China Kendo

[bolson]

Theres a dan grading in Beijing this weekend. Apparently 110 kenshi will attempt shodan grading. The grading goes up to Sandan. No word on the total numbers.

It's becoming more and more popular and the players are getting better and better.

Just as well considering most of the gear is made here now.

[bolson]

There were over 100 trying for Shodan, about 35 ni dan and about 15 going for san dan. All told there were over 160 examanees. Quite a spectacle. The overall pass rate was about 80%. A ni dan and a san dan failed the kata exam. They have 3 of these exams a year here, in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Looks like a kendo is a growth industry.

[Abramo]

That's nice to hear!

What's the sensei population like in there? Are they mostly Japanese (or Japanese taught) or Korean (or Korean taught) ?

[bolson]

Many of the teachers are from Japan and Korea but they are rather a small group. The highest ranked Mainland Chinese guy I know is a 4th Dan and he runs his own popular dojo. It's all very new here so there are not many high dans. The I don't know much about the Korean kendo scene. Many have left since the financial crisis hit.

This year they will field their first ever team to Brazil for international competition.

[chrisw]

Should be interesting to see how kendo develops in China in the years to come. They could become a powerhouse with the size of their population.

[1prettygirl]

Ummm this might be a bit sensitive but is kendo such a late bloomer in China because of WWII? I'm Chinese too by the way.

There must be judo and karate being taught in China prior kendo to becoming popular since they are more well known.

[sirius1906]

Ummm this might be a bit sensitive but is kendo such a late bloomer in China because of WWII? I'm Chinese too by the way.

There must be judo and karate being taught in China prior kendo to becoming popular since they are more well known.

Don't we love pretty much anything Japanese already? Plenty evidence of Japanese culture influence, especially Hongkong/Taiwan pop culture. So, what's the hang up?

[1prettygirl]

Okay lol then why is kendo such a late bloomer then? Is it because it's not well known? Well actually that's not true mmm. Why?

[sirius1906]

I suspect it's just like the western world. Kendo doesn't have the publicity that karate and judo do. Plenty of tv and movies for karate, and I can think of 姿三四郎 tv series for judo, probably others before that. Not to mention countless ninja in the media. I wonder if there are just as many backyard ninjers in China. :D