A Beginnner's Point of View 7.5

Day 7.5 (Tournament):

Well, the first Kendo tournament arrived with much work to do and much confusion as to the limited parking spaces. I brought some ice for the drinks and planned to just watch the main part of the tournament. I had other plans for the day, but I had plenty of time.

It turned out to be much bigger than I thought it would. More than a hundred Kendoka arrived, packing the gymnasium! There were also a couple of dozen others for support, but mostly supporters of certain schools. It was huge (and crowded)! The schools had to take turns in an organized fashion to perform warm-up exercises. Hearing all the different schools go through their drills in near-perfect unison while chanting the number of repetitions over and over was enthralling. You could just feel the harmony and camaraderie in the air.

Sensei was very busy walking back and firth around the entire building, getting everything organized. He walked up to me and asked if I could help out because they were short-handed. He gave me the stopwatch and the yellow flag. A normal Kendo match lasts for only 3 minutes. The clock only stops at the end or when the judges call a stop.

Kendo is a very swift and aggressive martial art. The experienced competitors are poised and graceful as well as powerful, especially the Nidan and above ranks. They wield their shinais as if they were mere feathers. It take a great deal of skill and intelligence to plan out your defense and counterattacks to best your opponent.

First, the area is marked out by white tape. An “X” is placed in the center, with a short line of tape about a shinai’s length on left and right of the “X”. The Kendo match only takes place inside the marked-off area, outside is a penalty.

The Shinpan are the three judges who decide on the match. There is a head judge who makes the calls and the other two assist him. Each judge carries a red flag and a white flag. The red flag represents the Kendoka that starts on the head judge’s right side. The white flag represents the Kendoka that starts on the head-judge’s left side. When the head judge and one of the supporting judges both call the same thing, the head judge calls for Yame, or a stop in the action.

If any one judge thinks a call should be made, he raises the flag of the one who he thinks has scored a clean hit. If the other judges disagree, they shake their flags below the waist to “wave it off”. If a flag is raised above the shoulders, it indicates a point in favor of the Kendoka with that color of ribbon tied to the back of their bogu. If a flag is held out below the waist, it indicates a penalty for the Kendoka with that color of ribbon. As an example, stepping out of bounds gives that Kendoka a warning. The Shinpan stop the match and return the fighters to the starting positions. The head judge gives the warning to the offender and starts the match again. If the offender steps out of the area again, the judge will repeat his actions and this time grant a point to the opposite Kendoka.

The match is decisively won if either Kendoka gains 2 points. The match is also won if the score is 1-0 and time runs out. If the match is a draw, then the head judge will award the victory to the Kendoka who has shown the stronger Kendo (aggressiveness, style, proper form, etc…). If it is still even after taking all of that into account, then the head judge will declare the match a draw with no clear winner.

This continues in a standard tournament style until there is a final winner. Often times, semi-final or perhaps final matches will have no time limit, depending on the decision of the Shinpan. In our tournament, there were divisions for Kendoka of mixed lower ranks, Kendoka of Nidan and above, one for women, and a team competition which was a best-of-five match between different schools.

I wound up staying a lot longer than I expected, because of the chaotic way that so many Kendoka needed to be scheduled (and tracked down from wherever they had wandered off to), that I had to fill a role that demanded constant attention. I was glad to help out, and I also put in an order for a uniform and a shinai maintenance tool. I also got a carry-bag for my shinai and bokken. Once my order comes through, maybe I will feel more like a Kendoka. Even though sensei assures me it will be months before I can suit up in bogu, I can’t wait to start.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled since in ice hockey, you wear armor from the first practice.