Sorry about the heading, I’m just not feeling particularly clever today. A friend recently lent me his Nintendo Wii. I wanted to test-drive one to see if ‘wii sports’ would be helpful as a tool for keeping fit or warming up before I get into some real exercise. I was initially hopeful. The boxing game […]
katte, kabuto no o wo shimeyo. When you win, tighten your helmet strings. This saying is a reminder to remain ever vigilant. In battle, victory over an opponent should not be a signal to let your guard drop. If anything, it should serve to remind you to be even more wary. Defeating one is no […]
Those of you who have seen ‘Dead Poets Society‘ may remember Robin Williams exhorting his students to stand on their desks in order to show them the importance of having multiple perspectives of the world. I always thought that this was a most excellent scene. If you haven’t seen it, consider checking it out (or […]
落花枝に 帰ると見れば 胡蝶哉 A haiku written by Moritake Arakida which can be translated as ‘Did I see blossom return to the branch? (No, it was) a butterfly. When I first read this, it struck a chord with me for some reason. Perhaps it was that someone found mistaking a butterfly for a blossom or a […]
Most testers I know love brain-teasers and mind games. I’m no exception (I just happen to be really crap at them). When news surfaced that the new Nine Inch Nails album ‘Year Zero’ had an alternate reality game (ARG) attached to it, I was initially skeptical. Probably some bullshit marketing hype for the emo fanboys […]
I was at a good friend’s wedding several nights ago, which was held at one of the more well-to-do hotels in Melbourne. The night itself was an immense success. The bride and groom looked fantastic, I caught up with old friends from far away and a great time was had by all. It struck me […]
An oft touted phrase by martial artists is ‘enzan no metsuke’, which translates roughly as ‘looking at the far mountain’ – essentially the gaze you would use to view something very distant. If I am fighting an opponent and I focus too keenly on their sword, or the movements of their body only, then I […]
One of the things I really appreciate about kendo is that we don’t wear coloured belts to denote rank. If I have never fought someone before, I have only what I can read from them to go by, be it how they carry themselves in the dojo, how they dress or the information I can […]
When one talks about martial arts, inevitably the question of rank comes up. People love to know what rank you’ve achieved. One problem with this is that rank is somewhat irrelevant as an indicator to someone’s ability. There are varying standards of ability within a given rank for a given martial art, and there are […]
