Kendo Beware - Other Colour Pics Share This Title (1962)

London.
Opening sequence begins with shot of the exterior of a shopping arcade - Granville Arcade. Interior - an indoor market. Good shots of West Indian shoppers as the narrator describes how South London is a cosmopolitan city where immigrants from all over the world mix together.
"Even Japan is represented" states the narrator over shots of the exterior of the London Judo Club. C/U of a sign written in Japanese. Interior of school. Four men kneel on the floor putting on their ceremonial outfits. Various shots of the Kendo teacher and his pupils getting ready for a bout using bamboo fencing poles rather than Samurai swords.
The teacher and one of his pupils practice a routine. Various shots including C/U of bare feet, C/U of one of the other pupils watching and others sitting on a bench. Narrator describes the outfits and techniques used. C/U of the teacher taking off his Samurai helmet. He coaches his students in the skills of this martial art.
Interesting shot towards the end of the film through the grill of one of the traditional helmets - a point of view shot.
FILM ID:161.09
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[@squirrelonmapletree]

Interesting stuff! Do you know if this particular dojo still operates to this day?

[@BenEmberley]

As I understand it, this particular dojo (the Shinto Ryu Dojo) was active from at least 1962 with such members as Robert Lidstone, Jock Hopson, Keith Feltham, and Roald Knutsen. I don't know when it closed. The next Dojo to be opened in the London area was the Nenriki Dojo in 1966, which still exists to this day and is the longest running Kendo club in the UK.

[@pyewackett3822]

Hello Ben, as I'm sure you know Sensei Knutsen's dojo continues to flourish down in East Sussex. @@BenEmberley