Jitoku

Hyakuren jitoku

Every keiko leaves a mark. Learn to read it.

A calm kendo training journal for kendoka outside Japan. Reflect after keiko, keep what your sensei tells you, and work on one thing at a time.

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Web app · alpha in preparation · one email when it opens

Your focus
One stroke · one keiko

One focus

Choose one thing. Everything else steps back.

Most kendoka work on ten things at once and improve none of them. Jitoku shows you which themes keep coming up, then asks you to pick one, and keeps it in front of you until it is part of your kendo.

Themes in your entries

  • Kamae after kiai
  • Late on debana
  • Left hand grip
  • Breath in kakarigeiko
  • Footwork after tsuba-zeriai

One mark per entry that mentions it

Terms on this page
kamae
Your stance and guard, and the readiness behind it.
kiai
The shout that carries a strike.
debana
Striking the moment your opponent starts to move.
kakarigeiko
Short, all-out attacking practice against a receiving partner.
tsuba-zeriai
Close distance, guards pressed together.

One keiko, start to finish.

See how it works →

  1. After keiko

    Three guided questions, about five minutes, on the way home.

  2. Tag

    Name what came up: kamae, timing, breath.

  3. Notice

    See which themes keep returning across weeks.

  4. Focus

    Choose one. It stays on your home screen.

  5. Practise

    Soon: a small exercise for home, until the next keiko.

Insights

Keep what you learn, and where it came from.

A remark from your sensei, a line from a book, a moment in a video. Jitoku keeps each insight with its source and next to the focus it belongs to, so it is there when you need it.

  • 16 OctJigeiko. I was late on debana-men again, and after kiai my kamae fell apart.
  • Kiai is the start of zanshin, not the end of the cut.Insight · sensei, 4 Oct · focus: kamae after kiai

No streaks. No points. No leaderboards.

Progress in kendo is slow. The field of strokes grows with every keiko, and that is all it does. Missed weeks are just space.

Your sensei teaches. Jitoku does not correct your technique. It helps you remember and apply what you were taught.

Your entries stay yours. Private by default. Nothing is shared with your dojo unless you choose to.

Why Jitoku, and why not a notebook →

Help shape the alpha.

We are building Jitoku with kendoka, not just for them. Leave your email and we will write once, when the alpha opens.

Join the alpha