The Iaido Newsletter
A publication of shared distribution dedicated to the Japanese sword arts, Iaido, Kendo and the Koryu A Sei Do Kai Publication (Incorporating the OKF News) http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido	Vol 10/11 #96 Nov 1998 $5.00 per issue PHOTOCOPY AND SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER! http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor

AUSTRALIA David Kolb, 30 Neville St. Kangaroo Point, Qld. 4169 Australia.

BALTICS Tonis Kunnus, Kalatsova kula, Meremae EE2751, Voru maakond, Estonia.

BELGIUM: Erik Pooters Wittestraat 9 Kiel, Antwerpen 2020 Belgie.

CANADA CENTRAL Sandra Jorgenson, 77 Harbour Sq. #3310 Toronto Ont. M5J 2S2.

CANADA EAST Robert Miller, 45 Cedar Cr. Beaconsfield, Quebec H9W 4S9.

CANADA WEST Barry Wiseman, 11038 Greenwood Dr. Mission B.C. V4S 1A9.

CENTRAL EUROPE Zsolt Balassy, H-1046 Budapest, Toth A. u. 19. Hungary.

DENMARK Bjarne Blichfeldt Katholm 210 3670 Vekso Denmark.

ENGLAND Douglas Evans 10 Daglish Close, New Romney, Kent TN28 8XF.

FINLAND Pasi Hellsten, Luuvaniementie 4 D 126, SF-00350 Helsinki, Finland.

GERMANY Klaus Wissmath, Rathenaustrasse 9A, D-91052 Erlangen.

HOLLAND Johan Smits, Dunant Straat 866 Zoetermeer Netherlands 2713 XJ.

JAPAN Colin Hyakutake, Matsubara 4 Chome 6-19, Saga City, Saga Ken, Japan 840.

NEW ZEALAND Hamish Robison 15 Logan Tce. Parnell, Auckland.

SWEDEN Arne Oster, Akerogatan 2, S-417 28 Goteborg.

SWITZERLAND Nicolae G. Bialokur, 18 ch. Champ-Soleil, 1012 Lausanne, Suisse.

USA EAST J.S.S. PO Box 1116 Rockefeller Stn. New York, NY USA 10185.

USA HAWAII Hunter Armstrong, 315 Foothills Dr., Sedona, AZ 86336.

USA S-CENTRAL John Ray, 1909 Archer Trail, Denton TX, 76201.

USA WEST COAST Bill Howell, 2525 NE 23rd St. Portland Oregon, 97212.

COMING EVENTS

NEW ORLEANS FALL KENDO SEMINAR

December 5 and 6

The Southwestern US Kendo and Iaido Federation will hold its Fall Kendo Seminar this year in New Orleans on December 5 and 6 at the University of New Orleans.

The seminar will be conducted on Saturday by Jeffrey Marsten sensei from Seattle and will include kata, kihon, and advanced waza. The seminar will conclude with jikeiko.

There will also be testing to nidan on Sunday. This will also conclude with jikeiko prior to departure.

Registration for both days will cost $15 for all members of the AUSKF. Rooms have been set aside in a hotel that is just two blocks from the French Quarter. A Saturday night dinner will also be held in the French Quarter.

For more information, please contact:

Frank A. Anselmo

6636 Colbert Street

New Orleans, LA 70124

(504) 488-6341

anselmo@loyno.edu

HARVARD INTERCOLLEGIATE KENDO TOURNAMENT

It is my great pleasure to invite you all to the Third Annual Harvard Invitational Shoryuhai Intercollegiate Kendo Tournament! For those of you not familiar with the Shoryuhai, allow me to give a brief description of our tournament: The Shoryuhai is, to the best of our knowledge, the ONLY intercollegiate undergraduate kendo tournament in the US. The tournament is open to teams of five undergraduate kenshi from accredited North American colleges and universities. The winner of the tournament keeps the Shoryuhai travel trophy--donated by then-Prime Minister of Japan Ryutaro Hashimoto--until the next Shoryuhai. Last year's Shoryuhai brought a total of 9 undergraduate teams from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and the University of Connecticut in the US, and Waterloo and McGill in Canada. Waterloo won the tournament, with Harvard A coming in second and Yale and Cornell A tied for third. Our hope is that this year's tournament will be even bigger, allowing us all to meet more members of the growing collegiate kendo community.

