Why you practice kendo?

[Inner_Silence]

thats it, tha question.

why you practice kendo?

for some it could be a really dumb question, others may be have a real deep motivation to practice...

i just wanna hear it, may be there are people thas has the same motivations, or maybe everyone is different... i dont know that

[h2o]

Because it is fun (I get to hit people in the head, wooo!!) and for the exercise.

[ne0r]

1. Because it's fun.
2. I fell in love with it because of 1. (No fun)
3. Because I think that cultivation of the mind, as it is called, is not a bad thing for a young man like me!

^^

And because "I get to hit people in the head, wooo!!". Couldn't have said it better... XD XD XD

[Dervish]

My first spark of motivation came from my desire to get exercise. I don't really care for gyms, so after the summer season was over and I couldn't swim anymore, I figured a martial art would be best. I knew I wanted a Japanese martial art -- I wanted to reacquaint myself with something Japanese even on a very rudimentary level as I used to study the language.

Some years ago, I saw a Kendo dojo, looked with interest, and wanted to join. But then I had several personal problems, and for a while I didn't pursue anything 'extra'. When I was looking for a martial art, Kendo came to mind. I've been attracted to the sword arts for a while. Admittingly, it started when I saw Star Wars for the first time, but also when I watched Akira Kurosawa's Samurai films. I think Kendo is an elegant, beautiful activity. I am now aspiring to condition myself physically, mentally, and spiritually so I can learn this great art.

So I made inquiries here for a month or two, watched a few dojos doing keiko, and I finally joined a dojo. That's it :)

[Anonymous]

I wanted to be like that guy from The Last Samurai.











































































































No, not really, a lot of my realatives in Japan and a few here in the US were/are pretty into it, so I eventually got sucked into Kendo myself...

[Obukan_dude]

My reasons for practice:
1. It's fun.
2. It keeps me humble (hopefully;))
3. The social interaction.
4. It's better than sitting on my ass on the couch.:D

[Masahiro]

first of all it's really dumb what anonymous did. (wasting so much webpage space... to a point where the "effect" is just over exaggerated.

kendo, is... in a nut shell, (to me) the art of the heart. you can kick people ass in shiai, you can be 6th dan, or whatever, but if you can't train your heart while you train kendo. you are not really doing kendo.

that is why i do kendo, because it's a good mirror to see where my heart is.

[michaelm]

Personally, I do it for the money and the ladies. ;)

[Anonymous]

Trust me, you haven't seen dumb yet.

[kikentai]

I found Kendo because I wanted something different, that not any of my friends would know about. Every other sport bored me, mainly because everybody knows the basics of them, like baseball and soccer. Where I live, barely anybody has even heard of it, obviously its alot more popular in Japan. So I joined mainly because it is different. After a while, I came to enjoy it for many reasons, mainly for fun and the experience.

[Neil Gendzwill]

As always, for the chicks.

[Newbie]

to be honest I wasn't really sure. I mean, I enjoyed it but I enjoy a lot of things I don't pursue like I do kendo. My sempai recently had me write an essay that included why I do kendo. It was... enlightening.

[waiwilly]

fun and fearless for the heart mind body and soul

[Alison2805]

because noone else I knew did it. Other girls I knew were doing box-erobics, pilates, yoga, yadda yadda yadda. I wanted to do something that had a bit more substance and that I could learn from. I hate to be a sheep.

[kartoffelngeist]

I'm quite impressed that nobody has come and said they do it for they're personal developement, and copy/pasted the concept of kendo thing.

At the end of the day, it's good craic. When else do you get to wear a dress, scream at people and hit them with sticks? (apart from friday nights on Union Street...)

[MrChow]

Heres my reasons:

* So I can live by the sword and die by the sword and uphold the ancient warrior traditions.
* To be a shinai swinging, beer sculling, lady wooing, bogu blinging, school bus driving Kendo badboy.

:cool:

[Newbie]

We need more beer sculling here. *sigh*

[xvikingx]

Because I'm a masochist.

[cesarekim]

Because I have to.

[tamaki]

kendo, is... in a nut shell, (to me) the art of the heart. you can kick people ass in shiai, you can be 6th dan, or whatever, but if you can't train your heart while you train kendo. you are not really doing kendo.

that is why i do kendo, because it's a good mirror to see where my heart is.

I feel a lot like you.And I also agree with the heart training thing ;p hm...you are the only one who wrote about that thing.I sometimes think that training in japan makes you get an entirely different concept of kendo.(And I feel so grateful to our senseis here.)

I do kendo because I like the things it makes me think of,getting past my limits every time,to win over myself.
Kendo puts us in mind situations that we could't normally be,in our lives.
I discovered too many things about myself and other people through kendo,I don't think that I could get that knowledge or self-improvement from any book or university.I am amazed by this fact,sometimes.
And by the fact that some people entirely miss the point of kendo.Or.better,are not aware of the less superficial things it offers to oneself.

If I had my own dojo,the kamiza would write

己に勝つ

心克己

以心打心

The people who know japanese understand that its difficult to translate them and get the same meaning as in japanese.But that's it,for me and why I do kendo.

[Kitsune]

Because I love it

Because I wanted to train something than not only train my body, but my soul and mind, and of course, my patience.

Because I love martial arts in general

Because I really wanted to learn something new

Because noone else I know do it

[Inner_Silence]

I'm quite impressed that nobody has come and said they do it for they're personal developement, and copy/pasted the concept of kendo thing.

At the end of the day, it's good craic. When else do you get to wear a dress, scream at people and hit them with sticks? (apart from friday nights on Union Street...)

i really really agree with you

[Inner_Silence]

personally
after about 4 years of practice (it isnt much but still) im still trying to figure it out why im doing it.
when i started i had really diferent goals and motivation that i have now (mostly girls girls girls). and to be honest i started this thread to know what you think about it.

this year especially i really had lost a real important reason to practice. of course lack of motivation not only in kendo, but in lots of things,really can make a change in your development (in my case as a student, friend, kenshi, musician, family member etc.) and after a rough year, im realizing that practicing makes me feel things.

there is something that i get in the very moment of combat. i dont know how to explain it or if it happens to someone else. tere is a "moment of clarity" (how i like to call it) that i manage to get in real few occasions and it last like a fraction of second, where you feel like fullfilment of all, like you feel that you "know it" ... i dont know how to explain it really.
but it happens in a so short time and so few times that im not sure that it is even real, i think that is some kind of self-hypnosis or something like that due to deep concentration on a shiai...

ever felt like time stops?

(im being sincere, i hope you dont laugh about it)

[kartoffelngeist]

I agree actually...

Often there are things in my life which seem to be all I can think about (mostly involving relationships or essays I should have written), but I find that when I'm at keiko, all I think about is kendo. Which is a nice change.

[shred_lord]

Still chasing after the chance to see Steph in french knickers.

[ReKru]

以心打ビール

Anything that contains ビール must be good. :)

[Ignatz]

Because I have to.
And that is exactly the reason that I chase women.:calm:

[kartoffelngeist]

100 reasons why kendo is better than a woman......

[Thunder]

Healthy body, mind and spirit.

Stress Relief....nothing like hitting someone with a stick to work through stress.

Its the only martial art that is full contact 100% of the time.

Its fun....(until you trip on your Hakama and end up crashing to the floor like a fool)

[Kenzan]

Heres my reasons:

* So I can live by the sword and die by the sword...
:cool:

I can think of many ways to die...but being cut asunder and horribly incised with lots of gushing blood, screaming, and spectacularly ghastly trauma isn't one of them.

Were I able to chose the method of my own death,

....I think I'd select to be coming and going at the same time.
:D

[Neil Gendzwill]

Shot by a jealous husband at age 97...

[cesarekim]

I think I will die as I crack my head against the bidet looking for the toilet paper that just fell off the dispenser.

IGNATZ : And that is exactly the reason that I chase women.

