By KATHRYN SORENSON
A samurai with a drawn sword faces his opponent. The fear of death encompasses his body. What causes his fear?
The Buddhist’s believe the source of such fear is one’s own mind. To survive, one must conquer the fear within before the opponent can be conquered. This is kendo.
BYU student Chris Watchman is the only known student at BYU who participates in the sport kendo and has been practicing kendo for a little more than a year.
“I was in karate when I was 12 and became fascinated with the art of sword fighting. That’s when I found out about kendo,” Watchman said.
Watchman, who is from Canada, didn’t have any luck finding teachers of the sport until he came to BYU and looked on the Internet.
“I called a search for kendo on the Internet and found three different places in Utah that teach it. I decided to go to Weber State,” Watchman said.
Kendo is the modern version of Japanese Swordsmanship. It was used by the samurai as a way to “tame their egos,” according to Minoru Kiyota’s book, “Kendo.”
Swords were the principal weapons used by the Japanese warriors throughout their history, and in 1185 the martial arts were developed in the battle fields, kendo being the oldest, according to Kiyota.
The word kendo has been used as early as the 17th century and means “the way of the sword.”
The modern equipment used by the 3,000 U.S. participants and across the world in kendo is the shinai, which is a split bamboo stick just under four feet long to represent the swords used by the samurai. Also a bogu, which is a set of light armor in the likeness of that which was worn by the samurai.
The object of the sport is to deliver a strike with the bamboo sticks to certain parts on the armor — head, forearms, torso and throat — to earn a point.
However, the strike is only counted when it is delivered by speed, force, accuracy, physical coordination and concentration.
“Kendo is very repetitive,” Watchman said. “We have a saying, ‘If you’ve been to kendo practice and enjoyed it, then you didn’t do it right.'”
Watchman travels up to Weber State University every weekend, where he practices with eight other club members. Watchman said that he would practice every day if he could.
“Last practice we spent eight hours straight practicing one part of kendo. We just did it over and over,” Watchman said.
In kendo, a player becomes certified as he learns the different methods in fighting, ranging from degree one to five.
Watchman, who is degree two, is taught by his instructor, who is degree five.
There are two types of kendo being practiced across the world today. Modern — being more sports-oriented — and classical — which uses the techniques used during World War II, Watchman said.
A few weeks ago, there was a world kendo competition that was won by the Japanese. That is no surprise since the Japanese police force still practice kendo as a mean to keep healthy today, Watchman said. The United States placed pretty high in the competition.
“Kendo is pretty popular in New York and California,” Watchman said. “I would love for the sport become more popular out here (at BYU), and if anyone is interested, they should give me a call.”
