Kendo Weekly Notes
A compilation on my notes about my progress in Kendo ⚔️
March 22
I went to the kata and shinpan seminar by the United Kendo Federation of the Philippines. I learned a lot from the session!
March 15-21
I forgot to do my notes lmao
March 8-14
I did okay in Kendo today, but I was gasping for air so much that I didn’t get to do more jigeiko. Though I’m not expecting much given that I haven’t trained in a while. Hoping to get back to regular weekday keiko again soon too!
Post-keiko notes: we had a Farewell party for some of our Japanese members who will now fly back to Japan after their several years of stay here in Metro Manila.
March 1-7
I’ve finally went back to training! I took a month-long break from kendo and handling our social media. I was overwhelmed with all the work we had to do last year up to this year’s recruitment.
February 8-28
My week-long break turned into a month-long break.
February 1-7
I took a week break from Kendo for now. I’ve been overwhelmed with dojo stuff recently. I’ll get back next week!
January 25-31, 2026
Recruitment notes: I’ve been spearheading the recruitment initiative for Metroken. With the help of the media team, we managed too get over 540+ inquiries/conversations started and 42 converted to registered members. Interestingly, there’s a lot more women in this batch.
I was weirdly more tired than usual during keiko. I can’t seem to relax my body. I finished through the session and assisted on being motodachi for the new recruits.
Hoping to get back to Wednesdays soon!
January 18-24, 2026
- Kihon notes: always reach with your leg/core, not with your arm. Improve taiatari especially on kote.
- I asked Mel for a jigeiko today. I appreciate facing her in jigeiko because she’s one of the strongest women kendoka in the PH! Facing someone strong like her forces me to really focus and try to give whatever I can to make an ippon. I think I managed to communicate with her through our kamae. I thanked her after the session, and she commented that I’ve been lasting longer in keiko now. Admittedly I still lost my breath during our spar, but she said that it might be because I was really focused in the match. She also commented that I need to improve how I do my taiatari because I have a tendency to put my elbow out on impact.
- I faced Kuya Chenney next. Our jigeiko took longer than usual, as he was trying to teach me a better way to hold my kamae. It takes some getting used to, but I managed to get the feel of it by around the near end of our jigeiko.
- Harada-sensei also invited me to face him in jigeiko today. He drilled into me that I need to make my hits straighter, as I have a tendency to go to the side. I appreciate that he always patiently teach me and invite me for a match!
- I didn’t get to practice Wednesday this week. I had a fever and I thought I’d be fine around keiko time, but I needed more rest. So I went all out on Saturday.
- I wish I can better explain my keiko notes and progress in a more technical sense, but I think that comes with skill and growth. I’ll get there soon.
January 11-17, 2026
I’ve been doing more jigeiko (free practice/sparring) with Wada-sensei recently. He pushes me to my limit and I highly appreciate that. I hope I can survive better! I thanked him after practice and he said I gave him a nice fight 🙇♀️
I’ve been trying to change my kamae (stance) this week. I changed my kamae to have my left leg more “locked”, bended, and ready to launch forward. I’ve yet to change how I hold my shinai (bamboo sword) and try to apply what Kuya Chenney asked me to change.
I still don’t know if my current state is enough to pass my nidan exam. I feel like I can, but it’s more of a confidence issue. I’ve never been hit by shikai (four state of the mind: surprise, fear, doubt, confusion) this much.