As Ignatz says... I used to have to chase women as well. It was a moral imperative that was supported by a hormone imbalance. Nowadays, I don't have the breath, stamina or time. And that is really sad considering I choose to wear a skirt and smelly leather and bamboo pieces of equipment as I try to survive keiko. What is WRONG with me???:scared:

[schiedsrichter]

Why Kendo?

1) It's amazing!
2) Getting to his own limit and above it.
3) I can hit women and children and don't have to worry about it :D
4) Everything. I think you can't explain to someone else why do you kendo. The answer would be insufficient, anyway. You have to experience it ... ...

[skaffenAmtiskaw]

I do it for personal development.

"The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword)."

[Inner_Silence]

Healthy body, mind and spirit.

Stress Relief....nothing like hitting someone with a stick to work through stress.

Its the only martial art that is full contact 100% of the time.

Its fun....(until you trip on your Hakama and end up crashing to the floor like a fool)

each one crashes the floor the way he can...

[kartoffelngeist]

I do it for personal development.

"The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword)."

bloody weegies :p

[johnkichu]

As always, for the chicks.

Ho-ho! Best answer so far!

Seriously, I've done TKD, judo (only because a judo school rented our TKD dojang - doing TKD on mats - yuck!), and some hapkido, and dabbled with this and that, but nothing captures and captivates you like kendo. It's more demanding, both physically and technically, and purer than anything I've tried before. And it feels GREAT!

[ne0r]

Hmm...

Because of the great feeling you get after a nice Jigeiko.

Better then, or at least as good as sex.

[kartoffelngeist]

Either I need more jigeiko, or you need more sex...:p

[Chiefbuyer]

as a newbie to kendo but an old hand at alot of different sports which i played to semi pro level i can say that nothing has ever caught my attension like kendo. So my reasons are as follows:-
1. its not about power, i need to think
2. its probably the best stress relief anyone could ever ask for
3. aswel as being exsilerating is is also humbling
4. its the best laugh i have ever had while training in a sport
5. I LOOK WELL ARD IN MY BOGU !!!!!!!!!

[Kitsune]

Shot by a jealous husband at age 97...

WTF? SERIOUSLY?

[jediado]

I feel a lot like you.And I also agree with the heart training thing ;p hm...you are the only one who wrote about that thing.I sometimes think that training in japan makes you get an entirely different concept of kendo.(And I feel so grateful to our senseis here.)

I do kendo because I like the things it makes me think of,getting past my limits every time,to win over myself.
Kendo puts us in mind situations that we could't normally be,in our lives.
I discovered too many things about myself and other people through kendo,I don't think that I could get that knowledge or self-improvement from any book or university.I am amazed by this fact,sometimes.
And by the fact that some people entirely miss the point of kendo.Or.better,are not aware of the less superficial things it offers to oneself.


I agree with you and Masahiro. There's not anything else in my life where I have to push myself as hard as I do when I practice kendo. As Masahiro said about the heart, I find kendo as a good mirror to see where my heart is as well. It's hard for me to do kendo and not have my heart in it, if I want to do well.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Shot by a jealous husband at age 97...WTF? SERIOUSLY?
We all have our little goals...

[ecafrusehtrednu]

I think you're question could be a bit more relative .
Kumdo is not that much different from Kendo, right ?
So I'll put my reasons here .
1) Stress-reliever
2) It's fun
3) I like to learn
4) Social interaction
5) Exercise (I need it)
6) Belief that it will make my mind sharper, reflexes quicker (xD) and yeah .

[Ignatz]

Shot by a jealous husband at age 97...
Shot by the jealous husband of a 21 year old at age 97

[bullet08]

i think it's a trick question.. so the answer should be.. why not?

(beer and cheap thrill)

pete

[krys]

[...] there is a "moment of clarity" (how i like to call it) that i manage to get in real few occasions and it last like a fraction of second, where you feel like fullfilment of all, like you feel that you "know it" ... i dont know how to explain it really.
but it happens in a so short time and so few times that im not sure that it is even real, i think that is some kind of self-hypnosis or something like that due to deep concentration on a shiai...

ever felt like time stops?

