Nozawa sensei's kendo is the most natural and expressive that I have ever seen with my own eyes. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever see in my lifetime another person do kendo in a way that appeals so directly to my sense of what is beautiful. I have been studying his kendo for about 20 years, and although I do feel like I've learned a lot from him, I also remain completely unable to comprehend the depth or essence of his art. Sometimes I feel frustrated but the only thing I can do is to continue to practice according to his example and try to think carefully about the things he told us.

It's so easy to see how important good teachers are - even brief encounters with them can make us want to change ourselves for the better. Thank you Nozawa sensei.

P.S. Tiny side-note - the kendo cat we've been using as the informal mascot of our dojo is named Haru-chan, after Nozawa sensei. :-)

Posted by Shishido.