Kendo XV -- Milestone

   Today was interesting; we had three guests, though I've stopped thinking of one of them as a guest since he almost always comes. He's a 5-dan (fifth-degree black belt) and never practices with us; he just watches and offers tips. A good guy, and a lot more critical than sensei is; he brings me back down to reality when I start thinking I'm doing okay!

   The other two guests were a kenshi my age and the kendo club advisor from my junior high school. They're both also very helpful and more critical than sensei usually is.

   My ego took quite a pounding today!

   We didn't do any kata practice today, unfortunately; it's rapidly becoming my favorite part of kendo... and I'm determined to practice them as much as possible so I can remember them. It's weird in a way, since kata seem to have such a bad rap. People seem to think that they're boring and stupid, but I love them. It's a great way to work on the basics -- grip, footwork, strikes, and intent.

   Kendo has seven kata and three additional ones that use the kodachi, or short sword. I've been taught the first five; those are what you need to know to test for shodan, or first-degree black belt.

   Shodan isn't a huge deal here; you can get it when you're 14, and most kids who've started kendo are able to get it when they turn 14. It's just a sign that you know the basics and you want to do kendo more.

   Each kata has two parts; the leader and the follower. So far I've only been successful at really memorizing the follower parts, so I still have a way to go. This is one of the reasons I want to practice so much.

   Anyway, we didn't get any kata practice in today, but I did get a lot of basic practice in, which was good. I've fallen in a rut where I always practice with sensei because I don't have armor yet. It's nice because he knows how to teach, but it's bad because I'm so used to his physical prompting and height. So today, I practiced with two of the guests and tried to get used to their styles as well.

   It was interesting, to say the least. And by interesting, I mean hard.

   After practice ended, the guest sensei who doesn't practice brought out a bunch of sausages for everyone... they were so good! We all had three, though some of the kids had four... or five. It's amazing how delicious food is after practice.

   The kids were playing baseball with a sock, but I tried (fruitlessly) to get one to practice kata with me. I begged and pulled and spun him around but he wanted to play baseball. I promised to bring him sausages next time, and he refused! Refused food! Wow.

   Sensei must have overheard me. When I went to change, he stopped me with a bokuto. Since he was holding two, I knew he meant that we should practice kata. We practiced the five I knew and I got a ton of tips on how to do them properly; they're still not glued in my memory. At one point, though, one of the kids ran behind me (and I didn't notice), so when I went into waki-gamae, which involves holding the sword behind you so that your opponent can't see it, I thwacked him nice and hard on the head.

   Oops.

   We got a good chunk of kata practice in, though. Whew.

   Afterwards, when I went to change, the sensei all started talking together... and I went back out to the main room to fold my hakama since it has a nicer floor. Sensei said that he thought I was good enough to start wearing bogu.

   To put it into perspective, for me, there are three main non-rank milestones in kendo.

1. Buying your own shinai.
2. Wearing the keikogi and hakama.
3. Wearing bogu.

   You usually hit one after a practice or two, then two after your footwork is consistent enough that sensei doesn't have to watch it all the time. The general concensus also seems to be that you hit three after three months or so.

   Needless to say, I was floored.

   Like I said before, I'd gotten a lot of criticism this session, so I was feeling pretty down about my kendo... and sensei told me that he thought I was ready for the next milestone. Wow.

   I wasn't sure I understood correctly, so I asked to make sure I'd heard him, and I had. He said that it's because I practice seriously, I listen carefully, and I do things properly after I'm told.

   I guess the kids make me look good or something. I seriously don't feel like I'm good enough yet, but what sensei says, goes.

   Wow.