Once. 8 months after starting kendo. During a ji-geiko while being really tired.
Didn't think about it during the ji-geiko. But when it finally finished and I was trying to sort the thing out, the first thought was "was this an enlightenment"? The second: "That bullshit in 'The Matrix' movie when Neo dodges bullets - it has to have its origins in a real martial art".

There was no recurrence yet. Probably as i am doing kendo for a short time. Or maybe didn't get tired enough again.

[Takeda]

"To master the sword, first create sincerity of the heart. The former is a reflection of the latter."

unknown

Though it was only a small printing loosely stuck on one of our defunct notice boards, those words inspired me a great deal on my first day in kendo.

As for why I joined, to cut a long story short, I had always wanted to learn swordsmanship since I was 15 (after watching the ff 8 intro, I'm so embarassed right now:emb: ), but I knew I was too immature. That, plus a commitment to the school band. So after 4 years, as I was completing my national service in the navy, I told myself that I would pursue kendo.

Anyway, the reason I joined, after years of hard training was;


To become a better person,
To study the sword,
To become a humble person, with a sincere heart and an unwavering mind,
And most important of all, to seek peace and harmony within myself and my surroundings, and hopefully, to lead a life of fulfillment.


I am greatly honoured to have many wonderful senseis in my dojo, three in particular.

One, whose devotion to the art has lead him to study several others, including the jo, and whose conviction and humility is astounding.

The second, who teaches with all his heart, not by being gentle and talking to you, but by pushing you beyond your physical limits, who strongly believes in fundamentals, demanding that kendo be beautiful to be effective. And should you not follow any of these requirements or have no spirit, humble you by attacking you with seme and zanshin. Or he'll just ask you to get lost. :)

And the third, who sets great expectations of each and everyone of us, demands that we push ourselves to be the best in kendo, and trains with us wholeheartedly, fighting all the way.

I'm sorry if it's really long and draggy, but I truly wish that my kendo will someday embody the same beliefs they share and perhaps, form my own philosophy on life and the sword. Perhaps this implies best why I started and why I keep on training.

[dohrt]

I do it to temper my fat ego. I do it to build up my ego when I'm feeling that "fragile male ego" thing. I do it to feel inspired by people with amazing passion and conviction. I do it to aspire to inspiring someone else. I do it because it's hard and it's challenging. I do it because it makes me face my biggest darkest fears inside my own soul. I do it because the very first time I watched keiko, it felt like coming home. I do it because the people who are serious about kendo (that I am exposed to) are wonderful amazing human beings, in and out of the dojo, and I just like to be around that.

[MSPaintClock]

I like Kendo for the exercise. It's interesting to me and others. I use it to get out my aggression. It gives me something to do in my free time (that I apparently still have too much of). I can meet great or interesting people. I want to become good at something. It's challenging physically and mentally. I look mean as hell in my bogu and it looks cool, it's scary. Also, no one else does it. :)

[Ignatz]

I practice kendo because my two main interests, shooting people and blowing things up, are not allowed.

[Gessho]

I like Kendo for the exercise. It's interesting to me and others. I use it to get out my aggression. It gives me something to do in my free time (that I apparently still have too much of). I can meet great or interesting people. I want to become good at something. It's challenging physically and mentally. I look mean as hell in my bogu and it looks cool, it's scary. Also, no one else does it. :)

Me too for all of those reasons (except that I play Rainbow Six to release my desire to shoot and blow things up!).

[Paburo]

i do it for the girls... AND the beers. not paticularly in that order. but i owe myself to my public and awesome fangirls :bandit:

[boomer reynolds]

In the hopes of kendo making me a better person.

