wondering...

[dorkusxmaximus]

I'm sorry if there's already a thread like this, but i've been thinking about this for a while. Is it wrong just to practice kendo for the thrill of a shiai and competition? I think that's what really got me to stay in the first place. I was seriously bored to death months before my first shiai experience and many times contemplated about quitting. Shiai basically gave me a purpose to practice hard in the first place. A lot of people on this forum has like really good reasons why they practice kendo, but I'm just in it for the competition. It just sounds wrong to me for some reason.

[JSchmidt]

As long as you aren't harming anyone and you are enjoying yourself, I don't see any problem with it..I don't agree with that look on kendo, but different people, different strokes...

Jakob

[Cypher]

I suppose it all depends on your dojo and the preference of your sensei...I've heard some dojos emphasise competition, and some traditional aspects.

As long as you do your best and enjoy yourself, I don't think anyone can object. ^^

[dorkusxmaximus]

I'm harmless hahah T_T. I don't consider kendo like a sport or anything because I know what it's a MA. See, that's why I think it's wrong somehow. It's like I could've just done something else more oriented towards competition instead.

No, no, no. My dojo is very traditional . The school has a pretty long history too ^_^.

[Shazzanzzz]

I love competitions. It's my biggest enjoyment of kendo. I'm sure i would still be doing kendo if i never competed. But, the shiais make it so fun!! Getting medals, trophies, especially team ones, best feeling in the world. I never mind defeats, because i find something to work on after each one of them. I hate losing, so, i work hard because of that i think.

I mean, without competition, how can you get better? In anything in life.

All my senseis are very traditional also, but, that doesn't mean they don't like competition. But, win with good kendo.

[Hotei]

DORKUS- we share a similar fear, though I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I love Kendo, however I have no desire, nor intention of ever competing outside my own dojo. I know that Shazz has a similar opinion of how you grow your skills (through competition), and I'd be happy to just get to the point where I can beat my Sensei.

I suppose what I enjoy most is doing suburi and kata.. . Yeah, yeah, I know; It's a sickness. I agree with the above in that you join the group that you want to join. If your dojo is into shiai, you're in the right place. My dojo is not big into competition, though several of our members are.

Good luck!

[Shazzanzzz]

DORKUS- we share a similar fear, though I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I love Kendo, however I have no desire, nor intention of ever competing outside my own dojo. I know that Shazz has a similar opinion of how you grow your skills (through competition), and I'd be happy to just get to the point where I can beat my Sensei.

I suppose what I enjoy most is doing suburi and kata.. . Yeah, yeah, I know; It's a sickness. I agree with the above in that you join the group that you want to join. If your dojo is into shiai, you're in the right place. My dojo is not big into competition, though several of our members are.

Good luck!

Well, i think wanting to beat your sensei is still wanting to improve and improving through competition.

I think practicing with people outside your dojo can only improve your kendo.

[Hotei]

SHAZZ - Yeah, I was agreeing with you. In my opinion, you're correct; sorry if I didn't make that clear. Competition is almost always a good thing, though some of us choose not to take it as far as others, or even outside of our school. Whether your goals are lofty or notasloftyaslofty (my own word, thank you), competition helps you grow stronger.

Be peace.

[AlexM]

I'm sorry if there's already a thread like this, but i've been thinking about this for a while. Is it wrong just to practice kendo for the thrill of a shiai and competition? I think that's what really got me to stay in the first place. I was seriously bored to death months before my first shiai experience and many times contemplated about quitting. Shiai basically gave me a purpose to practice hard in the first place. A lot of people on this forum has like really good reasons why they practice kendo, but I'm just in it for the competition. It just sounds wrong to me for some reason.

Face it Nancy.. you're doing kendo for all the wrong reasons. I think you should quit... I'm kidding! Please don't kill me

Actually, I'm sort of curious: Are you doing kendo just to WIN in shiai or just for the thrill of competition? (which one assumes can still be achieved through the fine art of losing)

Wanting to win is not a bad thing in itself I think. Competiting and wanting to be competitive is certainly not a bad thing. If that's what you want that's fine in my most humble opinion.

The opponent is always technically yourself... beating the other guy is a bit meaningless if you weren't fighting well. If however you managed to beat the other person by either maintaining a high level (that you achieved through training) or even surpassing what you thought possible that's quite a victory. Even losing is such circumstances is fine by me.

[Swissv2]

Your desire to practice just for competition is certainly comparable to other types of activities that require high skill. While one may gain a thrill for competition, it may be easy to become restless during the time periods before the competition or shiai. Forgive me if I make bad analogy; you have purchased a new billiards cue stick. You have saved long to buy this fancy new cue stick as many professionals in billiards recommend highly of it. You practice at home or with a teacher, but see competitions everywhere. You know there is high skill out there in the competitive world, but to enter into a competition fascinates you.


Questions you should ask yourself at this point are:

Are you comfortable with losing more often than winning which is what happens normally with entering into a higher level?
Are your self discipline strong and your form mastered so it is stable enough so when you enter the competition, you don’t lose your training and get sloppy?


If so, very good!

Remember, you must never forget your hard training. Your training if done with a rigorous discipline and passion (mind, body, and spirit) will take you far. Lose this integrity, and you lose your training which would mean started from the basics again. You will always improve yourself in your quiet dojo when your mind is set on improving daily.

Perhaps your sensei will see your improvement and recommend you to compete!

My 2 Cents

[dorkusxmaximus]

I was hoping someone would say that to me LOL. Thanks Alex hahaha. Now I can quit and use you as a scapegoat hahah. J/k =P. I think me and Harry are in the process of coming up with a very effective waza against you. It's in alpha formation minus the third person.

I think I'm more into the thrill of shiai because I like well fought matches and to go all out ^_^, so losing isn't too much of a deal most of the time. It's nice to win, but it happens when it happens. I don't want to go there with a high expectation of myself just to get disappointed. Now that will leave me depress for days LOL. Hey, it was a lot worse before =P. I'd like to win big someday and get placed, so that's why I practice hard. Now if I have a kendo rival, you'll see me practicing 10x harder hahah. Now only if my friend returned ^_^. She was good .

Swiss, I can only answer one out of the two questions =). Nope, don't mind too much at all.

[mingshi]

I think there are people who play the piano or chess for entertainment, self-improvement, and also competitions. Again, it's a personal preference. The goal is slightly different but your training journey is more or less the same, no?

[Nishi]

Someone once told me kendo was like university, you can take whatever you want, but invest your time with caution.

So i miss class to drink beer (kidding)

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you look at the results of competitions in an area, you'll note that the same short list of people are coming out on top all the time. So in say, Vancouver/Seattle maybe there are 500 people practising, and 20 winning. Are 480 people wasting their time? If their attitude is only competition, maybe they are.

For me, one of the joys of kendo is that it doesn't stop with competition. In so many sports you find people who quit as soon as they no longer are competitive. How many 50 year old football players do you find? Kendo is very deep, and you can take a lot from it without ever winning a trophy. If your only goal is to win a trophy, you are likely to be dissappointed - clearly only the top few competitors win the trophies.

OTOH there's nothing wrong with enjoying competitions, and I think if you shy away from them entirely you're missing an important part of kendo.

[dorkusxmaximus]

i'm not only oriented towards competition =O. Everyone has different reasons why they take kendo and stick with it. Competition is one of the reasons I'm still there, but not a huge part anymore. I genuinely like kendo a lot, but sometimes I hate it. If the shiai part to kendo wasn't there, I would've quit a long time ago because all of those repetitious drills didn't make any sense to me before. I was bored to death doing the same thing. Everything finally clicked that day I had my first shiai experience.