Kendo XIII -- Clean Dojo

   I haven't written in a while... I kept meaning to, but it always seemed kind of pointless after practice. At the same time, I feel like I should be keeping a record so that I can come back to these early days and read the entries if I ever feel discouraged. I find it almost impossible to believe that I'd ever be incredibly discouraged about kendo since I love it so much right now.

   So here's another entry again after a long while.

   My biggest development since the last entry, I think, is that my striking abilities have become much, much better according to sensei.

   At the middle school, the kendo club teacher came to club to encourage the boys to practice (they like to play while the girls practice) kote strikes. The way this worked was that one kid would stand with his kote on and we'd all line up and hit his wrist, working our way down the line until everyone had gone once, at which point the target would join the line and the first person in line would become the new target. We did that for a while, and I had the bruises to show it! (I borrowed someone else's kote.)

   During the process of the practice, the teacher spent a while explaining how the grip worked and I had a really good chance to see someone do it slowly, close-up. It was an incredible help and for the first time since I'd started kendo, I felt like I understood what it was supposed to look like.

   In the practices after that, sensei really noticed it as well, which made me feel happy about it. He did remind me that I needed to pull my shinai a lot farther back over my head than I was, which I still continue to work on.

   Lately what I've been trying to do is basically trust sensei entirely and do exactly what he says to do, even if it doesn't seem to be working out right or I'm failing miserably. It definitely seems to be paying off -- today he had all of the kids watch me do men strikes because I'm completely straightforward about it. The idea is that you draw your shinai over your head in a straight line, then attack and move forward in a straight line, all without stopping. A lot of the kids do it at an angle, or run off at an angle, which I attributed to their age/strength.

   I was incredibly flattered and heartened by the affirmation that I was learning to do it right.

   He also used me as an example when we were doing kata practices. I was doing absolutely terribly at the kata since I'd only been able to remember half of the first two and none of the third, but we were required to do both halves of each about six times for practice today. He commended me on my politeness; I always stopped to sheathe my bokuto (wooden sword) properly and bow, thanking my practice partner, before I moved on.

   A lot of the kids, being kids, were in a hurry to move on and get to the next guy... or I guess, didn't want to bow because they thought their partner sucked or was their brother or whatever. It's nice to be noticed.


   One of my weakest points in practice is always, always my dou strike. It's just terrible, and I feel like I'm not grasping some kind of fundamental about how to do it, though sensei's showed me time and time again and I feel like I understand the mechanics behind it... I just can't do it well yet. Sensei told the kids to do the beginning like me, though; the idea behind it is that the beginning looks like a men strike and then slices in from there, so that the opponent is preparing for a men strike and taken off-guard. A lot of the kids just swing in sideways from the start instead of raising their shinai back; since I can't do it well to begin with, I try to get that start perfectly.


   My favorite practice routine at the dojo is kirikaeshi. It starts with a large men strike, a push backward, then four advancing strikes and five retreating strikes. It's a great chance for me to practice striking properly (large, straight strikes, relaxed shoulders, proper grip) while working on my footwork. My footwork is terrible. I need a lot more practice with it so that I'm stable instead of rolling around and stumbling.


   Another point -- the kid who started a session after me, but then disappeared... well, he's showed up again, and he's been coming regularly. He bought his own shinai and he's all excited about getting his hakama. He keeps asking me when he can get his own, and all I can tell him is that it's whenever sensei says. I completely understand his excitement... I was in his shoes just a while ago and it sucks to be the only one in gym clothes. He's been trying hard, though, and I'm proud of him.


   A few weird things about today -- first, I showed up and everyone was running around in street clothes. Usually they show up already dressed and ready to go for kendo. Second, the place was really, really tidy. Usually it's just clean, but with equipment kind of strewn around; it was incredibly tidy today. I found out why -- all of the mothers had been there cleaning and putting things away. It might be preparation for the big kendo festival next Saturday.

   One of the parents brought in a bunch of mochi -- little Japanese rice cakes with sweet filling. I didn't get any, but I got this block of fruit jelly that you're supposed to slice and eat. All of the kids were pissed because sensei gave it to me, probably because I'm the oldest. They said it was delicious, but I'm dubious. I guess I'll try it tomorrow.

   One last thing -- I got to watch sensei write with a brush! He wrote the sign for next weekend and I took a video. I love shodou, which is traditional Japanese calligraphy. He has amazingly nice handwriting. I wonder if it's part of being good at kendo.