This year's Shoryuhai Tournament is scheduled for April 10th and 11th, 1999. The tentative deadline for team registration is March 1, 1999. The registration fee for this year's tournament will be $25 per person, and housing in student dorms for the weekend will be provided.

I realize that the tournament is still months away, but I would appreciate it if any club which might be interested in sending one or more teams to the tournament would reply to this message ASAP, so that we can begin planning events in more detail.

I hope to see you all in April,

Adam Steinert Vice President, Harvard Kendo

For more information on the Shoryuhai or Harvard Kendo in general, please visit our Web site: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~kendo/

IAIDO: 8TH AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 8th Australian Iaido Championships will be hosted by the Sydney Iaido Club at

De La Salle College

544 Chapel road

Bankstown NSW

on Sat 23rd and Sun 24th of January 1999.

Contact Sensei Bob Burton, on 02 47571146 for details (61 2 47571146 for people outside Australia). As usual I will be there spectating.

Aden Steinke

Secretary

NSW Kendo Association

SAN SHIN KAI FALL SEMINAR

Brian Dunham

The North American San Shin Kai will hold it's Fall seminar on November 14 and 15, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The seminar will be hosted by Valley Iaido, the club formed and instructed by the late Paul Sylvain, 7th Dan, Muso Shinden Ryu.

Training will consist of Shoden, Chuden, and Okuden of MSR, as well as Keishi Ryu and Shindo Munen Ryu. Kendo No Kata might also be covered. Practice will be led by Roger Wehrhahn, 5th Dan, as well as other senior members of the San Shin Kai.

Anyone interested should contact Andres Corrada at webmaster@usiaido.org for more information.

IAI SEMINAR MARCH '99 GOLD COAST AUSTRALIA

Dave Kolb.

The Queensland Kendo Renmei will be hosting the Australian Kendo Championship during the Easter Weekend 1999. It will be preceded by a kendo/iaido seminar from Mon 29/3/99 to Thurs 1/4/99.

2 full days will be devoted to iaido training on Wed 31/3 and Thurs 1/4, to be followed by a goodwill competition on Fri 2/4.

Instructors have not yet been finalized but we anticipate having highly ranked teachers from Japan.

We will be catering to all levels with one day devoted to both Zen Ken Ren and Koryu.

The training, accommodation, competition venue is situated right on a surf beach on the Queensland Gold Coast. And yes the weather will be warm.

Seminar costs including meals and accommodation will be approx $200 AUD.

Check out our web site (under construction) at

http://www.spiderwms.gil.com.au/

99champs/index99.htm

NSW KENDO ASSOCIATION CIRCULAR OCTOBER 1998

NOTES

1: The 8th Australian Iaido Championships will be hosted by the Sydney Iaido Club at De La Salle College, 544 Chapel road, Bankstown, NSW on Sat 23rd and Sun 24th of January 1999. Contact Sensei Bob Burton on 02 47571146 for details.

2: Results of the Kendo component of the 1998 University games held in Melbourne in the last week of September.

Individuals

Dan

1: I Haseoka - Flinders Uni

2: T Itakura - Sydney Uni

Kyu

1: B Watt - Newcastle Uni

2: M Bentley - Newcastle Uni

Teams

Dan

1: Flinders Uni - M Smith/A Bennett/I Haseoka

2: Sydney Uni - T Itakura/? Jang/? Jang

Kyu

1: Uni of NSW - F. Liao/D. Han/E. Huang

2: Aus. Nat. Uni

3: Results of the 1998 Founders Cup hosted in Newcastle on October 3&4, under the supervision of Sensei Tajima, Bennett and Lawley were as follows

Dan

1: Y Yano - Sydney KC

2: T Eto - Sydney KC

Kyu

1: M Clarke - Sydney KC

2: L Hsu - Wen-Wu

Womens

1: M Tani - UNSW KC

2: M Tsuda - Sydney KC

Teams

1: OOT (composite team) - T Eto / S Burke / R Walker / P Baker / J Cross 2: Sydney KC - A Whitehead / A Duell / M Tani / B Kelly / T Itakura

Fighting Spirit / Other awards:

An award was presented to Tajima Sensei thanking him for his assistance in the establishment of Australian Kendo. 12 custom made bokken were also presented, one to each of the five female participants on the weekend in recognition of their commitment and seven to male participants. As these were presented by the the surviving founders of Australian Kendo these were particularly valued.

