adam

Today i attended my first lesson with my new しない in tow. Even though my friends had not come to practise, there was a group of three other males who were fresh beginners, so I was not alone in my apprehension.

Doug (3rd Dan, he stated he was not a sensei) took aside the beginners to pactise outside after warm-up and すぶり(“striking the air”). The lesson was spent on the fundamentals: stance, posture, how to hold your blade, ettiquette, and then onto the importance of technique over strength. Apparently women learn kendo faster than men because they do not have the macho strength mental barrier to contend with, and just get “it”.

We learnt the three basic techniques: めん(head),こて(wrist) and ど(chest).

The lesson was tiring but not wearing ( for which i am glad) – despite the lightness of the bamboo しない the drills worked many upper arm and back muscles that I don’t think i have ever worked. The lesson also taught me the importance of lower back strength- if i am to get any kind of endurance for physical exercise i have a lot of work to do in that area.

Before the very end of class, we went from practising forms to hitting a ranking student dressed in full armour across the head. I was not prepared for this part of the lesson, jumping from theoretical to practical, and my doubt affected my performance greatly. This will be my achilles heel, i fear. Have to toughen up this timid self of me a bit.

After the lesson on my way home there was a fortuitous billboard outside a church that held an appropriate reflection for the day: When was the last time you tried something for the very first time?

This was a great reminder about breaking out of the secure bubble worlds we all maintain. Now I have a whole new world to immerse myself in at least twice a week!

Last night a party of 3 peasants with warrior dreams in their eyes rocked up to the local dojo to witness the first training session of the year for the Sydney Kendo Club.

The new student liaison was busy doing admin before the class, so we watched from the sidelines until we could talk to him at the end of the session.

It was an amazing experience as i dealt with my reactions to the lesson unfolding before me. It was heartening to see a rag tag bunch of student warriors of all genders, cultures and shapes practise under the tutealge of the sensei (a character who i am sure i will have more to write about soon).

After watching the patterns and drills and onto the free sparring, i was scared by the energy and violence, having not observed this martial art from anything except photos. Being the sensitive introverted empath i am, the group’s psychic energy thrilled and frightened me.

I made mental why this sport wasn’t for me, and why i couldn’t do it. It was the art of killing, the art of warfare, of survival and savagery. It was not a sport for buddhists or artists. I was ready to leave half way through, but I started recognising the familiar pattern of bullshit self talk. I was making excuses yet again not to do something that I truly want to do, just because it involved effort and physicality (and the potential for some pain). With this frame in mind, I continued to watch from another persective…

At the end of the lesson we met the under-sensei and the student liasiaon who had literally taken off their scary Kabutos to reveal the quirky, fun, ALIVE characters they were.

Buoyed by the enthusiasm of my two companions, the openess of the teachers, and the resonance of my own contemplation, i am now very excited about being part of a new community, being a student, and being part of a tradition of style, ettiquette and discipline.

My dusty japanese will also get some practise as well!

Now i am off to buy myself a shinai (bamboo practise sword) in preparation for my first real session on saturday.

After 3 years of on-and-off searching for an online resource to study Armenian, I needed look no further than a site home grown on Sydney’s Northern Beaches: Hye Etch.

Sent the money order off today – can’t wait to bust some serious hayastani on my [girlfriend’s] family!