Do We Ever Graduate from Beginner Practice?

My dojo is a dojo for “adult beginners.”

It is a very small dojo, but every few months or so, a new student joins us.

At my dojo, my teacher teaches everything by himself, so whenever a new student joins, the senior studentes also practice the basic movements together with the beginner students, such as kamae (構え, stance), ashi-sabaki (足さばき, footwork), and suburi (素振り, basic sword swings).

I have been practicing at this dojo for about 10 years now. During that time, I have had many opportunities to practice these basic movements together with beginners.

Between you and me…

To be honest, in the beginning, I sometimes felt a little frustrated when the practice content changed because of a new beginner joining.

I would think,

“Ahh… I had finally been practicing oji-waza (応じ技, counter techniques) recently… and now we’re going back to suri-ashi (すり足, sliding footwork) again?”

Looking back, I think the reason I felt that way was because, at the time, I probably believed this:

🌸What I learn as a beginner🌸 = 🌸Something easy & simple🌸

Day by day, year by year, I gradually learned more and more techniques, such as ippon-uchi-waza (一本打ち技, single strike techniques), renzoku-waza (連続技, continuous techniques), oji-waza (応じ技, counter techniques), and jigeiko (地稽古, free practice).

And somewhere deep inside my mind, I think I had started to underestimate the basic movements I had been taught when I was a beginner — my ashi-sabaki , kamae, and the way I handled my shinai.

Instead of continuing to explore these basic movements, I started thinking mostly about things like,

“How can I defeat my opponent?”

But strangely enough, despite thinking that way, my competition results were terrible.

I kept losing.

There were many reasons why I could not win matches.

My physical limitations, my weak mentality, my lack of match experience…

The list could go on forever.

But the thing that bothered me the most was seeing myself in videos, moving in such an awkward and embarrassing way.

Every time I watched those videos, I felt like my heart was being crushed.

“Why do I look like such an awkward version of myself?”

Even so, I gritted my teeth and watched those videos over and over again.

And finally, I understood the reason.

If I had to describe myself back then in one sentence…

I was bouncing around.

I was swinging my shinai wildly.

In other words, none of the things my teacher had been teaching me during daily practice were actually appearing in my movements.

The careful movements using suri-ashi that I practiced every day…They were nowhere to be seen.

The natural strike from a proper kamae …That was nowhere to be seen either.

I started wondering,

“What on earth happened?”

Why were the things I thought I had been polishing through daily practice completely missing when I actually needed them?

The answer became clear very quickly.

I had only thought I was practicing and improving.

The reason that embarrassing version of myself appeared was simply because I had not been polishing my basic movements at all.

Instead, I had been taking them lightly.

That was when I finally realized something…

The reason my teacher first teaches beginners kamae and ashi-sabaki is not because these things are “easy” and can be done quickly, even by beginners.

It is because they are the most important things in the entire journey of kendo.

I truly had no idea.

I had never understood what kind of possibilities could appear in my movements by learning proper suri-ashi.

I had never understood what maintaining a correct kamae could bring to me.

Practice of suri-ashi, practice of kamae, and suburi an sometimes feel a little plain compared with jigeiko or actual matches because they do not have the same excitement.

But the moment I realized that without proper kamae and ashi-sabaki, I could not make a correct strike when I truly wanted to strike…

Something changed inside me.

The three things — kamae, jushin (重心 center of gravity), and ashi-sabaki — became three gold bars sleeping inside a treasure chest.

The things I learned when I was a beginner were not something I had already “graduated from.”

They were the foundation of my kendo — something I would need to continue polishing for the rest of my journey.

They were my precious partners, always fighting alongside me, no matter what situation I faced.

Once I started seeing things this way, the meaning of practicing together with beginners completely changed for me.

After all, I still have so many things I had neglected that I need to hurry and recover♪

Nowadays, practicing basic movements together with beginners, taking the time to carefully refine and correct them, has become a truly precious time for me.

I often find myself thinking,
“If only I had learned the basics this carefully when I was a beginner…”

Actually, I started kendo 15 years ago, but at that time, I belonged to a different dojo from the one I attend now.

I practiced there for two years, but due to various circumstances, I moved to my current dojo about 10 years ago.

It may not be exactly the same as the saying, “What is learned in early childhood stays for life,” but I truly realize every day how difficult it is to correct bad habits that were mistakenly ingrained in my body when I was a beginner.

It took me almost a whole year just to adjust my posture by moving my upper body forward around 5 degrees, because I had a tendency to lean slightly backward when I was in kamae.

And even now, the moment I perform okuri-ashi (送り足, sliding step), I can still feel my left knee slightly bending for no reason.

It is honestly amazing…

There are so many moments when I wonder,

“Why can’t I fix something this simple, no matter how much time passes?”

The price for taking those things lightly in the past has finally come back to me.

I cannot turn away from it anymore.

I simply have to face it.

Even after I am no longer a beginner, put on my kendo-gu and move on to the next stage of kendo…

The Gold Bar Trio — kamae, jushin, and ashi-sabaki — are, after all, the most important things I should continue exploring throughout my entire kendo journey.

That is the mindset I have been practicing with these days.

The beginner student practicing beside me approaches the ashi-sabaki practices, which are completely new for them, with such a pure heart and serious attitude.

Watching that attitude from beginner students cleanses my heart every day.

Because of their presence,

I feel that I can finally try again — carefully thinking about the meaning behind each and every movement, and continue to “polish” myself through kensan (研鑽).

So, with that said…

I am off to practice again tomorrow♪

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