Male

T Hsu - Wen-Wu, L Hsu - Wen-Wu, J Hsu - Wen-Wu, D Bunder - Uni of Wollongong KC,

A Whitehead - Sydney KC, A Steinke - Uni of Wollongong KC, P Baker - ANU

Female

M Tani - UNSW KC, A Wei - Wen-Wu, M Tsuda - Sydney KC, J Mansell - Sydney KC N Roop - Newcastle KC

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NOVEMBER 1998

National High performance Training Victoria

Sat 28 / Sun 29 November

Details to be announced

DECEMBER 1998

NSW Championships

Sat 5 December

Sydney (venue to be confirmed)

JANUARY 1999

3rd Australian Kendo Summer Camp,

(Provisionally) Milton/Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast

(Provisionally) 1st week in January

8th Australian Iaido Championships

De La Salle College

Bankstown

23rd & 24th

FEBRUARY 1999

Picton Bash

NSWKA Family Weekend and State Grading

6th & 7th

Ulladulla Games

Kendo Tournament & Training

20th competition & 21st training

MARCH/APRIL 1999

Iaido & Kendo Seminar 29/3-1/4 (2 days Iaido / 2 days Kendo) Iaido Goodwill Competition and Kendo grading 2/4

Australian Kendo Championship 3/4-4/4

Gold Coast

Schedule not yet fixed.

JUNE 1999

ACT Kendo Championships/WKC Squad Training/ANUKC- 21st Birthday Celebrations (Come help cut and eat the cake)

June 1999 Long Weekend

IAIDO PRACTICE TOPS

100% cotton, sized to you and supplied at cost through the Sei Do Kai. $70 (includes postage). Black or white, other colours may be extra. Measure the chest size at nipple height, shoulder point to shoulder point, and from neck to mid-thigh. Send your measurements to Sei Do Kai. 44 Inkerman St. Guelph, Ontario Canada N1H 3C5.

SEMINAR REPORTS

1998 Annual USNF Atarashii Naginata Seminar & Shinsa

and Biennial Championship Tournament

by Raymond Sosnowski, NH

Introduction. The 1998 Annual USNF (United States Naginata Federation) Atarashii Naginata Seminar took place on 7 & 8 August 1998 in Ogden, Utah; the annual Shinsa (promotion exams) up to and including Sandan (3rd degree black belt) took place at the end of the second day, and the Biennial Championship Tournament on the next day, 9 August 1998. The semi-annual General Membership meeting was held on the first evening of the seminar, 7 August 1998. There was also the Shimpan (referee) Training Seminar and an evening USNF Board of Directors Meeting held on 6 August 1998, but because of previous family commitments, I was not able to attend; hence, these events are not covered.

Instructors. Our request to the AJNF (All Japan Naginata Federation) this year was filled in the person of Ms. Sachiko Yamauchi (Kyoshi, AJNF); this was a return trip for Yamauchi-s. -- she first came here in 1996, for that year's Annual Seminar, Shinsa and Tournament in San Jose, CA. In addition, from the USNF, there were Ms. Miyako Tanaka (Kyoshi, NCNF; El Cerrito, CA), Ms. Helen Nakano (Renshi, SCNF; Torrance, CA), Ms. Malyne Chiu (Renshi, NCNF; San Jose, CA), and Ms. Takami Tanner (Godan, RMNF; Riverton, Utah). This, by the way, represents all the top ranking people in the USNF -- a very impressive line up of instructors indeed. [FYI: NCNF - Northern California Naginata Federation; RMNF - Rocky Mountain Naginata Federation; SCNF - Southern California Naginata Federation].

Location. This years events were hosted by the RMNF and the Salt Lake Naginata Dojo headed by Ms. Takami Tanner (Godan). For lodging, we stayed at Day's Inn - Ogden; we got a very good price on the rooms, and the staff was very helpful. Ogden is about a 45-minute car ride north of Salt Lake City. The daily events took place at the gymnasium of Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. It was a typical gym, large and noisy - the floor was wood with some kind of surface covering that was hard on the bottoms of our feet. The noise from the ventilation system made hearing somewhat difficult at times; many times we had to gather around in a big huddle when one of the instructors wanted to make a point to everyone. But it was very big, and, when dealing with Naginata practice, space is generally *the* primary concern, particularly vertical space.

