Sunday's practice was the last For one of our sensei in my dojo. Sensei Ken Onishi is returning to Japan to live in Kobe. Onishisan has been one of my instructors from the begining and even though i have not made it to Bogu yet, Bogu is what we call our armor for practicing Kendo, Onishisan has taught me volumes. Some of the exercises he taught us in Knendo, have made their way to my students in my TKD class. As many of his pointers as I have been able to remember have also made that journey. One of my favorite is the phrase "No Meaning". If you do not do the technique coreectly it has no meaning. In an art where how you do something is as important if not more important than what you are doing this phrase takes on a whole new light. If you dont do what you are doing, be it Kendo or a test at school or even working at a relationship, if you dont do it with all your heart and all your spirit, then it will have "No Meaning" i hope to be able to expound on this in later posts, but for now I will just contemplate the words of Onishissan and try to work them into my life and my spirit.
As for Ken Onishi...... Have a good journey Sensei. You have inspired me more than you shall ever know with your spirit, your style of teaching and your Kendo. Arigato Gozaimashita.
