Kendo is hard. i know this is ignorant sounding, "why wouldn't a martial art be hard?" you might say. It takes on a whole new sense of reality when you're staring the proverbial cliff of progress in the face, as ironic as that may sound.
My sensei stopped practice mid-way through in order to tell us something. He told us the percentage of people who pass the 8th degree black belt* test, then proceeded down the line and told us the sheer amount of people it takes to get to 1 person passing the test. millions of people. he asked us if we knew what what kept so many people back and we couldn't give an answer he then explained it in detail. it's the kenshi's mind. we keep ourselves back with various reasons. at the high levels your mind needs to have a certain mindset. the subtle strategy involved, the traps you put yourself into with doubt and arrogance. but most importantly, you have to have passion and perseverance.
people let things and excuses get in the way. my sensei said the rest of the dojo can feel when one of us doesn't make it to practice, and he's right.in the dojo, our practice raises to the average level of skill that the dojo has. the stronger people in the dojo, the stronger the other people get as well as the speed of their strength gain. not only was i keeping myself back by letting an excuse of being tired get in the way of my kendo, but my absences was keeping my fellow dojo members back as well because my skill wasn't improving.
sensei then mentioned various excuses like "my parents make me go, i turned 18 so i was able to quit" and looked at one of my friends, he's about 45 and has a son that's a second degree black belt like me, and that statement hit my like a ton of bricks. his son was one of my rivals, someone of the same age and yet far superior in kendo than i. my biggest goal had been to surpass him.
there's this crazy thing about rivals. i may sound cliche or whatever, but it's true. this rival had started a couple years before me. I resented him for being better than me, i resented myself for not being able to catch up. but more than that, he was my friend. i wanted him to succeed in kendo and be happy just as much as i wanted to surpass him. he had been missing practices, sure, but i never thought he'd leave kendo. it's quite saddening.
i've only ever beaten him in a tournament once, and i'll post that story in the next blog i post.
one of the most disheartening things about him leaving kendo is that he never acknowledged me as his rival even after i beat him that first and only time. i wanted to surpass him and then he'd have to catch up and acknowledge my strength and my validity of being his rival. there's something about seeing your rivals and the people stronger than you lose interest or passion, is really quite sad. it's like a sinking feeling that's like losing something. i don't mean a vicarious feeling, i'm not eloquent enough to be able to explain it well enough.
one positive thing it did do, however, is it increased my will to become as strong as i possibly can. i won't lose heart like he did. starting today, i'm doing drills that will increase linearly. 30 push ups with a second pause going down. i'll increase it by 2 pushups per day, 100 sword swings increasing by 10 each day. 45 squats per day increasing by 3 everyday.i will travel to every dojo i can. no matter how much sleep i miss, no matter how long it takes or how much money i spend getting there. i need to get stronger.
my determination is such that i will surpass everyone in my dojo, in my division, in this country and then if i dare myself, i'll put all my might into surpassing everyone in the world. i do not say this passively, i say this with as much conviction as i have. no matter how long it takes, no matter what sacrifices i have to make, i will surpass everyone. this is how i'll show my love for this martial art and my passion to become the best.
i'm listening to amon amarth, and combined with the subject matter, i feel it's making me melodramatic so imma stop for now, lol.
*highest degree you can get through tests. some 9th degrees are still alive, but they don't give them out anymore
My sensei stopped practice mid-way through in order to tell us something. He told us the percentage of people who pass the 8th degree black belt* test, then proceeded down the line and told us the sheer amount of people it takes to get to 1 person passing the test. millions of people. he asked us if we knew what what kept so many people back and we couldn't give an answer he then explained it in detail. it's the kenshi's mind. we keep ourselves back with various reasons. at the high levels your mind needs to have a certain mindset. the subtle strategy involved, the traps you put yourself into with doubt and arrogance. but most importantly, you have to have passion and perseverance.
people let things and excuses get in the way. my sensei said the rest of the dojo can feel when one of us doesn't make it to practice, and he's right.in the dojo, our practice raises to the average level of skill that the dojo has. the stronger people in the dojo, the stronger the other people get as well as the speed of their strength gain. not only was i keeping myself back by letting an excuse of being tired get in the way of my kendo, but my absences was keeping my fellow dojo members back as well because my skill wasn't improving.
sensei then mentioned various excuses like "my parents make me go, i turned 18 so i was able to quit" and looked at one of my friends, he's about 45 and has a son that's a second degree black belt like me, and that statement hit my like a ton of bricks. his son was one of my rivals, someone of the same age and yet far superior in kendo than i. my biggest goal had been to surpass him.
there's this crazy thing about rivals. i may sound cliche or whatever, but it's true. this rival had started a couple years before me. I resented him for being better than me, i resented myself for not being able to catch up. but more than that, he was my friend. i wanted him to succeed in kendo and be happy just as much as i wanted to surpass him. he had been missing practices, sure, but i never thought he'd leave kendo. it's quite saddening.
i've only ever beaten him in a tournament once, and i'll post that story in the next blog i post.
one of the most disheartening things about him leaving kendo is that he never acknowledged me as his rival even after i beat him that first and only time. i wanted to surpass him and then he'd have to catch up and acknowledge my strength and my validity of being his rival. there's something about seeing your rivals and the people stronger than you lose interest or passion, is really quite sad. it's like a sinking feeling that's like losing something. i don't mean a vicarious feeling, i'm not eloquent enough to be able to explain it well enough.
one positive thing it did do, however, is it increased my will to become as strong as i possibly can. i won't lose heart like he did. starting today, i'm doing drills that will increase linearly. 30 push ups with a second pause going down. i'll increase it by 2 pushups per day, 100 sword swings increasing by 10 each day. 45 squats per day increasing by 3 everyday.i will travel to every dojo i can. no matter how much sleep i miss, no matter how long it takes or how much money i spend getting there. i need to get stronger.
my determination is such that i will surpass everyone in my dojo, in my division, in this country and then if i dare myself, i'll put all my might into surpassing everyone in the world. i do not say this passively, i say this with as much conviction as i have. no matter how long it takes, no matter what sacrifices i have to make, i will surpass everyone. this is how i'll show my love for this martial art and my passion to become the best.
i'm listening to amon amarth, and combined with the subject matter, i feel it's making me melodramatic so imma stop for now, lol.
*highest degree you can get through tests. some 9th degrees are still alive, but they don't give them out anymore