火曜日の剣道イラスト

Yes, I have been quiet for a while and mostly kept to myself these days, although a lot of interesting things had happened of late which brings me joy.

I do still attend kendo regularly and although my training has become harder (my sensei and sempais are really pushing me further) I am quite pleased with my weekly progress, and I suppose the greatest joy life has given me is that I’ve made friends on Instagram who are now my Facebook contacts, a lot of whom are kendokas from Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Brunei and several Western parts of the world!

I think it is brilliant that they’re keen to network, or establish congenial relationships with other kendokas from around the globe, and what’s really neat about them is they make at least an effort to correspond with me and not just ‘like’ something of mine.

Anyway… apart from that, I have spent less time on Facebook and more time painting. And my goodness, I’ve painted quite a lot these days. I post them every Tuesdays  on Instagram.

I call it the Kayoubi no Kendo Irasuto (Tuesday’s Kendo Illustration). It’s basically my recollections and gathered ‘wisdom’ as a beginner and current practitioner of kendo.

Below are  what I have posted so far:

When I first attended #kendo practice, I was just mesmerized… by the bogu. And the explosive movement too, of course. #illustration #painting #fascination

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on Apr 23, 2015 at 11:57pm PDT

View of the entire #illustration. #Kendo #painting #beginners #KendoArt

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on Apr 24, 2015 at 12:04am PDT

When I was a beginner, the first thing I learned in #kendo was suriashi (sliding footwork). I went home with a ruptured blister and limped myself to work the next day. #剣道 #Life #illustration #Painting #LengthyShinais #WrongFoot

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on Apr 24, 2015 at 1:37am PDT

When I was a beginner, the second thing I learned in #kendo was #tenouchi (gripping the shinai) and chuudan-no-kamae (central denfensive stance). Relaxing your arms and shoulders is paramount. So is holding the shinai. #剣道　#イラスト #illustration #Painting #beginners

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on Apr 27, 2015 at 2:22am PDT

“Push with your tanden/koshi/hara/hips,” I am often told so I can do a good fumikiri (push-off of left foot) and fumikomi (stamp of right foot)… “seme forward then zanshin!” are the next two things I’m told often. #kendo #剣道 #イラスト #illustration #painting

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on Apr 29, 2015 at 4:44am PDT

火曜日の剣道イラスト: When I was a beginner, the first cut I needed to learn was the men-uchi (strike to the head). The idea is, when you lift your shinai up, your right foot slides forward, then left foot follows behind as you strike down with the correct part of the bamboo sword, calling out the strike with a loud “MEN!” simultaneously. Looks easy, but no. It takes a lot of getting used to. #kendo #剣道 #illustration #Tuesday

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on May 4, 2015 at 4:06pm PDT

火曜日の剣道イラスト：When I was a beginner, the next cut I learned was KOTE (strike to the right wrist). It is described as “like a chameleon’s tongue coming out to catch a fly.” It is therefore not a woodcutter’s chopping action, or else you end up hurting your partner or opponent. Well, I’m off fo get ready for tonight’s keiko to learn more wazas (techniques) of this cut. ^_^ #kendo #剣道 #illustration #tempera #イラスト #KendoForLife

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on May 12, 2015 at 1:39am PDT

火曜日の剣道イラスト: When I was a beginner and had finally received my keiko-gi and hakama, one of the hardest things I needed to learn (and do) was wear the hakama and fold it after keiko. I struggled a lot with it during my first year. But it’s a good discipline! #kendo #剣道 #イラスト #illustration #Painting

A photo posted by Veejay Joson (@vjjoson) on May 18, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT