Tom McGee is a real stand out in his class. Literally. For one thing, the six foot plus Georgia native is the only ‘gaijin’ in the Kendo group, and, what’s more, the rest of the students are all elementary and middle school age children.
But McGee is not really bothered by those facts. He accepts that as a virtual newcomer to the art long associated with the swordsmanship of the classic samurai he must start at the beginning. The former Marine has been in Okinawa for sixteen years and is married to a local woman. He became interested in kendo after his children started attending the classes at the Haebaru Community Center.
“Not every sensei in Okinawa that teaches Kendo is as gentle and considerate as Yamashiro-san,” Mc Gee says. “Some make the parents sit on their knees for the whole session.”
Sensei Hideki Yamashiro is a calm, charismatic man of seventy-five years whose working life was spent in corrections at the prison near Haebaru. He started the kendo club in 1985 and has achieved the honored level of 7 dan. The highest level possible is a 9 dan but few ever reach it. The 10 dan is no longer awarded.
That he is respected by the young boys and girls is evident from the outset. Like all children they run about and yell after each other before the formal training begins. The sensei puts on his ‘dogu’, the distinctive flowing garment used as a uniform, serene and confident amidst the bustle. But when it is time to begin, he issues a firm command, without lifting his voice, and the class immediately responds.
They line up, kneeling on the floor of the community center, which transforms with their use into a ‘dojo’.
McGee sits at the far end, a little apart. His children, nine-year old Ryo, seven-year old Minè and five year old Rin, know the drill and are as attentive as the rest as Sensei Yamashiro kneels facing them.
They begin with a meditation, which is the result of a long ago association with Zen Buddhism. When Zen reached Japan hundreds of years ago many samurai studied its teachings and incorporated them into their practice. Because one of the tenets of Buddhism involves the concept of reincarnation, it gave the samurai courage in the face of danger. If one dies having lived an honorable life why fear death if it only leads to another life?
After the short respite where the mind is cleared the children line up in rows and take up their shinai, or bamboo swords. One child is given the task of calling out the moves and for a period of some time they practice lunges, shouting out and executing a ritual stamping of the forward foot. The sensei watches carefully and corrects students individually as needed.
McGee, who has been involved with the group for over a year, said that most beginners, including him, are not even allowed to join the exercises until they have spent much time, even months, perfecting the precise thrusts of the shinai off by themselves.
Once the students have achieved a certain proficiency they can don the armor consisting of a helmet, called a ‘man’, the torso covering known as a ‘do’, and the flaps that protect the lower body, called ‘tare’. They then take up wooden swords, ‘bokuto’, and, working with partners, perform a series of formalized movements, including striking specific areas of the opponent.
One interesting test of courage and concentration pits one budding ‘kendoka’, or swordsman, without helmets, against another with one standing still as the other feigns a blow to the head, stopping short of actually striking him.
The entire point to the practice of the martial art is the development of self-discipline, as real swords are rarely used except as exhibitions by top masters.
Keiko Arakaki, whose son, Toshinari, has been engaged for about three years in the practice is clear on how the training benefits the children. “It has made him a better student in school and provided positive changes in behavior, respect for others, and confidence in himself,” she says.
At the end of the session, the children, and McGee, once more line up, kneel and bow respectfully to the sensei. After that the young kendoka once again become energetic children, boisterous in play.
No comments:
Post a Comment