club (Bitter Lake Community Center Annex at Broadview Thompson Elementary School)
13052 Greenwood Ave N Seattle, WA 98133
Date/Time: TBD
Cost: TBD

Email: jmarsten@comcast.net for any questions regarding the seminar.
DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM HERE
Payment instructions are on the form.

There is practice available on Friday night at Bellevue Kendo Club: 14224 Bell-Red Road, Bellevue WA

For location maps see the Sno-King and Bellevue Kendo Club sites