Playing Kendo

"the way of the sword"

I joined the Kendo team at Izumi Junior High in November and finally went to a school competition in March. This one was right here in Yukuhashi and had teams from 15 schools in the area. It was a big one!

I can't compete at school events of course, because I'm a bit bigger than junior high students, but I did get to participate in an exhibition. I performed in a "kata" demonstration, in which two people use wooden swords to have a mock fight. Funny thing is, I thought it was going to be some kind of group thing and everyone there would be doing it - but I was wrong. There were only 12 of us in all, going through a synchronized kata with 19 "moves" and 160 steps - in front of the whole crowd of competitors, their extended families, the coaches, judges, etc. - and even a few City Hall guys, including my boss' boss. I had to line up on the end of the row, right in front of the stage, right in front of all the VIPs. Think I was a little NERVOUS? I think the last time I felt like that was the first time I parachuted...

The coach told me several times that I shouldn't get nervous, to clear my mind then focus on the steps, to keep eye contact with my partner and don't look around to see how many people are there (kind of like not looking down when you're scared of heights, I guess). Just focus - and don't let the crowd of about 5 gazillion people make you nervous. Then he proceeded to tell the students that they shoudn't be nervous either because everyone would be staring at ME the whole time. Thanks a lot!!! Of course, I was the single foreigner in the building, and probably the only one to ever participate in the annual event.

Fortunately, the month of practice paid off and I finished without a hitch. The coach said "perfect" and seemed very happy that I hadn't embarassed myself or him. The rush and feeling of happiness when it was over was proportional to the level of anxiety going in... Then the games began.

I could talk about the sport itself for longer than I want to type, but to sum it up - it's hard as hell. This is NOT "fencing". These kids, and everyone else that participates in Kendo has to work very hard, and they beat the absolute crap out of each other in matches. Being exhauted and getting blistered and bruised are all part of it.

I know plenty of people that have taken Karate in the U.S. (me included) and trained a couple hours, a couple of nights a week, or so, adding up to only 4ish hours a week. The students at Izumi work out for 2 to 3 hours - 4 days a week. Usually about 10 to 12 hours a week. They have to run and excercise the other 3 days a week on top of that. I only go 2 days a week, and then exercise on my own time, and that wears me out... These kids are TOUGH! They impress me, constantly.

Take a good look at the pictures below and you'll get a good idea of just how "physical" it gets during matches. The weapon is called a "shinai" and is made of 4 strips of bamboo that are held together with leather straps. They flex a bit upon contact, but I assure you they hurt - very badly - if you take a lick anywhere but right on top of your noggin' or in the stomach and rib area, where you actually have some decent protection via the helmet (called the "men") and the sheild (called the "do"). The gloves (called "kote") are thick leather and canvas, but not thick enough...

A match goes to the first player to get two points. Points are scored for 1) striking the helmet - but only on the top center area, 2) striking the rib area, but not the stomach, 3) a strike to the wrist, but not the hand or forearm, or 4) a thrust directly to the throat. Needless to say, hurting your oppenent (but in a sportsman-like way?) is a good thing, kind of like hard hits and sacks in football - so competitors hit as hard as they can hit. Pushing, shoving, slamming, banging, elbowing, headbutting, etc. are all allowed, as well.

Like I said - click on the thumbs and take a look. Click here to see many more shots, too.

back to the home page