Practioners. There were thirty-three participants at this year's seminar; all the regional Naginata Federations were represented. There were five from the ECNF (East Coast Naginata Federation) with two from New York, and one each from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia. There was one from the HNF (Hawaii Naginata Federation). Fourteen participants attended from California with ten from the NCNF and four from the SCNF. There were eleven from the RMNF with three from Colorado and eight from Utah. Finally, there were two from Minnesota (not yet part of an existing or a new regional federation). All but one person, a local unranked participant, took part in one or more events in the Championship Tournament.

The Seminar. This year's annual seminar was a two-day event, held on 7 and 8 August 1998. At the end of the second day, the annual Shinsa for Sandan and below was held [examinations for Yondan and Godan are held each year in May in Japan, and examinations are also held at INF events; examinations for Shogo, instructor's ranks beyond Godan, that is, Renshi, Kyoshi and Hanshi, are held annually in Japan]. There was a strong emphasis this year, at least for the Dangai (equivalent to Mudansha, or under black belt), on the Kihon Waza (basic techniques) and working in Bogu (body armor).

Day 1 - 7 Aug 1998. Before officially starting, Ms. Fran Vall (Yondan) led all the instructors and attendees in a series of warm ups. After bowing in, and the short opening speeches, everyone with Bogu put it on and engaged in Uchi Kaeshi (basic set of strikes and blocks from the Kihon Waza, done in pairs) for an hour; those without Bogu were taken aside and practiced various Kihon. This was a warm up for the next two hours of "mock" Shiai -- the seniors, as a continuing part of their Shimpan training, acted as referees for the various matches. We had seven pairs of people, and each pair engaged in four matches.

In the afternoon, after lunch, we were separated by rank. Yamauchi-s. and Nakano-s. took the sixteen Yudansha, and worked on all eight Shikake-Oogi, the Oyo Waza (applied techniques) of Atarashii Naginata done in pairs, for an hour and a half. Tanaka-s. and Chiu-s. took the eleven Dangai, and worked on aspects of the Kihon Waza, including Jogeburi (overhead swing) from the Happo Buri (eight swings, used for warm up and stretching), and the basic cuts, Shomen Uchi (overhead cut), Sokumen Uchi (diagonal head cut), and Sune Uchi (shin cut). We then put the cuts together for Uchi Kaeshi, and then went on to the first Shikake-Oogi.

In the second afternoon session, Yamauchi-s. and Nakano-s. took the eight Yudansha, Sandan and above, and worked on the Zen Nihon Naginata Kata for an hour and a half. Tanaka-s. and Chiu-s. took the twenty under-Sandan participants, and reviewed Uchi Kaeshi before going on to the first five Shikake-Oogi, which all Dangai eventually learn prior to testing for Shodan (first-degree black belt). Regularly switching partners, almost everyone worked with everyone else. For the last half of the day, we practiced the Nidan Waza (two-step techniques) embedded in the Shikake-Oogi.

USNF General Membership Meeting - 7 Aug 1998. In the evening, the general membership meeting of the USNF was held in the small conference room at Days Inn adjacent to the pool. There was the usual minutes-of-the-previous- meeting, treasurer's report, and the calendar of up-coming events through April 1999. The two big items were the presentation of the draft set of revised bylaws (ten pages in a small font), which took the bulk of the meeting time, and aspects of the 2nd INF Tournament in Paris in early April 1999, including the US roster, the seminar to follow, and the Shinsa. A final draft of the bylaws will be voted on by the membership during next year's biennial elections.

Day 2 - 8 Aug 1998. Before officially beginning the second day, Ms. Fran Vall (Yondan) again led all the instructors and attendees in a series of warm ups. Everyone donned Bogu, and we all practiced Shomen Uchi and Sune Uchi for an hour. Then Tanaka-s. and Chiu-s. took the Dangai at Sankyu and below for a session of Kihon Waza in Bogu for another hour; Yamauchi-s. and Tanner-s. took the Nikyu and Ikkyu students along with the Yudansha for a session of Jigeiko (practice sparring).

