The Kendo Cat Blog Is Going Global Meow!

I’ve accumulated around thirty blog posts now, so I’ve finally decided to release the Kendo Cat Blog to the entire world all at once!

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I feel no hesitation about sending this blog out into the world. These days, we constantly hear alarming stories—“Blog goes up in flames!” or “I was overwhelmed by a storm of slander and hurtful comments. I’m quitting my blog!” There’s no shortage of unsettling news like that.

So yes, I do feel a little scared.

Even so, there are reasons I decided to go ahead and publish it.

The first reason is pure curiosity. How will people respond to what I’ve written? Will the reactions be negative? Positive? Or will there simply be indifference? By nature, I’m a bundle of desire for approval, so of course I wonder what others think of my ideas. It’s a bit like wanting to peek at something scary… even though you’re afraid.

The second reason—though it may sound rather presumptuous—is this: in my own small way, if there’s anything I can do that might help even one person who aspires to practice kendo, even just a little, then I want to try.

My blog contains none of the refined instructional advice or lofty philosophical insights that high-ranking teachers might write. It’s simply the thoughts and feelings of one cat who began pursuing kendo at about ten years old in “cat years,” reflecting on practice as she goes along. Just an ordinary kendoka, muttering to herself about this and that.

Some readers may think, “So… what exactly are you trying to say?” Others might sigh, “Kendo Cat seems to be heading in a rather odd direction.” That may well happen.

Still, if reading my blog allows someone—even for a brief moment—to reflect on the theme of a post, or to reaffirm their own values (even if they are completely opposite from mine), then I would be happy. If my writing can prompt fellow kendoka to pause for just a second and look back on their own kendo, that would mean a great deal to me.

I lose almost every match I enter.
I still cannot deliver truly sharp, refined strikes.
I cannot yet apply pressure skillfully enough to draw my opponent out.
Even now, if I’m not careful, I still do uncoordinated striking.
I am just an unnoticed kendoka, full of things I cannot yet do.

But—

I am truly grateful that I encountered kendo.
I am thankful to kendo itself.
I am grateful to the teachers who instruct me.
I am grateful as well to the teachers who taught my teachers.
And I believe I must repay this gratitude in whatever way I can.

For someone like me, who has so many shortcomings, putting a blog out into the world is not an easy thing. But if I try my best, it can become one of the things I am able to do.

So I’ve decided to gather my courage and publish it.

With my heart pounding, I’ll be heading to practice again tomorrow ♪