Alexander C Bennett has two PhDs in human studies and sciences from the
Canterbury and Kyoto University.
He holds the ranks of 7th dan Kyoshi in Kendo, 5th dan in Iaido and Naginata, 3rd Dan in
Jukendo and Tankendo.
He is professor at Kansai University of both Kendo and Japanese Culture and History,
Vice-president of the International Naginata Federation, Member of the International Committee of the
All Japan Kendo Federation, director at the Japanese Academy of Budo, cofounder of the
Kendo World Magazine, and author of several books in English and Japanese.
This series starts with Alex's first visit to Japan, his first encounter with Kendo,
and what put him on the tracks that lead him where he is now, 30 years later.
Season 1, Episode 1 - First steps in Japan and first contact with Kendo
Well before I came to Japan, I have no idea what I was doing because that was so long
ago.
I first came to Japan when I was seventeen, as a high school student.
But I was originally from New Zealand, I'm a New Zealand citizen and basically my first
experience with the martial arts was after I came to Japan and joined the
high school Kendo club.
But before that I've never really had anything to do with Budo, but I had always been really
into sports like soccer, cricket and volleyball.
I was always keeping myself really active and sports right the way through my childhood.
But I came to Japan in 1987 for the first time because I wanted to learn Japanese language,
and the mid to late eighties of course was a very interesting time in Japan: it was right
in the middle of the bubble economy.
So I thought to myself: "Wahou if I can learn Japanese and have a piece of the Japanese
pie!".
So that's why I came over here and I sort of, especially for a one-year exchange, but
then I got sort of forced into joining the Kendo club at my high school and really that
was…
Everything before that time, now seems so far away, it was like a life-changing experience and it's kept
me in Japan ever since, so almost… well thirty years now that I've lived
in Japan.
When I was here in 1987 for the first time as an exchange student, I went to a school
in Chiba, which is not far from Tokyo, and my intention actually was to join the school
soccer club.
But, you know, if you live in Japan you know this very well: Japanese schools do not have
a lot of grass.
Ok, so the sports grounds are all sort of like deserts really, and it's like stones
and dust, and I saw the soccer club practising on this sandpit and I thought: "Aah, it's
not the soccer that I grew up doing".
And I thought: "What should I do?
I want to do something, I want to join a school club because that's the best
way to make friends."
and so on.
And then my host mother, I had a Japanese host family for the time that I was here,
my host mother suggested: "Well, you're in Japan, why don't you do something Japanese
for a year?".
And I thought: "Ah, that's a good idea.
I didn't think of that."
And my school, Inage High School, had two Budo clubs.
There was a Judo club and a Kendo club.
If there was a Karate club, probably I would've gravitated towards the Karate club, because
well in those days, Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio and all, it was quite popular and
it was pretty cool.
But there was no Karate club, because Karate, until very recently, is very much a minor
Budo in Japan actually, isn't it? So there was Kendo or Judo, and I went and saw the Judo,
there weren't many people in the Judo club, and the teacher looked a little bit weird.
I thought: "Uh, that's probably not for me."
So then I went next door and saw Kendo, and it was the first time I've ever seen it,
and it was just crazy.
I thought: "What the hell is going on here?".
It was like, watching something out of Star Wars.
The sensei of the club, Sano-sensei, he was over and he was much bigger than anybody of
course. And he was just destroying everybody like a superior Jedi, and all his underlings
were just going crazy like you know, Kamikaze pilots: attack, attack, attack!
And getting destroyed in the process.
It was really bizarre, it was like I'd never seen anything like it.
And it terrified me, actually, because I didn't know what was go ing on, it just looked really
violent.
So it sort of terrified me, you know. in one sense, but it also totally fascinated me as
well.
I thought: "Wow, can I do this?".
And I didn't know it at the time but, the mere fact that I went into the dojo and was
watching, the sensei, Sano-sensei, just assumed that I was there to join the club.
I was there to look and check it out but, you know it's like Hotel California: once you
check in, there ain't no checking out.
So it was like…
I had to do Kendo from that day and to be honest, I really hated it.
At first, you know it was different, but then you know, so really unnatural posture,
you know: right hand forward, right foot forward, holding the sword in front of your body and
doing lots and lots and lots of suburi every day, trying to reprogram your body to these really unnatural
movements, or what seemed like unnatural movements.