After lunch, we went through the process of registering our Naginata for the following day's tournament, checking for official length and the tape that secures the Ha-bu (bamboo blade) to the E-bu (oak shaft); there was a lot of retaping, because the official template specifies a fairly narrow range for the tape. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to free practice, in which many of the testees ran through Shikake-Oogi, Uchi Kaeshi, and Jigeiko. The instructors were available for questions; otherwise, they were watching the action on the floor, approaching various people at times with comments and suggestions.

Shinsa - 8 Aug 1998. At the end of the second day of the seminar, the USNF held its annual Shinsa for Sandan and below. The Test Committee consisted of the seminar instructors: Tanaka-s. (Kyoshi), Yamauchi-s. (Kyoshi), Nakano-s. (Renshi), Chiu-s. (Renshi), and Tanner-s. (Godan). Testing starts from low to high ranks; those unranked test first. There were seventeen candidates this year; promotions ranged from Yonkyu through Sandan: 2 Sandan, 1 Nidan, 4 Shodan, 2 Ikkyu, 2 Nikyu, 2 Sankyu, 4 Yonkyu. [The promotion list appeared in the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts #93, Volume 10, Numbers 7 & 8, page 17, July/August 1998.] The end of the Shinsa marked the end of the two-day general seminar.

Tournament - 9 Aug 1998. The final day of our stay in Ogden consisted of the biennial Championship Tournament. It was held after the general seminar, so that it would occur during the weekend, allowing a maximum of practitioners to participate, because the results would be used to assemble a preliminary roster for the US team participating in the INF tournament in Paris next April. The Tournament-President was Tanaka-s. (Kyoshi, NCNF), the Chief-Referee: Yamauchi-s. (Kyoshi, AJNF). [The tournament results appeared in the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts #93, Volume 10, Numbers 7 & 8, pages 13 & 14, July/August 1998.]

Some of the Dangai events were judged by the Shimpan-in-training. Because of their relative lack of experience, there were some slight irregularities in some of the results. Although those people in the top three positions were generally acknowledged as deserving of those position, their relative positions (first, second, third) were incorrectly assigned in one or two cases. It is, of course, a small price to pay for training the next generation of Shimpan. Although it was not possible to overturn these decisions, it was privately acknowledged when this happened.

This was my first Naginata tournament. I'm not much for competition [I had my fill as a Tae Kwon Do practitioner over sixteen years in Open-style Karate Tournaments as a contestant, sparring referee, and sparring and forms judge]. I had seen my first Naginata tournament two years ago when I attended my first USNF Seminar, Shinsa and Shiai in San Jose [see my article "Initial Impressions of Atarashii Naginata" in the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts #82, 9(6/7), 30-35, June/July 1997]; I was so impressed by the comradery and sportsmanship of the contestants, that the idea of "not competing" just never entered my head.

I found it to be an exhausting experience [a few of us seemed to be affected by the altitude, about 4200 ft., exhibiting fatigue, aches or headaches; lack of sleep due to a 2 hr flight delay resulting in my late arrival followed by late evening meetings did not help either]. Much of it was physical -- my feet, like most other peoples's, took a beating. However, there was also a mental component. After three events, Dangai Engi (paired forms in competition), men's Dangai Shiai, and team Shiai, there was not much left to give. I was quite envious of those who could manage an hour and a half of free practice, including some heavy-duty Jigeiko, after the tournament.

Apres-practice Dinners. With theightness of the overall schedule, events and meetings, it was not possible to have a formal group dinner [there were several restaurants within walking distance of Days Inn]. In lieu of this, we had a pool-side pizza party after the Shinsa on Saturday night, complete with beer. In spite of the veggie plates and a very large plate of wings, there was not a lot left by this crew. At some point after this, Tanaka-s. announced the results of the Shinsa.

Lessons Learned. For those of us who practice without the benefit of a regular, official instructor (Sandan and up), this seminar (as well as regional seminars, and any odd trip to get together for an official class or classes) represents the only feedback we get in our training; it's certainly not ideal, but it is the only pragmatic approach short of moving (which is *not* in my cards). Many people contribute to this effort; first, there are our instructors at the seminar, and second, there are our Sempai (seniors), many of whom go out of their way to help us Kohai (juniors).

