Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Trying to emerge from the shadows: \ Kendo Club offers time-tested tradition

Saturday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. the University of Massachusetts Kendo club had its first practice of the semester in the Mt. Holyoke Music and Dance building.

According to club president and founder, Robert Stockwell, a senior Japanese major, the organization is three years old and has over 30 members.

‘We practice the martial art of Kendo,’ said Stockwell, ‘and try keep it as close to how it’s done in Japan as possible.’

Both Stockwell, and member David Buck, a senior Computer Science major, have trained in Japan.

‘I trained for two years,’ Stockwell explained. ‘Buck trained for one year, this past year. We also have a Japanese girl who goes to Mt. Holyoke. She studied it all throughout her schooling in Japan.’

The marital art focuses on sword fighting in the style of the traditional Japanese samurai, with participants in armor, called bougu and made of cloth, leather and bamboo.

‘We have eight bougu wearing people. For the men, aluminum or titanium is used for the face guard,’ Stockwell said. ‘The armor is modeled after the armor that the samurai wore in battle during the Warring States Era.’

On the hip protector, called the tare, the name of the student’s dojo and the student’s last name appears. Stockwell explained that his tare bears the words ‘tsukubu university’ which is the name of his dojo back in Japan. The chest guard, or do, is made out of 60 slates of bamboo that have been sanded and lacquered to make them appear as a single plate.

‘The sword that we use,’ explained Stockwell, ‘the shinai, is made out of four staves of bamboo with a leather grip and tip and a hand guard. It’s treated like a katana, which is the sword that Americans would call the samurai sword. You respected the shinai like it was a weapon. It’s a direct representation of that. In dojos people can’t lean on it like it was a stick, or leave it lying around, or step over it. I really stress traditional etiquette, that’s not common in America.’

For use in choreographed forms, or kata, a different sword is used, called bokken, which literally means ‘wooden sword.’

‘This sword is used when you have armor on,’ said Stockwell. ‘You actually hit people with it. It makes a loud whack, but it doesn’t hurt that much. Back before Kendo existed, they used real swords and practiced in the air. When you had a match, someone would die. During the Tokujawa period, Japan finally had a stable political state. There were no wars for 300 years, which left a whole class of people, the samurai. What do they do during peace but train? Things were invented for them to train safely, the swords and armor. Kendo was no longer just trying to kill the person in front of you, but the enemy inside: fear, doubt, cowardess.’

Vice president David Spina, a freshman Japanese major, has been involved in the Kendo club since September.

‘I wanted to go to a school with a Kendo club. I wanted to study for a long time, but never had the opportunity or money,’ he said. ‘When I got here, I kept pestering Bob for when the first practice would be. I’ve been with it ever since. Over break I spent a month with the New York City Kendo club. There’s no one thing I like about Kendo. I like the complete package. It’s something I’m sticking with for the rest of my life.’

Club secretary, James Thoma, a sophomore Japanese and history major, has been with the group for a year and a half.

‘I’ve studied other martial arts, but none provided what I wanted,’ explained Thoma. ‘Kendo seems to capture the tradition of Japan well, more so than other martial arts. That’s what I was looking for.’

In spite of his long dedication to Kendo, Stockwell says he would never teach it professionally.

‘You can’t make a career out of a martial art and keep it a martial art,’ he clarified. ‘Once it becomes a business, the focus goes away from what it’s about. What I’ve found in dojos in America, is that senseis despise having to dumb down their martial arts to keep up enrollment numbers. If I ever did consider myself worthy enough to teach out of my own dojo, I’d do it part time, as volunteer work. Something to give to the community.’

Armor wearing club member, David Buck, a senior Computer Science major, explained that the Keno club reaches out to a wide variety of people in the Five College Area.

‘We get pretty diverse majors. We have less women than men, which is different from Japan where it’s half and half. In America there’s a trend where more men than women do martial arts,’ he said. ‘We encourage everyone to do it, not just Japanese majors or men. In Japan, Kendo has appeal for everyone. We have grad students, two people from Hampshire and a student from Mt. Holyoke. No one from Amherst College or Smith, but we had someone from Smith last semester. We have a lot of new comers, so we keep it informal compared to Japan, which usually caters to advanced level students who wear armor.’

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the Keno practices, even if they are still unfamiliar with the martial art.

‘The first part of practice is spent on basic work and etiquette, and includes suburi which are simple prearranged movements,’ said Buck. ‘A small part of practice is dedicated just to those wearing armor. The others still participate; they watch and learn, and see techniques in action.’

Buck said that the Kendo club’s practices follow traditional Japanese practices and very structured.

‘The practice is very regimented,’ Buck explained. ‘Bob follows a framework, the same as every dojo in Japan. There is kihonuchi, which is basic cutting that you go over again and again. Jigeiko is one-on-one practice. It isn’t a competition, but you are sparing. It’s always arranged where someone who is more experienced is matched with someone who is less, so you have a student-teacher relationship. So, I’m not trying to beat this person. They are teaching me. Kagarigeiko is an endurance practice. It includes 20 to 30 seconds where you go against an opponent as fast and actively as possible. The opponent just blocks and signals. The person doing kagarigeiko becomes very tired; the point is to keep the form perfect even when you’re exhausted. We begin and end each practice with mokuso, a brief period of mediation. It’s a period to clear the mind, so you can concentrate only on Kendo, not other distractions like homework and friends.’

Anyone interested in learning more about the club should visit the web sit www.umass.edu/rso/umkendo or send and email to [email protected]. The club is open to anyone affiliated with the five colleges.

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