KUCHING: Since its establishment in 2018, the Kanshinkan Kendo Club in Kuching aims to promote the Kendo martial arts to the people in Sarawak.
Kendo is known as the modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords as well as protective armour.
The concept of Kendo is a way to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana which is the Japanese sword.
In the efforts to promote the Kendo martial arts in Kuching, the New Sarawak Tribune sat down with the President of Kanshinkan Kendo Club Chai Yao Chan and Captain Tan Shao Chien on skills and technique that made the Kendo martial arts unique, alongside future of the martial arts as well in Sarawak.
Chai stated that at the moment, the current members for the Kendo club would be 19 members, (14 male and five female).
“So for us, we are planning to expand our membership and that is why we want to extend the invitation to anyone that is interested in participating in Kendo martial arts,” he said.
When asked what makes Kendo unique, Chai said that previously Kendo uses the katana.
“Now that it has become a sport, we use the bamboo stick (shinai) and that is what makes Kendo unique, compared to other martial arts such as taekwondo, kung fu and even karate,” he said.
On the level of expertise, Tan added that from the beginning, trainees started with the Ninth Kyu which is often their first exam.
“After the Ninth Kyu, it will be first dan, and first dan is equivalent to the taekwondo black belt, and then after the first dan, the person who practises kendo can actually improve themselves up to the eight dan which is the highest dan grade attainable through a test of physical kendo skills,” he said.
Touching on the skills, Tan further explained that kendo has several different skills which are zanshin which is to maintain alertness, kaeshi-waza which is counter attack and ki-ken-tai-icchi.
“Ki means your breathing, ken means you have to use the correct part of the sword to attack your opponent, tai means your physical ability (correct body posture, footwork and others).
“Combining these things would turn into ki-ken-tai-icchi. So participants have to combine these skills in order to get great scoring,” he said.
Chai then said that when it comes to kendo, the most important thing to care about is the spirit behind the kendo.
“Kendo originated from the samurai, and so most of the time when they come and learn, we would teach them about the spirit of samurai.
“So I believe it is a motto for them to practise self discipline, loyalty and respect alongside wisdom.
“There is no discrimination and distinction among the people, so we must teach them, hopefully they will stick to it for themselves,” he said.
For the club development in the next five years, Tan would like to see most of the members have reached a certain level of expertise.
“It is a level where we can reach the highest level of expertise, and at our current level, I believe most of us will reach the first dan.
“I also hope that in the next year, we are able to travel to Peninsular Malaysia to participate in some of the competitions, organised by the committee there,” he said.
He also hoped that the club would expand in terms of the membership and number of students that come and join the club.
“Slowly we hope to have a proper dojo which is a room or hall where kendo is being practised, with a proper wooden floor just like in Japan,” he stated.
