Everything about Kendo...

[Sushi-Sama]

Hi. I'm new to Kendo. I'm 14 years old and I just started discovering Kendo this year. I want to join some kind of cool sport and Kendo seems to be the one. My friend has tried it before, he said it's great for me because I get angry alot and easily so I've been studing about it, it seems cool but I need to know some more things about it (I love the sound of when the swords hit). So I have a couple of questions:
1. Could you take private lessons? I don't like being around a lot of people.

2. Does Age/gender really matter?

3. Does it hurt? (^^;;

4. How do you play it? How do you win/loose?

And I've been looking all over the place for kendo lessons but there aren't any, can anyone help with this? I live in Saratoga, New York (United States).

[un hartim]

1.- If you find a sensei who accept it, why not? But you would be loosing the 95% of the essence and the quality of training
2.- Not at all.
3.- Depending on your bogu quality, but, sometimes, just a little bit
4.- Do you have any idea what kendo is?

[Dervish]

Hi. I'm new to Kendo. I'm 14 years old and I just started discovering Kendo this year. I want to join some kind of cool sport and Kendo seems to be the one. My friend has tried it before, he said it's great for me because I get angry alot and easily so I've been studing about it, it seems cool but I need to know some more things about it (I love the sound of when the swords hit). So I have a couple of questions:

Welcome, newcomer! You'll find a lot of people on this forum who are friendly and will provide you with accurate, insightful information.

1. Could you take private lessons? I don't like being around a lot of people.

Every Kendo dojo I've ever seen has a lot of people practicing at once. The best way to gain skills is by practicing with a variety of other Kendoka. You may get away with small groups or even one on one in the beginning of your training, but the best thing for you to do if you don't like crowds is visit at least one dojo and see how you feel. I've never heard of private lessons (they may exist).

2. Does Age/gender really matter?

No. People young and old do Kendo all the time, and many women do Kendo as well as man. In fact, I lament that I did not start Kendo earlier, when I was your age, for example.

3. Does it hurt? (^^;;

Once you're in bogu, getting hit may sting if you don't know how to take a hit correctly, or when you're sparring with somebody who is hitting too hard. Other than that it's very safe -- I have a low threshhold of pain so if I can stick around, I'm sure you'll do well

4. How do you play it? How do you win/loose?

Tournament-wise, you win by scoring points by hitting the head, wrists, throat, or abdomen.

Quotations:

"The Concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana."

"The Purpose of practicing Kendo is:

To mold the mind and body,
To cultivate a vigorous spirit,
And through correct and rigid training,
To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo,
To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor,
To associate with others with sincerity,
And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.
This will make one be able:
To love his/her country and society,
To contribute to the development of culture
And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples."

So there is a strong theme of self-improvement, not just winning points and tournaments.

And I've been looking all over the place for kendo lessons but there aren't any, can anyone help with this? I live in Saratoga, New York (United States).

I'm not familiar with northern New York State, but these lists may help you;

http://www.auskf.info/dojo/ny.htm

http://www.kendo-usa.org/statedojolist.htm#NY

I hope you find a dojo soon!

[Batman]

1: Perhaps, but you learn next to nothing.

2: No. Be warned that kendo will not cure teen angst.

3: Yes.

4: That will take you a while.

[Sushi-Sama]

[QUOTE=un hartim;228237]Do you have any idea what kendo is?
QUOTE]

I've been watching it on sites...but it's all in Japanese or there's no sound at all, so I can't tell...my friend only said that I should do it...

Dervish- DOMO ARIGATOU!!

[Kuma]

Welcome, Sushi-sama. I am new to kendo myself, having only begun 4 months ago. Luckily, I have excellent sensei and sempai (senior students) who are quite dedicated to ensuring that I progress quickly and get all the assistance that I need. All my sempai expect in return is that I pass on what they do for me, and give them my best in practice. Once you find a dojo, hopefully you will have a similar experience. Jumping in and trusting in your dojo to direct you should get you on the right path quickly.

Videos on Youtube can be quite misleading. A lot of silly garbage is marked "kendo" to get hits when people do searches. Careful what you watch. You don't want to pick up any terribly mistaken preconceptions.

As a newbie myself, the best advice that I can offer is to hang around here and read read read. Don't worry about commenting unless you want to clarify, since there will be little that you can offer for now that will not ellicit a dressing down from the sempai. One of my sempai told me not to read too much though, since it makes you think too much as you practice, so I'm sure that I'll get some people disagreeing with that advice.

Aw, what the hell. All you need to do is find a place to do kendo with a nice nationally recognized dojo and go to practice. As I once read somewhere, "Shut up and practice more."

Gambatte!

[bullet08]

find a dojo. stick it out for at least a year. and then you will see what kendo is like for you. some people like it, some don't. getting angry and upset easily won't help much in kendo. but it will teach you to be in more control of yourself if you are willing to learn.

pete