banging bokken on my head

Kent Enfield wrote: Eh. It's not terribly detailed, and, with the exception of #5, it is all stuff you'd get told about in your first few weeks of kendo.

Detailed enough for me, but ok if you insist, there are some things there in the list which sound familiar And u have just spared me a few weeks of kendo (theory that is )

Chuntug Taguba wrote: ... but we try, at least I do, to emulate or synthesize the feeling sensei talks about. ...

Does your sensei talks about getting a headache when practising with the bokken?

I am sorry, I could not resist
Good luck with the practise.

Dieter Haffner wrote: Does your sensei talks about getting a headache when practising with the bokken? I am sorry, I could not resist Good luck with the practise.

No, he just notices people rubbing their heads out of the corner of his eyes, then looks at the picture of O-sensei, lets out a sigh, shakes his head and continues with what ever he is doing

Avery Jenkins wrote: OK. There might be a few of us out here who are wondering just where the heck you buy a rubber bokken. And why.

I wondered if someone would ask.

Okay, so strictly speaking, it's a rubber covered bokken. But the wooden core is so flimsy that it would break (actually shattter) if you actually hit anyone with it. Or anything, for that matter. I know this because my son decided to whack the mat with one not a week after I'd bought them.

I bought them, originally, so my junior students could work with bokkens without danger of damaging each other. They actually are great for this. One bit of good news is that when they break they can be repaired such that they remain adequate for the sort of practice for which they are actually designed. The would tends to split on grain lines, so it's really like putting a jigsaw puzzle together with glue.

I got them from Tigerclaw.com, but I can't find them on the retail store and I don't have my wholesale login anymore.

I also have a couple of foam rubber "bokkens" that I used to use to chase the kids. The idea was they were supposed to react in a correctly martial way. Getting out of the way, taking it away from me, etc. If they didn't, I whacked them with it. It did no damage, didn't even really hurt, but they couldn't claim they didn't get hit.

As for the bokken in my office, I spend a lot of time watching tests run. It's a little like watching grass grow. I need something to keep my hands occupied and the bokken is better than the bag of candy.

Okay, the "rubber" bokken can be found here.

A useful suburi i got taught by some iaido guys (MJER) was to hold the bokuto the wrong way round so that you are holding it by the kensen and the tsuka becomes the "tip". Do suburi as normal (BIG!) and alow the weight of the tsuka to help you feel the path it wants to tak (out- away from you).

Of course, this must be controlled and did i mention big?

Helped me a bit; especially in getting my swings bigger.

...but if you are as rubbish as I am you'll still manage to hit the back of your head with the tsuba every now and then!

Peace and love

Jo

Thanks all for posting your views!
I'll check up on this post regularly.

Funny thing that I now hear sensei talk about many of the stuff mentioned above. I didn't hear the before. Probably was just not ready to hear them yet