News

Two Members Selected for Kendo National Team

3rd of March, 2025

Two of our members, Lauren Charters and Toby Nolan have been selected to represent Great Britain at the upcoming 2025 European Kendo Championships in Leiden, Netherlands. This is a monumental achievement and we couldn't be more proud of them. We are wishing both of them all of the best, and will be cheering them on from home. Ganbare! Let's raise the roof!

Visit From High-grade Sensei

20th of February, 2025

Last keiko (practice) we were fortunate enough to receive a visit from Gary O'Donnell-sensei, 7th Dan, at our club. O'Donnell sensei is one of only fourteen 7th Dan sensei in the British Kendo Association. Rather than leading the session, sensei observed our practice to provide direct feedback on ways to improve. At the end, we all got a chance to practice jigeiko with sensei, which everyone found incredibly useful. I think there was plenty to reflect on by the end! 

Thank you to O'Donnell-sensei for visiting, and we hope to see you again soon. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

7th of January, 2025

We would like to extend warm wishes and all the best to everyone over this holiday season! 

Practice is back on Thursday, 9th of January so get ready to shake the rust (and snow!) off! 

Dojo gains new Assistant Coaches

10th of November, 2024

Two club members, Lauren Charters and Daniel Marfiewicz-Dickinson, have recently completed their British Kendo Association Level 1 Coaching qualification. This enables them to act as assistant coaches in the club under the supervision of a dojo leader. In order to complete the qualification, both members had to get significant coaching experience while supervised, write research papers on health and safety in Kendo and safeguarding of vulnerable members, and complete their coaching portfolio. 

We hope everyone can benefit from the extra support available!

Kashi-no-ki Kenyukai Visit

2nd of October, 2024

Hosted by our sister club, the University of York Kendo Club, a delegation from Kashi-no-Ki Kendo Club came for a visit led by Paul Whitfield-sensei. The theme for the visit was the application of the principles of kendo kata in shinai kendo and in particular looking at using oji-waza (counter attacking techniques) such as men-suriage-men (a type of parry) and kote-nuki-men (a type of evasive technique). It was great to see old friends and to make new friendships. Thank you to Kashi-no-Ki for visiting, and we look forward to crossing swords again. 

Photo credit goes to @irita.photo

GB Kendo Squad Training Attendance

7-8th of September, 2024

Two of our members, Lauren Charters and Daniel Marfiewicz-Dickinson, attended the first GB Kendo Squad Training of the year held in Birmingham. Lauren attended the full two days of grueling training, coming out a lot stronger on the other side with plenty of advanced techniques to share with us. Daniel was unable to take part in the physical exercise due to injury, but practiced "mitori-geiko" (practice by observation) by taking as many notes as possible. Both are keen to come back next month to learn even more and bring the knowledge back to the club! 

Note: You do not need to be a part of the GB Kendo Squad to attend their training - it is a physically demanding and skill intensive training session open to all intermediate and above kendoka. However, attending regularly is a strong contributing factor in the selection process to make it on the team.

New Beginner's Course

8th of August, 2024

We've recently launched a new beginner's course with great success. 10 people, some brand new and some with a little prior experience signed up to give kendo a go. The session started with footwork, basic swinging and learning of the most fundamental cut in kendo - a strike to the head. Everyone showed great spirit, and we're eager to see all of them continue to improve. Kendo is a marathon, not a sprint! 

The session was led by our primary instructor, Ed van Der Molen 4th Dan. 

If you missed out on attending this time, make sure to register your interest so you will be emailed the next time there is a beginner's course.