Doryoku

Back in November 2016, I was lucky to be one of the winners of Tozando's kote giveaway competition. I received my kote earlier this year and have just now gotten around to trying them out.
Features.
The kote feature Tozando's new  futon stitching pattern, the Tornado stitch. Designed to reduce the pain from kote strikes, the stitches run diagonally across the futon giving them a truly unique appearance....

In the past year, I have often been too busy to attend keiko regularly. Previously I have tried to maximize my physical output to make the most of my limited keiko time to maintain my level, however, I feel I have actually improved more by trying to...

Check out the fantastic Nihon Kendo Kata on display below in the 6th/7th Dan division of the 12th Tokyo Kata Tournament held in 2017.
Competitors from Keishicho (Tokyo Metro Police) in red, face off against Nishi Tokyo (West Tokyo) in white. This is a highly polished version of Kendo Kata, the competitors usually practice for months in advance....

The number of Kendo practitioners around the globe is dwarfed by many other martial arts. So it isn't surprising when we run into people we know at tournaments, or meet an old friend of a current dojo mate while traveling abroad.
But this is a strange instance......