Lesson: Two Areas of Kendo

Today, we had Costa Mesa Dojo's get-together dinner. I had a great time having dinner and talking to our dojo's Senseis and members.

During the dinner, we had a discussion about Kendo (surprise!) w/ Jae Choi Sensei, and he said that there are two major schools of thoughts in Kendo.

One is Shiai Kendo* where shinai is considered to be what it is (a stick), and this school of thought emphasizes on more practical aspect of Kendo.

The other is Iyai Kendo* where shinai is considered to be a substitute of the real sword, and this school of thought emphasizes on the traditional cutting of the blade thus teaches us to strike as if we're cutting w/ the actual sword.

He said that there's no right way or wrong way, and both of them have its advantages and disadvantages. For example, for Shiai Kendo, it is more practical yet it requires a kenshi to be more physically able, thus as the kenshi ages, it becomes more difficult to do this kind of Kendo. As for Iyai Kendo, it is more traditional and the kenshi can practice this regardless of his/her age, but it can also be less practical in the real life Kendo b/c we're actually using shinai not the real sword.

This discussion clarified my confusion, which I had for long long time. Over the years, some Senseis told me to "strike as if you're cutting w/ the actual sword" while other Senseis told me to "strike w/out unnecessary movements." I've been confused b/c they were all great Senseis whom I had great respect.

When we start Kendo as a beginner, we all think that there's one right way. But, as we get deeper into the world of Kendo, we realize that the spirit and techniques of Kendo are manifested in different ways through different person b/c we're all different (spiritually, mentally, and physically). I guess that's the beauty of Kendo?

*I don't know these terms actually exist or Jae Choi Sensei came up w/ these to give us an illustration of what he was explaining to us. But either way, I understood what he meant by them.