It’s day 2 of 2024 and our first practice this year.
Tuesday is always kata day, so we started this year’s practice with Nihon kendo kata.
Sensei encouraged us, “It’s okay to make mistakes or stumble, but let’s try to go through all 10 – Seven tachi and three kodachi “.
Every kata practice is 90 minutes.
Um…
That means 52 weeks x 1.5 hours in a year…
Um…
That makes a total of 78 hours…
I see, I see – so we practice kata for 78 hours a year.
I hope I’ve improved a little over the past year.
Have I?
Thinking back, in the past, when Sensei said to me, “Okay, Kendo Cat, try doing 10 kata…, ” I’d get a little nervous.

Eh!
I wonder if I remember them all.
I am not sure about kodachi.
Or,

I think I’m okay with the shi-dachi,
but I wonder if I can do the uchi-dachi?
I’d go into the challenge with these kinds of worries.
But today, I was able to calm myself down, concentrate on each waza and complete all 10 kata, which I’m glad.
I’ll consider this the result of 78 hours of practice. ♪
The more I practice kendo kata, the more things I find that I can apply to shinai kendo.
I’m making new discoveries here and there, and these days, I’m realizing that kata and shinai kendo are, after all, inseparable.
I’ll do my best with 78 hours of kata practice this year, meow!
So…
I’m going to practice again tomorrow.