Friday, October 14, 2016

Communication and Kendo: Part 3

Here is the last post, unfashionably late, in my "Communication and Kendo" series. I tied communication to the art of kendo in Part 1 by talking about kendo and self-improvement. Then I introduced the idea of "Ki Ken Tai Ichi" as the second point that brings kendo and communication together. Now I want to tie in the final point of kendo - respect yourself and others. Showing respect equates to understanding who we are in relation to others.

Photo taken by David P.
Kendo is a difficult martial art to understand because it doesn't teach you useful ways to defend yourself, unless you plan to carry your bamboo sword everywhere with you. Unlike hand-to-hand martial arts such as karate or aikido, kendo keeps you at a distance from your opponent, so while the goal is to hit first (and hit correctly) you do not make any contact with your opponent except with a sword. So what's the point?