Iaido and Kendo in Yushinkan

9 march

Across the front bars of my helmet, or men, I am looking at the eyes of my companion. But not only. Both she and me are looking at the whole of us, at the slight advance of the feet or the tiny tremble in the wrists that betrays the start of an attack. In our hands there is a Japanese sword made of bamboo, pointing at the other. Sooner or later she, or me, will blink. And then I’ll strike her, or she’ll strike me. As fast and precisely as we can, but not hard. We are learning Kendo together, and for that we need to see each other and be agile. It is not easy to really see somebody else. We need internal calm, we need to silence the noise of our own minds. There is tension in giving full attention to other and there is the empathy needed to predict her next actions. On top of all that I need to know what to do when the opportunity opens. To have come to this encounter we have expend countless hours training our strikes, becoming faster, more coordinated, more agile. This encounter will end in few minutes, and then we will be back at the discipline of repetitive training. Boring for some, for us a way of become better persons.

A few centuries back Japan stop being a land teared appart by warfare between warrying warlords. A charismatic leader, Tokugawa Ieyasu, created a feudal system of centralized peace, proclaiming himself as Shogun and controlling most of Japan. One problem to solve, known to many leaders of war in peace time, was what to do with the thousands of skilled warriors, trained for the just ended killing of each other? Ieyasu solution was to convert them in, as a matter of fact, bureaucrats. The samurai were conscript to actually run the country, and were asked to become literate, not only warriors, but also educated artists capable of write poetry and govern a peaceful region. Yet the samurai were, primarily, warriors. And so many non lethal martial arts developed. Just like jousting in medieval Europe, the japanese developed their own ways to keep warriors physically and spiritually sharp, without killing each other. From that tradition modern Kendo evolved, the japanese way of the sword, where pretty much like in western fencing, two persons meet each other in armour and with a sword, trying to strike the other first.   

Once again, I am sitting with my lower legs folded under me. In my belt there is a katana, and I try, again, to quiet the noise of my own thoughts. In a moment I will unsheat my sword and will perform a kata. But right now I am focusing, trying to create some peace of mind for myself. A kata is a set of prescribed movements and cuts, with a katana, the ancient japanese sword. They are meant to be a reaction to an imagined situation, like somebody else trying to cut me, and me neutering the attack, counterattacking, and resheating my own sword after cleaning it. Yet nowadays nobody will try to cut me with a sword, not I carry mine with me around. Differently than other martial arts, Iaido, the art of swiftly unsheathing a katana, is not meant to be of any martial use. Yet by putting myself in the imaginary situation of a life threatening situation, and reacting to it with calm and control of my body, I have gained selfcontrol in the rest of my life. There is the undeniable pleasure and fascination of handling a japanese saber in ways designed centuries ago. Some of us use sabres made 400 years ago, others have theirs made to measure by masters artisans of Japan. Our japanese teachers are part of a live tradition, that still explores, analyze and and improves those handlings we learn. By learning directly from them we partake in another culture, broadening our horizons. But besides all this, Iaido is, just like Kendo, a way to gain peace through self understanding.

Nowadays in The Netherlands there are quite few opportunities to practice both Iaido and Kendo. There is a national federation, the Nederlandse Kendo Renmei, who maintains a sense of identity and coherency in the many clubs that practice these arts. Modern Kendo is taught in more than ten different clubs across the country and Iaido can be learned from at least  four different old styles, all sharing a common modern cannon that allow the existence of national exchanges and mutual learning. Yushinkan, my group based in Utrecht, is about to start beginners courses both in Iaido and in Kendo. Want to take a look and perhaps participate? drop us a line: yushinkan.com/cursus.php