Wasabi

Sometimes when talking to newer kendoka about the objectives and culture of kendo, I am reminded of a manzai comedy sketch I saw many years ago. The principal comedian asked a supposedly  non- Japanese sidekick about his understanding of wabi sabi (the Japanese aesthetic of imperfection and oneness with nature). The foreign straight-man replied that he loved wasabi (Japanese green mustard) and how well it went with sushi and noodles.

The fact that we very seldom “get-it” from day one, is not surprising! Kendo whilst a sport, is built on a multi layered philosophy incorporating Shinto and Confucian and Taoist thought augmented by the principles of Zen. The difficulty in fully understanding the ethos of kendo is not reserved for beginners. Kendo’s culture is similar in some ways to my Microsoft Office software. Most of us get really good use from about 30% of its functionality, although we seldom bother with  the other 70%.

Motivations for taking up kendo are varied: from a love of Star Wars or Manga to an interest in Zen, or to the fact that it simply “looked cool”. For some people of Japanese heritage outside Japan, it’s a link with their roots. In Japan the reasons are equally diverse: “mum made me do it”, “it was compulsory in school”, “it was a way to get fit after the kids graduated from university” etc. Kendo however, has a way of drawing in its practitioners, so that once in the routine of regular training it’s hard to stop. The reasons for keeping going, if even thought about, are very different from the reasons for starting in the first place.

When I started kendo in Japan in the 70’s most of my peers had continued on a path that started in the school system and had given little conscious thought to their reasons for training. Some of the senior members and teachers had started kendo before the Second World War and had been through the occupation and the resultant ban on martial arts. I imagine that this hiatus had caused them to seriously reflect on their motivation before restarting practice.  At the time, I did not have the temerity to ask directly about their experiences and the few conversations I had with them on the subject at drinking parties were hard to remember afterwards.

With hindsight I wish that I had asked more questions, although I doubt that I would have received any more answers. The ethos at the time; was that it would have been beyond impertinence for a beginner in their twenties to ask for justification from a master in their 70’s. The response to philosophical questions was expressed physically. The treatment that I received however was always concerned and courteous. I imagine that at the time, there must have been some internal debate between curiosity as to why a foreigner was interested in something so intrinsically Japanese, and the desire to evangelise the values of kendo.

I have reached the conclusion that whatever your ethnic background, the most important thing is starting kendo in the first place. Of course the drop-out rate is enormous. 90% of those who start kendo beginner’s classes give up within 6 months. But for those who stick with it, the process of regular keiko does more to clarify the meaning of kendo than could any reading matter. The ZNKR “Purpose and Principles of kendo” is a good reference to  kendo’s values, but to quote Nike’s advertising gurus, the best way to achieve knowledge is to – “Just do it”.

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Sports kendo versus shugyo

I was gratified by the high level of feedback to the article on “The Aim of Kendo” by Matsumoto sensei. I know that many of the people that commented are active shiai participants.  This bolstered my view that an understanding of kendo philosophy is a natural bedfellow for hard training and ambition to do well in shiai.

Sometime ago when I was making one of my uncharitable rants against Iai, I received a good natured comment from Scott along the lines of:

“Iai keiko – “did I manage to cut kasso teki? Did I incorporate kankyukyojaku when attacking? Did I exhibit fukaku throughout my embu?”
Kendo keiko – “did I go commando today?””

I certainly take his point, but to be honest I would assume that in the true spirit of zen martial arts you either exhibited kankyukyojaku and fukaku or you didn’t and in the same way you either went commando or you didn’t; and if you didn’t you should be ashamed of yourself.

The point I am trying to get to is that as Matsumoto sensei said “It is the true aim of kendo practice not only to try to improve your technique, but also to train your mind and spirit to find the rightness of mind (“no mind” / mushin), so that your mind, which is the source of the technique; will not be bound by anything.” So in short, we should train without being overtly analytical, but should reflect on how we achieve correct kendo attitude.

So where does shiai fit in? Surely it is the opportunity to test how you have progressed, both in the development of technique and the strength of your mental attitude in as close a situation to “real” shinken kendo as can legally be engaged in. When you are under pressure in shiai, that is the time when the conscious mind shuts down and the reflexes gained through hard training take over.

Some dojo will tell you “we do not teach shiai kendo. Our approach is based upon traditional kendo”. This seems to me to be based on slightly strange reasoning as kendo developed as a means to settle “life or death” contests.

I have a view that what these “traditionalists” are really against is the use of cheap tricks to win in shiai. This is a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree, but I also believe that in high level shiai it is the kendoka who has invested in thousands of hours of grueling basic practice and who avidly reads about the experiences and philosophy of previous generations of sensei who triumphed in the shiaijo.

