Greetings

[Itaidayo]

Oban desu!

Hello all. This is my post and I just wanted to say hi to the community here. I am from America and I teach English in Hokkaido, Japan. (Northern most island. Very cold ;)

My history with Budo began when I was about 6 and joined a Karate dojo in my hometown. I never formally studied Kendo until two years ago, when I moved to Japan. I have been studying it ever since.

In fact, I just tested for my Ni-Dan last week and passed! I was very happy, very proud and also completely exhausted. It's been an unreal journey the whole way, and I am just beginning to glimpse a little of what it means for me to be a kendoka.

Anyways if anyone is interested about Kendo in Japan or how martial arts over here is perceived, I would be happy to share with you what little insight I may have.

Yoroshiku ne!

[WaWaKenshi]

Pleased to meet you!

I have been wondering do ALL children in Japan learn Kendo at some point in their formative years or is it like most volunteer martial arts/sports in western society. I have heard it to be mandatory in some schools.

[Itaidayo]

Hello!


Sports is almost mandatory -- kids must do some kind of "club activity" after school, 99% of which are sports (there are some random computer clubs and such)

The chances that a martial art is going to be a "club activity" hosted by the school is about 50/50, however in a smaller school I get the impression that its pretty rare...there just isn't enough interest. Of all the martial arts Judo seems to be the most popular by far.

I teach at one school that hosts kendo as an official school sport, but there are only two people who take it. I LOVE going to that school!!! :)

Most school sports are normal sports like baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, track and field, and then weird sports like ping-pong & badminton.

[Hisham]

Welcome to kendo world Itaidayo.

[Martijn]

Pleased to meet you!

[Newbie]

Congratulations on your nidan! Glad to have you here :)

[SmellsLikeBogu]

nidan after two years :D impressive!

You're living the dream man, enjoy it!

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

HI, welcome and all that!

[MikeW]

Wow.. nidan in the States is next to impossible in 2 years now. You have to test your first test below ikkyu with the new rules being handed down. That means you'd have to test and pass nikyu on the first day you started to make nidan in 2 years pretty much...

Congrats on 'discovering' kendo... you're in a great place to do it!

[Itaidayo]

Thanks all! It really has been a dream come true...

Yeah I was pretty shocked at the speed with which they pushed me through the ranks. I tested for 1 kyuu after about 6 months and then Shodan at almost exactly a year. The following year (earlier this month) was when I tested for Ni-Dan.

I do get to practice a lot though, 2 - 4 times a week. I imagine it would have been impossible if I was only going once a week for two hours.

At the tests I tried to gauge myself against the others who passed, and I felt that I was at the higher end of the middle -- there were many who were better than I and many who I felt I had progressed beyond. With that in perspective I didn't feel so bad about ranking so quickly...however I spent almost 16 years getting my San-dan in Karate, so it was a little nerve racking to being moving at such a blistering pace!

speaking of blisters...