Tanaka-s. and Chiu-s. have been wonderful in their efforts to keep us, especially me, on the right track. Tanaka-s. again reminded all us that the back hand on the Naginata is the power hand (the front hand is the guide); and that Jogeburi and Shomen Uchi are the most important practices for all Dangai. Mr. Kevin Saxton (Sandan, SCNF) took the time to work with me on aspects of Ashi-sabaki (foot work) for Jigeiko/Shiai. Mr. Andy Gibson (Nidan, RMNF) and Mr. Kurt Schmucker (Yondan, NCNF) took time after the tournament to give me a post-mortem on my Shinsa, Engi and Shiai, advising me on what to focus on next in order to improve my practice.

Naginata are not indestructable; during the seminar and Shiai at least three were broken, all on the E-bu. I had one broken across my thigh just above the knee [in this case I was lucky because I was wearing neoprene knee braces, one of which absorbed the shock of the blow]; the Shimpan immediately stopped the match (this was a "mock" Shiai session). There was a flaw in the grain of the wood as we discovered upon closer examination of the break, which was not visible at the surface of the E-bu. So even in the heat of Jikeiko or Shiai, one must remain vigilant for just this sort of unexpected event.

Special Thanks. First, a big thank you to all of our instructors -- you make these seminars worth the trip. Thank you to RMNF for sponsoring this year's events, and thank you to the Salt Lake Naginata Dojo, headed by Ms. Takami Tanner (Godan), for their efforts as hosts of these events in Ogden [and I know Mr. Mike Tanner (Shodan) also figures into the scheme as well]. Finally, thank you to Mr. Roger MacPhil for your company and the ride to the airport. I finally got to meet Mr. David Diguanco in Ogden -- I recommend that if anyone passes through that neck of the woods, they should look him up; I apologize for not being up for more activities during my stay.

ARTICLES

SHIHAN AND HANSHI

Q. Does anyone know why the Aikikai call their highest teaching title shihan and the ZNKR (kendo federation) call it hanshi?

A. Both words mean teacher, but are not a reversal of the same characters. The "han" is the same, meaning an example, model or pattern. The "shi" in shihan means teacher or master. The "shi" that's used in hanshi means (gentle)man, samurai or warrior, or scholar.

Incidentally, whereas Ueshiba-style aiki folk often refer to Ueshiba Morihei as O-Sensei (I think he was about 1/256th Irish), judoka use the term Kano Shihan. Of course, they'll call other teachers shihan, too, but they only use the word as a title in Kano Jigoro's case. Finally, a little piece of data about the term, O-Sensei. Many aikidoka of the Ueshiba persuasion (and I'm one, too, so don't get your sensibilities twisted into a knot) seem to think of it as referring *only* to Ueshiba Morihei sensei. Nope. That's just not the case.

It's only a term implying a great deal of respect and I can think of a couple folk in recent memory for whom the term is/was also used. Two of 'em are alive today. So, one guy's O-Sensei is just another fellow's Joe Shlabotnick. Not a big deal but, technically, the precise way to say it would be, "Ueshiba O-Sensei" -- meaning the the founder of Aikido -- to diffentiate him from, say, "Kato O-Sensei" (the 21st headmaster of Tatsumi-ryu) or "Sakagami O-Sensei" (the late headmaster of Itosu-ryu); also to differentiate him from his son, the second Doshu (Kisshomaru S.) and his grandson, Moriteru, the current Aikikai Hombu Dojo-cho. They're both Ueshiba Sensei, so it can be a little hard to know which one someone's talking about out of context. Not a big deal, just a little more information...

Q. So shihan denotes a master teacher, a model for the art, while hanshi implies a model person, an exemplary life. Is that essentially correct? Any guesses about why the differences in usage?

A. As far as the differences in usage go, shihan is just a word that means, roughly speaking, an exemplar, a master or master teacher. Sensei means teacher, too, though it is also used for people who are physicians, dentists, even lawyers and politicians. To connote university-level teachers, speaking about them indirectly, the word kyoju is usually used for a full professor, and jokyoju for an associate professor. I don't know if there's an equivalent to the position of assistant professor in Japanese universities. A full-time, accredited teacher at a high school is a kyoyu. A university or high school instructor is called a koshi (meaning somebody who works part-time and is not tenured), but the term for instructor in budo is shidoin and, for assistant instructor, fuku shidoin.

