[11011001]

Wow, thought I would post in the lounge again. I have to stay away from it though. It takes up way too much time, time that I need for school!!! And now for Kendo!!!

Er, so ya, I took up Kendo. And it's awesome.

I came in with no expectations, very much on purpose, because I didn't want to be disapointed, and because I wanted to get rid of any misconceptions I might have about it from Hollywood, or from anime.

Granted, the whole idea for wanting to take it actually came from watching Rurouni Kenshin. I didn't want to becoming a fighting machine or anything, I honestly could care less about beating peope up, but rather I wanted to become a better person, and this show gave me the idea that this was possible through the study and practice of Kendo.

So here I am. I am learning confidence, and great respect and patience. It's actually kind of scary, I am usually really impatient, but recently I have actually developed some sort of patience when talking with people. And I am even feeling more confident around people. By confident I don't mean that I am shy or half self esteem issues, rather I don't like being around people. This doesn't mean I am afraid to get up infront of a crowd and start talking, or be the first one to do somethin, I do both of these things, rather it means that I am not so totally freaked out by the prospect of having to spend any great deal of time around people. I am not shy, I am anti social and enjoy my own company more than others, but kendo seems to be changing that.

And ya, I am ever so slowly starting to gain an understanding of discipline, determination and honour are... it's a good thing. Besides it's really fun.

So, Kendo has greatly exceeded my expectations, and I think that it can only continue to do so.

So has anyone else studied Kendo/studies it? What are your reasons? Ooo!! And does it always stay this difficult? How long does it take to becoming decent at it? You know, whatever

(and is MikeM32 still around?)

[BlackGriffen]

You haven't seen kendo until you've seen Kunou from Ranma 1/2! Don't forget Motoko form Love Hina and Suzuka form Outlaw Star...

You can get those sort of benefits from just about any martial art; assuming it's well instructed, that is. Good for you, though. I'm glad you've found something productive to put your energy in to. Last I recall hearing from you, you were still pining away over ol' what's-her-name.

Congratulations, and keep it up. You'll go far if you stick to it.

Aikidoka des (well, sort of).

BlackGriffen

[Millennium]

Kendo's cool. While I don't have any personal experience with it, I do have some training in kenjutsu, its ancestor. Very, very cool.

If you want to get more extreme, you may want to consider iaido. This one has the rather interesting quirk that you have to spar with a live blade; the techniques simply do not work with shinai. The reason for this is perhaps best understood when you learn that there's another name for the art: battoujutsu. That's right; this is the same general stuff that the Hitokiri Battousai himself practiced. Not that you'll be pulling off a Do Ryu Sen, but the art is based off of the same general idea.

At some point, what I'd really like to learn is kyudo, the art of the Japanese longbow. That one looks like fun.

FUN FACT: Rurouni Kenshin is historical fiction. Many of the characters actually existed. There really was a Hitokiri Battousai, and a Saitou Hajime, and a Shishio Makoto, among others. The events of the series, though, are for the most part total speculation.

FUN FACT #2: All of the techniques used in Kenshin are named after real martial arts techniques. However, they don't necessarily do the same things in reality that they do in the anime. Jinei's Shin no Ippou technique actually is fairly close to reality, though it doesn't paralyze people with their own fear. The actual technique exploits a martial artist's focus to hypnotize him with his own concentration (kind of like the Hyouki use of the Shin no Ippou, but I don't think it's usable on oneself).

[sambeau]

Wasn't he a masked wrestler by the name of Nagasaki?