Body
'Body' refers to mastery of the technical aspects of Kendo - the footwork, the cuts, the
co-ordination of the body parts to make the killing cut. It refers to physical fitness
and all required aspects - breathing, space/timing (maai), etc.
Physical Fitness
While you don't have to be strong and super fit to learn Kendo, once you start practicing,
and following the Way, you will find it is easier (more automatic) if one is fit. Also,
since we are talking about a Way, respect for your body is also an important aspect.
When training, we frequently push our bodies to the limit of our fitness to improve our
stamina, focus, etc. When our body is tired, the cuts we make are more "intuitive" and a
better measure of our technique than when we are "fresh". One hundred "bba-reun-meuri-chigee"
should be a "no sweat" exercise! but when we do it at the end of the night, it can be a bit
of a struggle! . . .
Of course the other reason we push ourselves to physical limits is to test our mind. Can
you "grin and bear it"? Do you have the willpower to keep going when your body is screaming at
you to stop? That's the real test! That's when we know what kind of mind we have - the mind is
everything, the body is just a path for the mind.
Breathing
Breath control during Kendo (any sword art) is an important thing to get right (isn't
everything?!). You will read and hear many things about this but as with any of the
physical aspects, it's up to you to train your body to do the right thing.
When delivering a point-scoring Kendo cut, we must be making a simultaneous Kiai, which
of course means we are breathing out (the breath makes our Kiai). People will tell you
that this Kiai (breath) needs to come "from the belly" which of course physiologically isn't
possible, but it should "feel" as if it comes from the belly, otherwise your throat will become
sore. The whole breathing cycle should feel "circular" - as the breath is drawn in, it
should circle up from the nostrils to the brain, flow down the spine to the belly, and then
continue up the chest and out the mouth. Again, physiologically this doesn't happen, but
with practice you can make it feel like this is happening. When you perform the meditative
"musang" breathing in seiza, during the opening and closing ceremonies, this is a perfect
time to practice this kind of breathing as a conscious effort and try to maintain this
"circular breathing" pattern throughout the whole training session.
Metsuke - Gaze
Refer Kihon (Basics) section for comments on this.
Maai - Distance & Timing
The difference between a cut to the cloth of the kimono and a slice into the flesh or a fatal
blow can be measured in small distances determined by fractions of seconds of reaction time.
There are many stories of this - a good example is shown in Kurosawa's famous "Seven Samurai"
movie (which every budding martial artist should watch!). A Kendoka/Iaidoka will spend their whole
life fine-tuning their abilities in controlling Distance and Timing.
