Shinkendo Philippines​

How I found Shinkendo
By Keiko Kuma – Honbu Dojo

 

One Sunday morning, my husband and I were in downtown Los Angeles at a
Japanese food market. And there, I noticed an old advertisement for Shinkendo on the information board. It said: fix your health and change your life. "This is it," I said to my husband. "I will fix my health and get back my life!"

 

Since the dojo was conveniently located on the third floor of the same building, we
went there and saw four swordsmen practicing on a large tatami floor. One of them was Obata sensei. Watching their movement, I realized how cool Japanese
swordsmanship actually was. Then I looked at my out-of-shape body, decided to get in shape first and knock on the door of Shinkendo later.

 

About three years later, on July 1, 2005, I enrolled in Shinkendo at the Honbu dojo.
(Sadly, my body hasn't changed much, just one dress size down.) Because I am a writer, I had chronic neck, calf and back pain. Since I badly wanted to fix these
problems before any health disaster would come, I have been going to the dojo every weekday. After only one month, my rounded shoulders were improving--much straighter. My driving was better-much more alert and in control. I even got an extra bonus by getting thinner.

 

As for my Shinkendo training, I learned more than I expected, such as dojo
etiquette. Mrs. Obata sensei explained that the personal space in the Japanese
sense, called ma, was defined by the length of a sword. This was the first time I
heard the reason behind that. I thought, "Born in Japan and attended schools there, yet no home economics teacher taught me anything in class!"

 

My most memorable training with Obata sensei happened because in my hands the bokken looked and behaved like just a wooden stick. Obata sensei and his senior students' bokken moved like shinken. "Keiko-san, your kesagiri needs to swing faster and with the correct right angle," said Obata sensei, swinging his bokken at me with a very audible “sonic boom” cutting through air. I have never, ever imagined a wooden sword making a sound like that. It was scary.

 

At dojo, I have good days and bad days. But every day I have more energy after
Shinkendo class than before. This fascinates me and is greatly appreciated.