[shin nagakura]

thats it, tha question.

why you practice kendo?

for some it could be a really dumb question, others may be have a real deep motivation to practice...

i just wanna hear it, may be there are people thas has the same motivations, or maybe everyone is different... i dont know that

It is passion for me to practice kendo. It removes stress from work and others.
Kiai when I bit someone on the head makes me feel good. And sweat and fatigue after keiko makes me fun. Kendo is very interesting forever.

[Mr Softee]

because its fun and hard work at the same time

[Alan Molstad]

Just for the fun...

I love the fact that there are a ton of other good reasons that go along with the fun I find in Kendo...

But at the top of the list, there is the "fun" that I get out of my time in Kendo that means the most to me.

the rest is dessert...

[Newbie]

I use it to get out my aggression

There is something definitely satisfying for the female kendoka yelling MEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!! and whacking someone on the head at the same time. :D

[Luke]

i like swords and its fun. what better way to get some exercize than to get together with your friends and go at it.

[Aries]

I started because it seemed to embody a lot of the principles that i feel my people have forgotten, and its a great example of something that has survived change through war and survived and evloved into a new era when its original intent has passed. I seemed important to learn from this, perhaps it will help me find my own identity admist the constant flip flop of my heritage and my identity.

but then I went to the dojo, though its only been a while i'm in love with it. i like the feeling of being in the dojo, no expectations to be good, i'm expected to suck. i don't have to pretend to be strong, smart or wahtever because i'm there to actually get strong so its okay that i'm not.
.. where as in real life, i don't know what the hell i am doing but i gotta put on a face and face the world still, and the better i do, it seems the expectations just grow i'm never going to be adequete.

its like when i picked up surfing, i liked the rush of catching my own waves and the feeling of riding on that energy, but i loved getting tossed in the white water and remebering i'm not made of glass and i loved just sitting out there waiting for sets to come in, and when no one's around the world far away i can break down sometimes.

[tamaki]

I started because it seemed to embody a lot of the principles that i feel my people have forgotten, and its a great example of something that has survived change through war and survived and evloved into a new era when its original intent has passed. I seemed important to learn from this, perhaps it will help me find my own identity admist the constant flip flop of my heritage and my identity.
but then I went to the dojo, though its only been a while i'm in love with it. i like the feeling of being in the dojo, no expectations to be good, i'm expected to suck. i don't have to pretend to be strong, smart or wahtever because i'm there to actually get strong so its okay that i'm not.


I agree with all your post,but saying that you are expected to suck made me think a lot.Presuming that you are a girl,I know (from myself too) that girls have ultra low self-confidence when they start things like kendo,which holds them back from getting better,sooner.You just started kendo as you say,so of course you cannot compare to some other people,but that doesn't mean you suck.Your kendo level depends (among other things) on the time that you have been training,on recognizing your flaws,and on your will to become better at it.If you are not annoyed with the fact that you suck(in your opinion),how are you going to make progress?some old kendo saying goes that "practice makes genious"(like,literal translation from a japanese book).I am sure that if you want and continue training seriously,after some time you will be out of the "people that suck" level.Of course everybody has their bad weeks and ups and downs in kendo,but thinking of yourself as expected to suck is not going to help you.
(of course,the other way is even worse:some people(mostly boys in their post-puberty age-is that the word in english??) that really suck but think their kendo kicks-ass.thats incurable...):eek:

[Aries]

well i'm not holding myself back from progression but its easier for me not to over think when i know there is no rush. the idea of expected to suck..hmm maybe i should explain better..
I'm not expected to be at anylevel, which is what i mean i guess. I'm expected to advance at my own pace, there's no praise on what you do right, just corrections on what you do wrong, i love that. i'm actually encouraged to do and be at my best. where as in other things in life where i am commended i can't swallow that, because i dont' believe i was at my best most of the time.

i guess what i'm getting at is that i don't have to psyc myself up to believe what others believe me to be.

