Dicember 2006: Nenriki Dojo London

In December 2006 I was 2nd kyu. Since I was in London to teach in a course, I took the opportunity to see if it was possible to visit a Dojo. I decided to ask to participate to a training session at the Nenriki Dojo, since there was a training on friday, which was my first free day after the course. I contacted the secretary of the Dojo and I also got the opportunity to borrow one of their bogu instead of bringing mine.
Nenriki Dojo is situated in central London, near to Elephant & Castle underground station. The Dojo is located in the Geoffrey Chaucer School.
I was a bit nervous before to attend to the training. It was the first time a was training in a new dojo. Took me some time to find the dojo, but following a tall man that was carrying a shinai finally I found the dojo.
Everybody was very kind with me and they told me that friday was a day in which less people are practicing. However, it was amazing to see the ethnical diversity present in the dojo. I even meet an other Italian.
Thinking on what I did during the training, I realized that my performance was very poor, e.g. I was stepping back when attached by the opponent, being inefficient in controlling my body, thinking too much, etc. Despite all my errors it was a very nice training and after I joined Victor Harris Sensei and the Nenriki people for few beers in a local pub.
This is a video about nenriki Kendo dojo I found on Youtube: