View RSS Feed

Bear of Doom

Misrepresentation of Kendo in the Media

Rate this Entry
6 Comments
by
Bear of Doom
, 7th February 2010 at 10:04 AM (4507 Views)
Building upon Salmon Sensei's blogpost (http://kendoinfo.net/) titled "Kendo for non kendoka", it really does worry me that a lot of media out there portraits McDojo worthy rubbish as kendo.

Ok you may say ... the threat has been around for a quite sometime now, before kendo every other martial art has been tainted in one way or another by similar posers, why am I kicking a fuss about it?

The little ones don't annoy me as such, dojos here and there, youtube posts, backyard banter ... but programmes showing on national televisions? That's taking misrepresentation to another level I'm afraid. The danger is quite obvious, it can reach out to a much wider audience, and for those who don't know any better ... they could be stooped into thinking, yes, this is the real deal; this is 'the way of the sword'.

My examples! The first being posted here in the KW forums before, it's a clip taken out of a Spanish speaking TV show. I'm not sure myself as to the origin of the show, but I'm assuming somewhere in Latin America



Cringe ... I know. Worse yet, this is a worldwide disease. Take a look at this Malaysian programme:



Now I'm quite aware that Malaysia possesses various legit, strong, proper kendo dojos. How a TV channel chooses to broadcast the footage posted above instead is beyond me. Before I take it too far though, perhaps our Malaysian brethrens on KW could clarify to us what this actually is? (old time users such as KhawMengLee?)

I wouldn't consider myself a 'purist' as such, but it really does wind me up when someone claims something to be something it isn't. I don't speak either of the languages that the above videos are presented in, so if a native out there hears that they admit to being a deviation of kendo, rather than kendo per se, then I shall let this go, but otherwise ... Ashura, save us!

Submit "Misrepresentation of Kendo in the Media" to Digg Submit "Misrepresentation of Kendo in the Media" to del.icio.us Submit "Misrepresentation of Kendo in the Media" to StumbleUpon Submit "Misrepresentation of Kendo in the Media" to Google

Tags: mcdojo, media Add / Edit Tags
Categories
Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Bear of Doom's Avatar
    on second thought ... i'm still a bit unsure about the malaysian one, may be it's just a kendo + kenjutsu club (hence the kicking?) ... and i suppose you CAN make children do chanbara ... hmm any comments would be great
  2. kendo-bum's Avatar
    Interesting blog.

    I agree with you on your main point. And, considering that had the national team of either of these countries been asked to demonstrate kendo we, and the general public, would have seen a demonstration of kendo performed by people that put years (and years) into their training.


    But I wonder, is it only kendo-ists that feel this way? For example, to people of the general public, having never seen/no idea what the real deal looks like, do they really care? At the end of the day, they see an activity that looks hard, weird, noisey and painful, no matter who is performing it. We as kendo-ists know that these YouTube clips feature low-ish grades (and good effort to them all...), but from my experience, Joe Public will usually respond the same way to any kendo demo regardless of the participant's level, because the seldom know any better.

    I guess in this respect we could say; if it spreads the good word of kendo, any publicity is good publicity...

    Plus, as anything, getting a gig on TV is not what ya know, its who ya know!
  3. b8amack's Avatar
    At the end of the day, who cares? Kendo people get all up in arms about this, but it doesn't matter much. I've never had anyone come up to me and say "I saw this kendo trash on youtube... bunch of sword twirling losers. I can't believe you do that, man."

    I doubt I ever will.
  4. Attica's Avatar
    If you know a little bit about how news and magazine programs get their material for such things then it makes sense. Usually, the people featured are friends of someone associated with the show (say, a producer) or the featured people actually call up and ask "hey, would you like to do a feature of us". If the show is always looking for material then that is the extent of the vetting process. Match that with the most likely types of schools to fall into the above two categories would people who work to promote themselves and you have why they find who they find.

    NOTE: My sister was a producer of a small town news show. That's typically EXACTLY how she found her "community" stories. And yes, she featured a "McDojo" once.
  5. KhawMengLee's Avatar
    I've been out of the kendo scene for about 3 years now but that's definately not the Malaysian Kendo Association. Looks more like some McDojo prick trying to sell more BS...sad.
  6. Bill Bons's Avatar


    Kamagraź is a new medicine manufactured by Ajanta Pharma (India) used for treating erectile disorders in men. buy kamagra Sildenafil Citrate tablet (Kamagraź)
    What is this medicine?

    SILDENAFIL CITRATE is used to treat erection problems in men. Kamagraź is produced by Ajanta Pharma (India) in a GMP certified facility approved by Indian FDA.
    What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?

    They need to know if you have any of these conditions:

    * eye or vision problems, including a rare inherited eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa
    * heart disease, angina, high or low blood pressure, a history of heart attack, or other heart problems
    * kidney disease
    * liver disease
    * stroke
    * an unusual or allergic reaction to sildenafil, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives

    How should I take this medicine?

    Take this medicine by mouth with a glass of water. The dose is usually taken 1 hour before sexual activity. You should not take the dose more than once per day. Do not take your medicine more often than directed.

    Overdosage: If you think you have taken too much of this medicine contact a poison control center or emergency room at once.

    NOTE: This medicine is only for you. Do not share this medicine with others.
    What may interact with this medicine?

    Do not take this medicine with any of the following:

    * cisapride
    * methscopolamine nitrate
    * nitrates like amyl nitrite, isosorbide dinitrate, isosorbide mononitrate, nitroglycerin
    * nitroprusside
    * other sildenafil products (Caverta, Silagra, Eriacta, etc.)

    This medicine may also interact with the following:

    * certain drugs for high blood pressure
    * certain drugs for the treatment of HIV infection or AIDS
    * certain drugs used for fungal or yeast infections, like fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole, and voriconazole
    * cimetidine
    * erythromycin
    * rifampin

    This list may not describe all possible interactions. Give your health care providers a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Some items may interact with your medicine.

    kamagra|kamagra oral jelly|acheter kamagra|kamagra