Hanshi, and the lower level titles, kyoshi and renshi, are what are known as shogo, teaching titles or degrees. As I understand it, they are considered more a recognition of one's time in/contribution to the art (whichever that is) and less an indication of technical ability. That's what the dan-i, "grade" or "rank" (see following paragraph) is for/about. This appears to be true for all of the weapons arts: iai, jo, juken, ken, tanken, naginata, and yumi. I'm not too sure what "the" situation is in karatedo, since there're so many different organizations. Some award shogo and some do not. I don't think ZenKuRen gives out shogo now, rather that it's a function of constituent groups. I don't believe that the Kodokan or ZenJuRen do this, either, at least not since the Second World War. I've no idea what any of the budo organizations in the U.S., Europe, or other parts of the world outside of Japan do.

[Translating "dan-i" as "rank" seems problematic to me, since a rank has an implication of legal authority over a person subordinate in the organizational structure, as in the military or police force, i.e., superiors can order juniors to do {or not do} something and that order has legal force or standing. That is most emphatically *not* the way dan-i are looked upon by people training in Japan, at least outside the universities and room temperature-IQ types in the right-wing dojo that, unfortunately, do exist.]

A lot of the teaching titles, particularly those of folks who were active before World War II, were awarded by the Butokukai, in lieu of dan-i. The grades in kendo, iaido, naginata and such are pretty much (not completely) a post-WWII phenomenon, introduced to maintain parity with judo and as a result of the misbegotten SCAP ban on martial arts as "militaristic propaganda" in reaction to the abuses of the Japanese army during the war. At least that is what some of the people, old timers and scholars, to whom I've talked about this seem to think. There's a certain amount of resignation on the part of the old timers, pretty much to the tune of, "well, it used to be a lot better than it is now, but there's no going back at this point." Obviously, there are some senior people (I'm talking about hanshi kudan and hachidan level) who think that what exists is better than sliced mochi and they have no problems with what's happening. "Spotsu ...do" is the way to go, at least as far as they're concerned. Different strokes, I guess...

Meik Skoss, Koryu Books

KENDO: PLEA FROM SOMEWHERE IN RUSSIA

Dear friends!

This is a letter from the Kendo Club Of Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russian Federation). We are a group of 9 enthusiasts trying to study the art of ken. Kendo appeared in the Russian Federation in the end of the 1980s. However, it first came to Nalchik only a year ago, when two of us began to study Kendo by a book. Very soon some more people were attracted to Kendo and serious and regular training began. We have no contact with any sensei and we get all the information from the few printed materials we have (they are extremely rare in Russia). Since there are only two Kendo organizations in Russia and they are very far away from us we can not keep in contact with them. However, the main problem is the lack of equipment. We have bought two sinai by occasion in England (with great effort), but that is actually all we have - the majority trains with bokken. We have no bogu, which greatly limits our progress and causes much traumatism. We are not able to purchase bogu, since they are too expensive for us to afford, given the situation in our country and our financial state (we are all university students).

Another important problem is the lack of information - books, videos etc. We do not even dream of someone coming to teach us. We are writing to ask for your help, if possible. We would greatly appreciate any help in the form of books about Kendo (the language does not matter, since the majority of us know foreign languages), video tapes (with seminars, competitions, etc), sinai and bogu (maybe old, used and damaged - it will do for us). All of this will help us very much. You can send the help by post (desirably, Guaranteed Post) to the address given below. If you have any questions, please, contact us by email or by telephone. Thank you for your attention.

Members of the Kendo club of Nalchik

Postal Address:

Russian Federation, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Nalchik, ul. Shogentsukova, d. 33, kv. 69

To Azamat Koumykov

E-mail - azamat@mailexcite.com

Telephones

(866 22) 51166 - Azamat Koumykov

(866 22) 72237 - Murat Chechenov

Yearly subscriptions (12 issues) to the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts are $36 cdn in Canada, $36 US in USA, and $48 overseas. Subscriptions, stories, news, views, and anything else should be sent to Kim Taylor Editor JJSA, 44 Inkerman St. Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3C5.

