Back to the beginning of last semester, our club welcomed semester 1 members, and after almost half years’ training as “beginners”, they are now (finally!!) about to receive their own bogu, and start the next stage of Kendo training where they will be one step forward along the road of Kendo, with all armour on!
I bet they must have thought a lot about each stage from time to time, so I prepared six questions for them and eventually made it to ask two members from semester 1 cohort, Anni and Roy. It turned up they really really appreciate Kendo and the club! I’ll say no more; let’s hear (read) what they say about Kendo and the players!
1. Can you tell us something about yourself?
Anni: Hello, my name’s Annie, I’m a third-year Bachelor of Nursing student studying at the University of Sydney.
Roy: My name is Xuanqi Wang. You can call me Roy. I’m studying Master of Commerce, and this is my first year. I like playing computer games and football.
2. How long have you been doing kendo and why did you start?
Anni: I started kendo at the beginning of semester 1 this year (2018), so I guess it’s only been around 4-5 months? The time has gone so quickly! I was finally persuaded into joining kendo by one of the senior students (Victor) who went to the same high school as me. I honestly had not much idea about kendo but decided I wanted to try something new, as well as meet lots of new people and make lots of new friends, so I signed up!!! I’m really glad that I joined and wished I had done so in first year of the degree instead of now, my third year!!!!
Roy: I have been doing kendo for 4 months. I choose to do kendo because I’m interested in samurai and katana. Also, I want to learn some weapon skills.
3. Having been doing kendo for a while, do you have any new ideas about it?
Anni: When I first started kendo, I honestly did not have much expectations about it, as my only exposure to it had come from watching the demo at o-week. But very quickly I realised that kendo is much more that just a sport. Not only is it good for developing physical fitness, it also challenges your mind and spirit to coordinate and embody everything with every swing of the shinai.
I also realised that there is a lot of culture and philosophy underpinning kendo. Once my friend said, you can learn so much about life just from kendo. And I reckon that’s definitely true!!
Roy: Before doing kendo, I think it just teaches you how to swing a sword, how to hit people effectively, something like these. But after a few months, I found that kendo not just focuses on physical technique but also needs to work on metal stuff. One thing I learned from kendo is when you fail, keep your head up and when you success, keep your head down. This is really helpful during university time.
4. Up to now, what do you like about kendo the most, or what do you think will keep you doing kendo?
Anni: The best thing about kendo for me is the communal aspect of it- everyone doing everything together, from the rei at the beginning and end of training, to technique practice and hayasuburi (notable mention to Ervin for making us work hard but achieve more than we thought was possible!). As such, I really enjoy the social aspect of kendo, being able to form good relationships with others in a similar situation to myself as well as learning from seniors.
Apart from this, I enjoy the physical and mental challenges of kendo, including developing more stamina, faster reflexes, and better focus and concentration and overall bodily awareness in space. And, doing kiai is great fun and good for relieving stress too!!!
Roy: I like the atmosphere in our club. People are friendly and easy to get alone with. Sensei and instructors are patient to beginners. And every month we have a pub night, it’s cool.
5. Any expectations about bogu training?
Anni: I expect that kendo practice will only get more interesting, fun and challenging with wearing bogu. I’m really excited about having more chances to practice hitting real targets with my kendo peers!!!! Also, having to train with a men on in the future has forced me (in a good way) to develop the new skill of putting in and taking out contact lenses (:p) as I wear glasses and they will not fit inside! Haha. I also hear that bogu is heavy so maybe it’s good to wear it around the house to get used to it!?(reference is Tanton- haha from his interview!)
Roy: Bogu training is harder than our current training, I can feel it from seniors. There will be lots of hitting and requires a good stamina. It’s hard but I am still excited to start our bogu training. Because I don’t have to hit air or other one’s shinai.
6. Anything else you’d like to say, about kendo, or about the people in the club?
Anni: Kendo people are very friendly. It’s kinda like one big family where everyone kinda looks out for each other. If you’re thinking about joining, don’t hesitate to give it a go! It wil teach you so much more than you expect. Also, I thank the instructors for teaching us beginners and showing us the kendo way!!! You guys and girls have played a very important role in making kendo enjoyable! We wouldnt be ae to do it without your help 🙂 (>> Tomo, Ervin, Twins, Anna, Rachel, Kai, Jordan, Takayama sensei, and anyone else my bad memory fails to recall!!!)
Roy: Kendo requires more discipline than I thought. We must follow the process before and after our training. To show respect to our club and sensei. Instructors and seniors are nice to our beginners. Sometimes we go to dinner together after training.