Since March 9th I have been going once a week to an informal kendo class comprised of myself, a few other students from the original Kendo class, and a few new ones. The class met on Thursdays originally and switched to Fridays as of the 25th of August. Starting out, Hiroko and I took turns leading the class, however of late I lead class and we consult with each other on questions we are unsure of. Over the past few months, I have incorporated aspects of my Western Circle training, creating a cutting pattern #1 for the kendo class that is equivelent to the WCoS cutting pattern #1 and implementing WCoS training fundementals such as parry (one-attack sparring) and just recently the pairing off and demonstrating requirements as the warm up. I am pleased with the progress of the class and hope to start some light to medium sparring in the near future (with the kendo shanai, gloves, wrist protection, and helmets – throat protection and any other available protective gear will be recommended, though since it is shanai combat rather than boken, there is less worry of bodily damage).