At The Movies!

People who know me know that I love going to the movies. I even recently got myself one of those streaming Netflix accounts so I can watch more while I am at home! (It really does beat always buying the ones I missed when they first came out. That was really beginning to cost me!)

Anyhow, last weekend I was feeling a little funky, but I did make it out to see Sucker Punch. I pretty much knew what I going in to when I went. I saw the trailers. What surprised me was that it actually had some depth to it. Not only that, it was a little bit darker than I thought it would be. You have to keep in mind that this was, at least in most part, all in one girl's mind. That girl, the one they would call Baby Doll, seemed to be living on multiple levels of consciousness: where her daydreams would merge with her reality. I don't know whether she was insane, or if it was all just defense mechanism to shut out the realities of the world she lived in. Go see it and decide for yourself.

That said, I thought it was really well done and the director, Zach Snyder, is fast becoming one of my favorites. At least you can tell what is going on in the action scenes. Even though he does get a little too artistic at times with the camera, he is way better overall than most of the directors out there, who seem to be employing a bunch of over caffeinated monkeys to do all of there action photography! If you are looking for girls with guns and swords, and a lot of juicy visuals, this is the movie for you.

On a side note, I noticed that a lot of the critics out there just didn't get it. I say this because it seems to me that they have a hard time grasping the fact that there can be real communication within action scenes. They want to look at a fight sequence as just a fight sequence and nothing more! They just don't understand that a lot can be said while people are fighting. Often it reveals their true beliefs, philosophies, feelings, and more. But, I digress. I'll rant more on that another time. No one said you had to posses a great mind to be a critic, only that you need a sharp tongue.

 Enjoy the trailer!
 

Remember When ...

I found this a while back. It comes from a t.v. that was call "You Asked For It", which aired from 1950 - 1959. This was not long after World War II and you can tell that these guys were practicing what some of call "old school" style kendo. Notice the sweeps that were still legal back in the day. Also, try to ignore the host. I know he was doing the best he could back then, but it still sounds strange to modern ears!

Kendo in Slow-Mo

I really like all forms of swordsmanship, whether it's Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indian, European, or wherever. That being said, I personally have studied some foil, epee, and sabre techniques, but I am really drawn to kendo (way of the sword) and iaido (drawing of the sword).

I found this kendo video on YouTube and really liked it. It does a really good job of showing the shear speed that some people have. It also goes to show how fast you have to think on the battlefield!

A Word On This Site

I forgot to mention before that this site will focus mostly, but by no means solely, on Kendo. However, as my horizons broaden, that could change just a little.

Kendo is literally translated as "The Way of the Sword", where "Ken" means sword and "Do" - pronounced "doh" - means "Way". I don't really want to get into all of the philosophical implications that that one word implies right now, but it basically refers to a way of life. Modern Kendo is basically Japanese-style fencing.

I hope to get some video up later, but for now enjoy the art!

Later!

First!

Well, I have had this site sitting here for some time, so I thought I might as well do something with it. In case you didn't know, kenshi means "swordsman" in Japanese. Actually, it is more often translated as "fencer". Either way works for me. The other part, wolf, has to do with where I graduated from. If you don't know what a wolf is, I really don't know how to help you.

Anyway, here's to the future of this site! I hope whoever reads it enjoys!