...err.. okay i'm getting lost in this explaination.. but over all lots of self searching stuff going on here, may have deep ties into childhood and other issues, still working it out. lots of finding something for myself and my own life stuff going on in here.
but over all, i can focus on one thing only in the dojo and its all very new, i feel exposed and vulnerable, but its a relief to be able to admit to feeling vulnerable. because when you're used to thinking that you can't fall down because people count on you to be the strong one, its nice to have time and place for you to feel human again.


there is still very big pressure for me to advance as i now feel it would dissapoint my sensei, senpais and myself if i never got better. they let me hit them, i should atleast have something to show for it.

[Nakura]

I enjoy it...end of story...

[D.Benton]

I wasn't really sure about Kendo when I started training some years ago. I've had my ups and downs, but for me it was one experience:

A balding, Japanese man in his 70's who walked with a cane when he entered the dojo. I paid little attention to him until after I had particiapted in keiko and noticed that towards the end of class he had donned his men and was facing various students, since it was open ji-geiko practice I naturally stood in line to face him. As a newcomer to Kendo I had no idea of his experience or even who he really was at that time.

In the time that I faced him he had soundly beaten me several times over, yet I was someone 2/3 his age and I couldn't believe it. He taunted me with a mischievious sparkle in his eyes, and a grin from ear to ear, at that moment he seemed more full of vigor and life than anyone I've ever met. "What is the matter, are you too slow to catch me?" Later I learned that he had suffered a stroke a few years prior to my ji-geiko with him, and from the sound beating I took I was not sure if he suffered much.

It was the first time I had faced Umemoto Sensei, who had started teaching Kendo in the Denver area before I was born in the 70's. I thought to myself what sort of person could possibly achieve the ability to perform in this fashion after a stroke and 70+ years of living? It was impressive, and even after his passing, a caligraphy he made for me hangs on my wall, a testament to his teaching, while to most it appears a simple, beautiful, kanji, to me it is a koan, an aspect of my person that I must always be mindful of. I wish I could fully explain the significance it has to me, but it is beyond my rudimentary abilities.

His Kendo and his teaching live on more directly through others who were fortunate to have spent many more years training with him than I, yet he had an enormous impact on me, so I can only imagine the impact he must have had on others who received more training and guidance from him.

When asked how long it would take to become good at Kendo, Umemoto Sensei replied simply, chucklling, "The rest of your life." Maybe one day, if I am fortunate enough, I will know what that means.

Oh, I almost forgot, Goodwill Kendo and Iaido training, the comraderie, and the post training or tournament parties! Alcohol and food, sake and sushi, beer and steak. I might not be good at Kendo or Iaido, but I don't do too bad when it comes to eating and drinking. Mmmm.... :D

[Sekhmet]

In response to the "chicks and beer" answers, I'm glad to be the first woman to say I'm only in it for the men! :)

I mean, come on girls, is there anything more exhilarating than chaps in armour? It's so beautiful (the Japanese really have the aesthetics down), and the whole faceless warrior thing is definitely the stuff fantasies are made of -- or maybe I'm just weird … (actually, that's probably it. Oh well.)

Seriously, though, I got into martial arts like a couple of other people said to be humbled and temper my ego, which is much needed, and painful!Also, I'm doing research on Eastern religions/philosophies, and they really need to be practiced in the body, and martial arts is the obvious way to do that. I picked kendo because it looks fabulous. I think it was the suggestive flapping of the men tare when people move about that finally did the trick. :)

And now that I'm here I don't think I could have stumbled upon a greater bunch of guys to hang out with - it seems kendo attracts really special, odd, wonderful people!

[icy_flame]

Like any respectable golfer will tell you, I do it for the exercise. Yup, that's it! :rolleyes:

[shred_lord]

kendo attracts really special, odd, wonderful people!

I'm not odd. My therapist says so too. :p


I mean, come on girls, is there anything more exhilarating than chaps in armour? It's so beautiful (the Japanese really have the aesthetics down), and the whole faceless warrior thing is definitely the stuff fantasies are made of -- or maybe I'm just weird … (actually, that's probably it. Oh well.)This conjures some disturbing pictures in my head.

BoguPorn anyone? :scared:*

*oh wow, a sexdoll smilie!