Matsumoto Toshio Sensei in action!

I was fortunate to find a Youtube clip of Matsumoto Toshio sensei, posted by the ZNKR from the 1986 Kyoto Taikai. At the time sensei was aged 78 and Hanshi 9-dan  his opponent was  Shigeoka Noboru sensei Hanshi 9-dan, aged 77. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69zmZPyY-8&feature=player_embedded

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The Aim of Kendo – by Matsumoto Toshio, Hanshi Kyudan.

  This document was written in Japanese by Matsumoto Toshio sensei and translated in 1976 by Yamamoto Hisami. The original translation was for my benefit; and at the time Matsumoto sensei was not satisfied that the document was of a high enough standard to put his name to. Unfortunately neither the author nor the original [...]

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Ken Ri

One of my most treasured kendo possessions is a piece of calligraphy, given to me by the late Matsumoto Toshio sensei, kyudan.  The characters simply say ken ri, which to my meagre understanding translates as sword reason or theory. This was the cornerstone of Matsumoto sensei’s teaching and means that there is a reason for [...]

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Matsumoto sensei on chudan and men attack.

I had a really interesting email from David Pan of Seattle, who saw my mention of Matsumoto Toshio sensei and wondered if I could identify a xeroxed book by Matsumoto sensei. I believe that the book was published posthumously from notes on lectures given at Matsumoto Kenshyukai in the 70s and 80s. As one of [...]

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Matsumoto Toshio sensei

When I lived in Japan, I was lucky enought to be invited to join Matsumoto Sensei’s practice club. At that time I was the most junior member of the group, so did not have the nerve to ask too many questions to or about him. He achieved the grade of 9th dan, which is rare [...]

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