519-836-4357

WEB PAGES

Sei Do Kai Iaido homepage:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/

Kim Taylor's webpages

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/

Canadian Kendo Federatin:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/ckfindex.htm

Ontario Kendo Federation homepage

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/okfindex.htm

IAIDO MANUALS

BBI-1 KIM'S BIG BOOK OF IAIDO (I):The Manual

8X11" 108 pgs. Kim Taylor:

BBI-2 KIM'S BBI (II): Seitei Gata

8x11" 100 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-3 KIM'S BBI (III): Omori Ryu

8x11" 94 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-4 KIM'S BBI (IV): Eishin Ryu

8x11" 127 pgs. Kim Taylor

BBI-5 KIM'S BBI (V): Oku Iai

8x11" 100 pgs. Kim Taylor

OTHER BOOKS

PH-1 SONGS OF THE SWORD

5X8" 100 pgs. by Kim Taylor

SD-1 RESISTING SEXUAL ASSAULT

8x11" 130 pgs. by Kim Taylor

SD-2 STUDENT GUIDE TO SELF DEFENCE

8x11" 150 pgs. by Kim Taylor

VIDEO TAPES

VHS/NTSC format only.

VID-1 SEITEI GATA IAI 1993

VID-2 SPRING SEMINAR/TACHI UCHI NO KURAI

VID-3 THE 1994 SENIOR CLASS, SEITEI GATA

VID-4 THE 1994 SENIOR CLASS, KORYU

VID-5 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1991, 1992

VID-6 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1993

VID-7 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1994

VID-8 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1995

VID-9 THE 1993 UG SUMMER IAIDO SEMINAR

VID-10 THE 1995 JOHN RAY SEMINAR AT UG - 1

VID-11 THE 1995 JOHN RAY SEMINAR AT UG - 2

VID-12 1994 SEMINAR WITH HARUNA SENSEI

VID-13 OMORI RYU AND SENIOR CLASS 1995

VID-14 1996 SEMINAR WITH HARUNA SENSEI

VID-15 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1996

VID-16 TACHI UCHI NO KURAI (includes material from VID-2)

VID-17 CKF YUDANSHA GRADINGS 1997

COMPANION VIDEO TAPES TO THE BBI MANUALS

VIDBBI-1 BEGINNING IAIDO I

VIDBBI-2 BEGINNING IAIDO II

VIDBBI-3 SEITEI GATA IAIDO

VIDBBI-4 MUSO JIKIDEN EISHIN RYU SEIZA NO BU

VIDBBI-5 MJER TATE HIZA NO BU

VIDBBI-6 MJER OKU IAI IWAZA

JJSA Journal of Japanese Sword Arts $36 Cdn in Canada,

$36 US in USA, $48 overseas.

JINX-1 IAI JINX WRITING CARDS

SEI DO KAI ORDER FORM

Please send me:

BBI-1. $30 __

BBI-2. $30 __

BBI-3. $30 __

BBI-4. $30 __

BBI-5. $30 __

BBI-SET. $120 __

JINX-1 $7 __

PH-1. $17 __

SD-1. $25 __

SD-2. $25 __

SD-SET. (1&2)$45 __

JJSA $36 __ Can/USA

$48 __ Overseas

VID-1. $25 __

VID-2. $25 __

VID-3. $25 __

VID-4. $25 __

VID-5. $25 __

VID-6. $25 __

VID-7. $25 __

VID-8. $25 __

VID-9. $25 __

VID-10. $25 __

VID-11. $25 __

VID-12. $25 __

VID-13. $25 __

VID-14. $25 __

VID-15. $25 __

VID-16. $25 __

VID-17. $25 __

Any 5 Vid tapes $100 __

VIDBBI-1. $25 __

VIDBBI-2. $25 __

VIDBBI-3. $25 __

VIDBBI-4. $25 __

VIDBBI-5. $25 __

VIDBBI-6. $25 __

VIDBBI-7. $25 __

7 Vidbbi tapes $175 __

TOTAL $_____

Address:

Prices include postage, Send order form to: Kim Taylor 44 Inkerman St. Guelph Ontario N1H 3C5. Payment in Canadian or US funds. Make checks or money orders payable to Kim Taylor or to Sei Do Kai Iaido.

For a catalogue, or price quotes on weapons contact Kim Taylor at the above address,

tel 519-836-4357, or email kataylor@uoguelph.ca