A Beginnner's Point of View 2

Day 2:
This time I showed up at the regular practice area. It was smaller, but there was still plenty of room for everyone. Once again, there were a couple of students practicing their stances and strikes with the sensei, but they were using a different kind of wooden sword. It was not a shinai. A shinai is made of four strips of bamboo fastened together. This new wooden sword looked like a single piece of a more common type of wood, carved to look like a katana sword, like samurai used. I learned later it was called a bokken (boh-ken) and it would be used for Kendo as well.

It turns out that this was the class for Iaido (ee-eye-do). The sensei was teaching these students about the proper postures and combinations of movements that actual samurai might have used in battle or daily life. It looked interesting.

I decided not to gawk too long and get ready. After changing into my athletic clothing, I decided not to wait for general Kendo stretching. I used my own stretches from my years playing ice hockey to warm up my muscles early. The sensei himself then took a break and then called for our class. There were a couple of other students there this time. One of them was practicing Iaido, the other was waiting for Kendo. I was wondering if they were new students like me. One of them was, since he had athletic clothing and awkward moves. The other had a special robe-like training uniform. Later, I would discover that he learned Kumdo, which is the Korean counterpart to Japanese Kendo. They joined us for Kendo once Iaido was finished. I was actually called to participate in an Iaido drill. The robed student and I stood in places to mimick guards at a gate while the sensei showed a new set of movements. He actually wielded a real, sharp, metal katana sword. He swung it with such ease close to our faces, but he was in complete control. Still, I edged back away since I’m not a complete fool. Eventually, Iaido finished. The new students both joined us for Kendo.

We started off differently this time. There were a few extra steps to the beginning of class. Before stretching exercises, we knelt down on the floor and keep our posture straight. Following the sensei’s direction, we faced the area where all of our personal possessions and equipment bags were set aside. Then, he called joseki (jo-seh-kee) and bowed deeply. His hands were flat on the floor in front of him and he bowed low enough to make his back horizontal to the floor. We all did the same, then sat up. He then called for the same thing to the sensei. We then performed the same deep bow to him while he bowed to us. The point of this was obvious. We each show respect to each other, like sportsmanship. We also did something called mokuso (mohk-suo), which was a kind of meditation just to clear the mind. The point was to think only about Kendo and not let stray thoughts distract us. It did at least calm me down, which was helpful.

Then, the class became more familiar. We performed the same routine for stretching exercises. Once that was over and we had re-claimed our shinai, our regular instructor showed up. After a quick break to allow her to change and stretch, we started in with new lessons.

This time, we combined the footwork and strikes to be performed at the same time. It was really tricky as you have to time everything properly. Each footwork has two parts, as each strike has two parts. You have to perform the first part of the footwork and strike together, then perform the second part of each together. You move like a machine. It’s awkward at first, but it affords you a lot of power when the shinai comes down.

Then, we added a new drill. This one added side-to-side motion into a series of four steps. Instead of just forward and backwards, we would move forward-backward-right-left. When we stepped left, we would actually switch to opposite stance. That was tricky, but enjoyable. I also bought

After the class was over, the advanced students would gather together in their armor, called bogu (boh-goo) and practice their own drills. Unlike us in the beginner class, the advanced students moved seemingly in perfect unison. Their footwork was nearly flawless, and their strikes were easy and quick. Over and over they would practice their footwork/strike drills with ease, each shouting out the count of repetitions in Japanese over and over. Once a person finishing counting to eight, the next person in line would pick up in perfect harmony, like they were all singing the same song memorized by heart. Each shouted proudly, unafraid of anything while they had their teammates by their side. It was mesmerizing.

After several more drills, they began sparring with each other. It was very late and I had to leave. After all, 5:30 A.M. blares the alarm whether or not you’re rested.