Tonight was all about sparring. We first drilled on head, temple, wrist and waist cuts, initially individually, then with a partner. We then did some machinegun attack drilling where we announced our attack, then advanced and made it, the defender blocking appropriately.

Last our instructor strapped me into his armor and the class got to come at me with any head or temple cut, target unannounced, initially with one attack, then later with two consecutive attacks. My two major observations are;
– I obviously need to work more on my blocks and defensive movement. Both were very sloppy in my opinion.
– I much prefer my Western Circle armor. This more traditional Kendo armor protects the head much less while at the same time nearly immobilizing it. No wonder there’s so much emphasis on square shoulders – you can’t fight any other way in this gear!

That said, it was a good class and the experience in the armor was good, over all. I asked our instructor where he buys his gear if I should want to buy my own Kendo armor. He suggested one that he always goes with and said they have an online presence, but I haven’t been able to find it yet. I’ll have to ask him if he has a URL.