(Written by Commander )

Kendo in Life, Life in Kendo… I’m so Confused I Don’t Know Anymore…

“When your life is bad, do Kendo… then your Kendo becomes good… then your
life becomes good”

Those were the words I got a few years ago from Tsuji Sensei at a
particularly tough time in my life. Even though it didn’t make sense to me
at the time, I tried it anyways. It took me 3 years before I understood
what it means, at least for me…
I found that doing Kendo is NOT going to miraculously change your life for
the better, that would be preposterous! Kendo when done right however, can
not only train you physically, but more importantly mentally and
spiritually. When I say spiritually, I do NOT mean as a religion. Training
in Kendo non-verbally incorporates a lot of what we need in life to
survive as a human being. In training we often found ourselves applying
the virtues of humility, respect, grateful and trying hard not giving up.
Those are the qualities that we need to survive in this harsh real life as
a human being. In training, they are rarely spoken of, but nevertheless
practiced.
As I am saying this, in no way I am conveying that I have mastered them.
In fact, often times I forget and found myself having to re-learn
everything over again.
Even though Tsuji Sensei wasn’t exactly the strongest Sensei at the dojo,
but I will forever be grateful and respect him for this one thing he has
taught me.
Perhaps one day, all of you will tell your own story about your Kendo and
your Life.