Kendo (the Way of the Sword)

I started Kendo right before my daugther Tehya was born. A couple of factors lead to this decision. I had gained a lot of sympathy weight with my wife, I had reached 250 lbs, and much of that was not muscle. The second reason-- it was free. At our local YMCA members could join the Kendo Sessions for free. I sat in on the first class to observe only. What I saw truly captivated me. Not only is Kendo an intense workout, full of cardiovascular movements, but there was more to it than just hitting people with sticks and lots of yelling.

Don't get me wrong, hitting someone with a stick with primal screams is the best stress relief that anyone can achieve. You can finally "let go" of your self-regulated behavior and express yourself fully.

Above and beyond that Kendo is a mental discipline. You must focus beyond your physical conditions, movement and direction and focus your entire being --Body, Mind and Soul -- into a split second movement. You must overcome your opponents mind and spirit in order to win. Many points in Kendo are determined by fractions of a second. To see a Kendo match in real life is an amazing event. You can feel the tension between the opponents. You can see the beauty in the precision and determination of the Kendoka. Participating in a match....thats even better.

At first Kendo is painful...very painful, your feet blister, and blister...and blister on broken blisters. But once my "baby soft" sneaker-protected American feet adapted with tougher skin-- I am now able to concentrate on my form.

I feel truly honored to be learning from Ishikawa Sensei and look forward to many more years of practice.

The photo above is from demonstration a few years ago. I was still beginning. It was the end of June on a very hot day 98 degrees --we were on Astroturf...which absorbs sunlight/heat. As you can see we are in bare feet...and I would estimate the AstroTurf at 150-170 degrees. Even though the demonstration was only 10 minutes long, my feet paid the price. The entire ball of my foot on both feet, blistered and peeled about 15 minutes after the demonstration.