Anyway, you can see another recent addition to the blog on the right hand side of the posts. I'm very happy to announce that Zen Sankei International is now an official affiliate sponsorship partner for Doryoku.

You can check out their full line up at the online store (www.zen-sankei.com/onlineshop).

Sankei who might not be so well known internationally are in fact one of the biggest suppliers here in Japan. They have a ton of local distributors here and a lot of my favorite stores carry their shinai. I have used a couple of their mid priced models (Sae, Ryu, Ryu-Oh and Zen) which have all been fantastic and durable. Though I think the Sae is a bit fragile and should be used with a lighter touch!

I'm very excited about the partnership, and  I hope to be able to bring you some more reviews of their equipment as Sankei continue to grow their brand internationally.

For kendo players looking for a well balanced, light feeling shinai for practice or tournament use, I recommend checking out Zen, a jissen-gata style shinai.

This is a regular grip, jissen-gata shinai, available online from Zen-Sankei International. 

Handmade from the best keichiku bamboo, Sankei say this is one of their most popular shinai.