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Zen and now

In the course of the normal disjointed after keiko conversation, someone mentioned that Google had developed a new application where you can send a picture of an object from your smart phone and Google would tell you what the unknown object is. Kicking this idea around, we decided it might be more useful if you could take a snap of yourself and ask Google the question “who am I”. This app would be of immense value to enthusiastic partygoers, philosophy students and of course Zen practitioners.

I wrote sometime back about the connection between kendo and Zen, talking about the importance of keeping a natural, level mind (heijoshin), unmovable mind (fudoshin), or aiming for the spirit of no mind (mushin) in kendo practice. I have experienced all of these, not simultaneously or constantly in my keiko; but have enjoyed brief flashes of feeling that my mind is in the right place. What I am not sure about is whether these inner elements of kendo have made any lasting difference to me as a person. Yamaoka Tesshu’s assertion that the “Sword of no-sword” is about killing the ego, is an ideal that I subscribe to, but that I find difficult to prove if I have made any real progress in that direction.

I am fortunate have been around for long enough to be on speaking terms with some of the big “third generation” sensei and have met a number of the second generation greats. Although to a man they have all been exceptional people and role models, I have met no-one who is not, or who has not been conscious of his position in the kendo hierarchy and who did not show some sense of rivalry with his peers.

Perfect beings or not, I find it much easier to relate to fellow kendoka than to people that I know from other areas of my life. We have a shared legacy and set of experiences, so even on first meeting we have lots to talk about. Perhaps not so much needs saying between old kendo friends and colleagues. Having known each other for many years, much of what needs to be has already been said; nevertheless we continue to repeat the same conversations. Perhaps this is the most one can hope for: a comfortable if somewhat grumpy view of one’s place in the universe. Either that or another 40 years of practice is needed to reach satori.

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Are kendoka selfish?

Anyone who makes significant progress in a sport or art, has to be to a greater or lesser degree, self-centred; putting in extensive time for training and reflection. Kendo is by nature an introspective pursuit.  The character, do or michi, tells us that it is not just a pastime but a way, a path or roadmap for our lives. If we travel even a moderate distance down this path, we tend to invest an enormous amount of time and mental space in the pursuit of our kendo goals. If we do advance, then the call on our time becomes even greater with teaching, refereeing and grading panels etc.

Samurai in feudal Japan were wholly engaged in following the way of the sword, but modern day kendoka typically have to find space for it amongst the need to earn a living and sustain family and social relationships.

Other kendoka are of course allies, but in my view, even in a closely knit club or dojo, we are intrinsically working towards our individual development, collectively. The sempai, kohai system in kendo ensures that we always have someone to mentor us and because we have common interests and goals we can relate as a group. Justifying our investment in kendo to family members is not nearly as simple.

As a naïve young foreigner in Japan, I was convinced that the families of kendo players were all totally supportive. This, I am sure, is true of professional kendoka whose skill and dedication pay the rent. I am less sure that this is, or was, true of shakaijin kendoka; even though Japanese good manners nearly always resulted in positive comments from wives and children about ottosan’s kendo career.

I was surprised on just one occasion to hear the wife of a much respected older kendo sempai, go into detail about a long history of selfishness and neglect. Admittedly, she was in very poor health and perhaps felt that the time for tatemae was passed. A number of kendo friends of my own age or younger, both in Japan and the west, have had the plug pulled on their marriages or traded in their partner for a more kendo friendly version.

Living with a kendoka must be similar to living with a religious fundamentalist without sharing the beliefs. The good news is that they we not around for much of the time as we are too busy with kendo.

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Enzan no metsuke

The sequence of perception to waza in kendo is described as ichi gan, ni soku, san tan, shi riki.

• One –  (gan) sight
• Two – (soku) feet
• Three – (tan) abdomen (centre / courage)
• Four – (riki) power (technique)

In my understanding, we see the opportunity, immediately push off from the back foot committing the whole of our power from tanden and complete the technique when we reach the target.

Notwithstanding tales of zatoichi , (the blind swordsman),  sight is the first element of any kendo technique and the way that we watch our opponent is crucial to the success of our attack. If we stare at the target we are going to strike, we give our opponent obvious notice of our intention. If we look just at his or her face to try to understand their next action, we may miss the signals they give when they start to move hands or feet. If we look just at feet or hands, we can be easily tricked by movement designed to get our attention.  If we look at the point of the shinai, there is even more chance that we may be fooled by a feint. We therefore use enzan no metsuke, (the way of looking at a far mountain).

As the name suggests, enzan no metsuke is a way of looking at the whole picture; the overall shape of your opponent, his body, hands, feet, shinai and face, particularly his eyes.

