In Over My Head

Gedatsu1, originally uploaded by andhong09.

Should've blogged this a while back, but better late than never...


So at Gedatsu Kendo Dojo's 1st anniversary, they were gracious (and classy) enough to invite Inouye-sensei, who just happens to be one of the last Kyudans around. I got to see Amemiya-sensei perform his strongest kendo for probably my first and last time, and I must say that I was blown away. If only I could've seen Mori-sensei too...I'm curious how the two influenced each other. Well at the open keiko I got to go at it with Inouye-sensei, which I must say was a bit ballsy on my part. Maybe I overstepped my boundaries a little, considering that most of the people in line were either high-ranked sensei or hotshot shiai players. Then there was me and my shitty kendo. Well all I can say is that I was completely floored by Inouye-sensei's timing and seme, but I regret that I probably missed a good 90% of the intricacies of his technique. I wasn't quite prepared to go against someone of his caliber, but screw it. It was a great opportunity to keiko with a legend and I even got a few pointers out of it. I only wish that I could've learned a bit more. But hey, them's the breaks.

Oh, and I got a commemorative tenugui from the keiko. Preeettyyy spiffy.