A Beginnner's Point of View 1

Day 1:
I showed up to practice early to make a good impression. I had my athletic clothes in a sports bag slung over my shoulder and walked into the building described by the directions I received. Upon entering the building, I was confused that a bunch of people were chatting to each other while munching on snacks. It took a moment to summon the courage to ask about Kendo. The group kindly pointed me to a different building, just for that night.

I walked into the much larger gymnasium and instantly found what I was looking for. There were several people, all dressed in dark blue uniforms and wielding wooden swords. Some were standing in the center of the gym and taking instruction on sword movements from a teacher.

Others were strapping on body armor and stretching off to the side. I decided to break the ice before inertia caused me to chicken out. I greeted the nearest person and asked what I should be doing.

The girl responded with some instructions about getting changed and buying swords. I changed out of my street clothes and into my athletic suit. I wondered if it was necessary to buy one of the uniforms right away, but it seemed that one of the other students already taking instruction wasn’t in uniform, either.

It was weird not wearing any shoes or socks for athletic activity, but it seemed reasonable to try. Soon enough, the other students’ lessons were over and it was our turn to take the center of the room. I saw as people walked into and out of the gym that they would stop and bow while facing into the gym. I wondered if this was some kind of code or something, but paid it no mind.

As we assembled, the girl walked to the center of the room and began talking to us like a coach. I felt really ridiculous for admitting total ignorance to my future instructor and looked around. Everyone else seemed to be confident in what they were doing. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I was least in a group and I don’t have anything to prove to the others, so I just followed along.

First was stretches, which were easy. My muscles had been conditioned from French Foil Fencing, so these exercises were nothing special. Our instructor would constantly speak loudly in Japanese, and then explain in English. I idly wondered how much time per week I’d have to devote to learning Japanese as a language.

Next was learning footwork. Kendo is practiced entirely on the front half of the foot. Ideally, the heels of your feet would never touch the ground. Now this was different! By the time our footwork drills were over, my feet were burning. After that, we were taught elementary strikes while shouting a certain word. Since everyone said it a split-second differently than the others, it came out a mush. I couldn’t even tell if I was saying the right word, so I concentrated on the strikes.

After a while, some people would ask questions casually, but politely, and our instructor would answer them, explaining the WHY as well as the HOW. The atmosphere was still intense, but it no longer felt hostile. We were simply here to absorb information and practice, not be judged. I took my instructor’s criticism of my footwork easily, just as if she were any other athletic coach.

At the end of practice, the main teacher dressed up in full armor and we took turns using our strikes against him. That was fun. Maybe we should hit him more often.

Afterwards, the instructor took us unto the hallway to show us the basics of how and when to take apart the wooden sword, called a shinai (shin-eye). It was very informal and completely relaxed. Questions and answers flowed easily.

Once the day’s practice was over the main teacher, called sensei (sen-say), accepted my membership dues and sold me my own shinai. (This had been agreed to before I showed up at practice, so no surprises.)

I left that day tired, but happy. I found a group that could accept me as a beginner with no rank and be okay with that. I was not holding them back. Instead, they were helping me up.

I also learned that my Foil training gives me lousy footwork for Kendo. I need to work on that.