At first you may need to train yourself to do this. Hopefully, with experience it becomes second nature. Enzan no metsuke requires a clear unfettered mind, sometimes referred to as heijoshin, (normal mind). You should not anticipate or second guess your opponent’s action, but instead your mind should be a mirror that reflects his true actions and intentions, allowing you to act instantly.

No matter how perfect your perception becomes, it is of little value unless you can develop technique that flows equally instinctively, that too is a product of regular concentrated keiko.

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Ken Ri

One of my most treasured kendo possessions is a piece of calligraphy, given to me by the late Matsumoto Toshio sensei, kyudan.  The characters simply say ken ri, which to my meagre understanding translates as sword reason or theory.

This was the cornerstone of Matsumoto sensei’s teaching and means that there is a reason for any action we make in kendo. At the time I received it, as a 4^th dan in my twenties, it seemed logical if slightly esoteric, but only now as my kendo has matured over the years; does it really start to make sense on a physical level.

When I read the depth of analysis of kendo theory that regularly appears in the various kendo forums, I am amazed at how knowledgeable many relatively new kendoka appear to be about complex concepts. The question, however that is often in the back of my mind is, are they actually able to manifest these theories in their keiko.

I suspect that I may be intellectually lacking, but it is only after I have practiced something continually for years that it starts to make sense on a practical level. For example most forms of seme can only be successfully introduced into your kendo practice if you are completely familiar with the waza that you need to back them up. Irrashai or sasoi no seme where you invite your opponent to attack, is basically a way to allow your opponent to hit you. That is unless you have complete mastery of debana or kaeshi waza or whichever other technique you need to take advantage of his or her movement. So in my view, you need to understand the theory, but more importantly you need to be able to put that theory instinctively into practice, without thinking.

Ken ri is obviously discernable in kendo no kata when it is practiced at the highest level. The difference between going through the motions of kata by numbers and watching the mastery of action and reaction or riai demonstrated by kendo meijin is immense.

Whilst I am still in no position to best guess Matsumoto sensei’s thoughts, I am pretty certain that he was talking about reason when it is understood by the mind and body.

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Kendo and Scouting

I just watched a documentary on the creation of the Scouting Movement by Lord Baden-Powell. Having never been a boy scout, I was intrigued to learn that much of the purpose for and motivation behind this organisation shares a great deal of common ground with kendo. The impetus behind the publication of “Scouting for Boys” and the subsequent creation of the Boy Scouts, was to spread a moral code that had been the prerogative of a privileged few, amongst members of society at all levels. Selflessness, respect for others, team spirit, kindness, self reliance and love of country where all values that were espoused by B-P and his followers.

The methodology behind this was taken from the traditional approach to fair-play developed through rigorous sport and applied to daily life, and ultimately to love of Empire and bravery and sacrifice on the battlefield. When you consider the following official explanation of Kendo’s purpose, there is a great deal of common ground:

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.
• Thus will one be able to contribute to the development of culture,
• And to promote peace and prosperity among all people

Both approaches were developed in island countries with imperial traditions, at a time when society was changing. Of course it is easy to make comparisons of this kind and I imagine that many forms of budo and other sports can claim a similar credo, but nevertheless we have two very dissimilar pursuits with very similar aims.

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Ask not what kendo can do for you ……….

Go rin no sho

To misquote a well known saying!

I use a number of business networking sites for work and do get a lot of value from one in particular – Linkedin. This site is of a size where it has lots of specialist groups, including one for Kendo Business Professionals. In the Q and A sessions for this group, one question that regularly pops up is, “Do you believe that kendo has an impact on your working life”. People come up with some pretty good answers based on allegory using kendo images. Here are some recent examples:
“It does. Ki-Ken-Tai can be seen as intention, action, result and this applies to work too. Also Zanshin is important.. this relates to quality, attention to what has been done and how it worked. Well this is my opinion, I believe KenDo really is a way to achieve greater self-consciousness and increase willingness in life. “

“Definitely. It teaches me to undergo tasks with full potential, purpose and concentration. It helps me deal with stressful situations without losing inner calmness or clarity of mind.”

This is by no means a new phenomenon, back in the eighties and nineties when the Japanese electronics and automotive industries were wiping the floor with their western counterparts; everyone was talking about keiretsu and kaizen. Even non-Japanese methodologies were jumping on the bandwagon with six sigma practitioners qualifying for their green belts and black belts. Books that were originally written to describe kenjutsu techniques and strategies, such as Musashi’s Book of Five Rings became business strategy bibles, much to the delight of their then niche publishers and translators. Chinese philosophy became conveniently japanised. I have somewhere, on a not too visible bookshelf, a copy of “Sun Tzu and the Japanese art of War”. And of course, we had the specially created books like “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, – one of my favourites.

