Kendo

Kendo is "The Way of the Sword". I practiced kendo for 2 years. Kendo is a physical and mental activity. Kendo doesn't just mean you carry a bamboo sword, called a shinai, and start swinging it around. There is a lot of meditating as well.
There are 8 dans, or levels, of kendo. You must have at least 1 or 2 years of training to go to the next dan. I was on the 3rd dan after 2 years of training. To go up a dan, then you must take an exam where all the masters watch you do a series of demonstrations and then have a match against someone who is on a higher dan than you. Passing a dan is somewhat difficult because there are not a lot of dans.
When you have a match against someone then you must first do something that's like a prematch. You first share "blows", take turns hitting each other's shinai, before you start fighting. Then, you start after you are done. When ever you are in a match you must call out where you are going to hit or else the referee will take a point off. You can gain points if you manage to get a hit. People often yell to scare or make the opponent flinch. There are many ways you can win in a match.
The clothes you wear when you have a match are VERY heavy. It's hard to move around in first. There are certain ways you are to put your armor on and certain ways to take your armor off. Even your regular outfit is actually a little heavier than it looks. But all of this is preparing you for real matches and real tournaments.
Kendo is a very fun, although hard, activity. I loved kendo and I still like watching some kendo matches, even though I quit. I would recomend it to almost anyone!
What I am most excited about this year? New books and more books! The library.


What I am least excited about this year? HOMEWORK!