I got blisters all over my hands, all over my feet, sore muscles that I didn't even
know I had.
It was just really tedious too so I wanted to quit after one week because everyday is
training after school.
School finishes at, I can't remember, it was about 3:30, and then they call it bukatsu, that's
school clubs, and they start at 4 o'clock and go to about 6 o'clock.
But unlike New Zealand, New Zealand is like we're enjoying sports clubs, they're seasonal
so you might play rugby or soccer in the winter and then in the summertime you play cricket
and you only practice once or twice a week and then you have a match on Saturday but
there's no school right?
But in Japan it's like seven days a week.
On Saturday we have classes at school, well I don't know if they do now but they did
in those days so, but classes would finish at 12 o'clock.
So then we'd have Kendo practice from 1 o'clock to 6 o'clock on Saturday, and
then on Sunday from 9 o'clock to 6 o'clock.
So seven days a week, it was horrible.
There's no way that you can have a break or a: "Ah, I don't feel like going to training
today" or anything like this.
It's like boot camp: you've got to go.
And so I wanted to quit because it was, like I said it was a little bit tedious at first,
I didn't really understand what was going on, because Kendo is quite difficult to grasp
when you've never done it before.
And this teacher was scary, okay, and yea, I just really had no idea what the hell was going on.
So I went up to Sano-sensei after a week and in my very very bad Japanese I said, you
know: "I quit.
Thank him for the experience but no thanks."
And he glared at me: "Dame da yo!" which means: "No way am I gonna let you quit."
And I thought: "Oh, I thought that was my decision…" but no, it was his.
So that was it I was stuck and I must, you know, confess, I was very, I was a reluctant member of the club
for probably about a half a year.
But there were certain things that kept me there, gradually I started to understand
what we're supposed to be doing in Kendo.
But also I became very close friends with my, you know, my club mates as it were because
training was really hard, and sometimes it was really violent and nasty, and you sort
of go through this together.
We couldn't really converse very easily, because of my lack of Japanese at the time
and they obviously didn't speak English and we sort of just make do.
But just through the shared experience of going through this hell every day, without
even knowing you form these really strong bonds of friendship.
And so it was the friends that I made through the Kendo club that sort of kept me there
long enough to finally have an epiphany one day that: "Hey, this is actually pretty
profound.
This is pretty cool."
So I'm glad that Sano-sensei, made me stay in the Kendo club.
But if I had my own way, I probably wouldn't be, wouldn't have continued doing Kendo
at all, and I wouldn't be sitting here, all these years later.
In the next episode, Alex will show us how, despite a tough first approach, Kendo has
become his way of life.
Perhaps he did see something.
Budo is just something else.
Allegorically killed me many times over.
You know there are times where we do get disillusioned with Budo and all the politics
Stay tuned for our next episode on Seido's Channel
For more infomation >> Piétonnisation d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins - Duration: 1:51. 
For more infomation >> BMW X5 3.0D HIGH EXECUTIVE Navigatie Leer Panoramadak Xenon Afn. Trekhaak 18"LM 235Pk! ZONDAG A.S. O - Duration: 0:57. 
For more infomation >> Kia cee'd Sportswagon 135pk Navi Camera Ecc Pdc Tel. Cruise Mist. 1.6 GDI Businessline - Duration: 0:41. 
For more infomation >> BMW X3 2.0D BUSINESS LINE Navi 18"LM Trekhaak 177PK! ZONDAG A.S. OPEN! - Duration: 0:53. 
For more infomation >> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)''Seksi Kemikler''( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) | Sans eve sapık dergi getirirse :D -Türkçe Altyaızlı - Duration: 1:03. 
For more infomation >> Queer Read-A-Thon {CC} - Duration: 6:39. 
For more infomation >> Marta : "Erasmus, c'est l'expérience que tout le monde devrait vivre" (2/2) [30 ans d'Erasmus] - Duration: 7:40. 
For more infomation >> Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records Opening (+ Sub FR) - Duration: 1:31. 
For more infomation >> Ricochet - Rencontres entre passionnés - Trailer - Duration: 0:23. 
For more infomation >> Xavier Foupa Pokam - La Motivation - Duration: 0:29. 
For more infomation >> Tryo Sphère - Épisode 8 (à la rencontre de la Tricyclerie) - Duration: 1:43. 
No comments:
Post a Comment