Its been almost 2 months since the WKC in Tokyo. I'm sure for many it was the final piece on a long road of preparation and hard work. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to have taken a well deserved break! 

I've now been in New York for just over a month, and in that time have only practiced twice! I have simply not had the motivation or desire to go to the dojo. This could be a number of things, no goal to work towards, burn out, lack of motivation after leaving Japan, stress from moving country etc etc. But to be honest, I now feel refreshed and ready to get back to training.

In the very beginning of my kendo journey, one of my sempai said that kendo is a cycle and that eventually it always comes back around to the beginning, to Kihon. And that it was especially important after shiai or grading to go back to basics.

Demonstrating Kote Uchi at Dublin Kendo Kobukai.

So over the next few weeks, I hope I'll be able to get some solid training done where I can focus on my Kihon.

Before the WKC I was having a lot of problems with weight balance (I'm not fat. lol) I was one day leaning too much on the left foot and the next too much on the right.

That will be my No. 1 point to fix, balance and body movement.

My other focus points:

• Relaxing shoulders and upper body
• Cutting with good tenouchi and soft hands
• Keeping the back straight and posture
• Pushing from left foot and making proper hiki-tsuke
• Improving my footwork for ni-dan and san-dan waza