If I think about it objectively, you can draw parallels from any sport or pastime to any other aspect of existence. Life can be a “marathon”, negotiating a “game of chess” and (for UK TV viewers only), in the words of Swiss Tony, “Business is like a beautiful woman”. Kendo players are therefore absolutely right to use elements of their chosen shugyo as an illustration of other areas of their lives.

Where I am not convinced however, is that you should practice kendo specifically to become a better business person, parent or pupil. There is only one reason for practicing kendo – because you want to, and the reason for continuing, even though you hate kakarigeiko whilst you are doing it, is because you enjoy it.

That’s the motivation taken care of. But I do believe that Kendo makes a difference. Significant time spent training hard and sincerely, observance of kendo’s rules of respect and courtesy and the ability to relate to people from around the globe who share a common interest have together, got to help you become a better person. Just do not expect that that extra twenty minutes of kirikaeshi will make you any better at closing deals.

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Kendo and Zen

I am not for a moment going to try to explain the relationship between kendo and zen. To attempt to do so would take me way beyond my own level of understanding. This is more me musing on the different levels of emphasis placed on that relationship by different kendoka.

Along with kyudo, sado, shodo and ikebana to name a few, all of the Japanese sword arts have a strong zen tradition. The various aims of heihoshin (natural mind), fudoshin (immovable mind) and munen muso(no intention no mind) are integral concepts and goals of kendo practice. Kendo however is loud and visibly aggressive and does not tipify the serenity of say, kyudo. This, I believe, makes for a population of kendoka who’s interest in zen ranges from zero to intense.

Whilst kendo has developed around an underlying zen philosophy its concepts could be applied to any other sport. A six in cricket, a baseball home run, a horse and rider clearing a big fence or a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal are all probably achieved in the same spirit of mushin as the perfect men attack, but it is unlikely that the conversation in the post match dressing room will cover satori.

I find it strange, if after years of a practice, a kendoka has no interest in reigi or the theory of kendo, but it is more disconcerting if someone takes up kendo with a religious fervour or belief that they are there for instant enlightenment. It is easy to talk about zen concepts, but without long hard training there is no chance that you will really understand how they apply to kendo.

Through continued kendo practice, people certainly achieve moments of clarity and for me it is the perfect way to continue to exercise my body whilst occasionally feeling that I am becoming to understand myself better than I did a few years ago. However if you are looking for instant dharma, skip the kendo and go straight to the zazen.

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A little knowledge is a dangerous thing……

Sanbiki saru

George makes the very valid comment on my post about kyoshi, that sitting the test in Japanese, stops foreigners with insufficient knowledge, from passing shogo on an uneven playing field. I still think that what writing in Japanese best tests is your ability to write Japanese.

I do agree that non Japanese kendoka have much less theoretical and philosophical information available to them, despite the efforts of FIK and the guys at Kendo World. Having said that, I am sure that the depth to which people wish to explore the spiritual and technical aspects depends on their personality rather than their nationality. I have reached this conclusion pretty much by guesswork, as in my experience British and Japanese men share the inability to talk about anything serious with other men. Not for us an evening in a cafe on the Boulevard des Capucins nursing a glass of absinthe and discussing existentialist philosophy. We are more likely to spend our soiree with 12 bottles of Sapporo in Shinjuku or Dotombori and a conversation that roams around the weather, the best place to eat Korean barbecue and the fact that old Suzuki has just married a woman half his age.

So although our relationships are based on kendo, I really do not have a clue about their view on kendo philosophy or their motivation to devote such a large slice of their life to continued keiko. I do however know whether they prefer sweet or dry sake, red or white wine and the names of their children and pets.

I have had verbal explanations of kendo theory and philosophy, but they have come from very senior sensei, mostly Hanshi and mostly over the age of sixty. My pet theory is that only when teachers reach this level do they have the confidence to express an opinion on the more esoteric aspects of kendo. More often than not though, they do this in writing, keeping to practical and physical instruction in the dojo. This brings then brings us back to my starting point that most of these writings are in Japanese and not available to western students.

Language issues aside, I beleive that most sensei will do their best to answer questions, no matter how complex, although it is far more likely that you will be taken seriously if the question is appropriate to your level of kendo development. Curiosity is a valuable attribute, but I personally do not think there is much value in trying to understand fudoshin on the second week of the beginners course. It is even more imperative that students do not get too creative with their interpretation of terminology until they are sure of all the answers. Many years ago a dojo in Scotland was named after “The bullet sword”, unfortunately the Shinkanken dojo was named using the characters for The New Trunk Sword.

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