Well, it's been years since I hung my black belt up, didn't think I'd be pulling it down off its hook again, ever. I reckon it must have been at least 12 years since I was in the dojang. I think my daughter was 2 when I had to give it up because 'life' was getting in the way. The thing is though, it'd be quite weird going back to taekwondo all old, stiff and creaky and barely able to remember the colour belt patterns let alone the black belt ones. Kids who were white belts when I left are 4th Dan black belts running clubs now. It occurred to me that It'd be as awkward for them as it would be for me. So, despite getting the martial arts itch again. I haven't returned to taekwondo. What am I doing instead? Kendo. I've been doing it for a few months now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The framework is familiar, but you don't do many gradings at Kendo. At our dojo you only do one grade before the equivalent of 1st Dan which is called Shodan. It's quite a ritualistic art, with etiquette and appearance being seen as at least as important as technique. There aren't the myriad of techniques arts like taekwondo and karate have, but the quality techniques is more emphasized? To score a point, or 'make Ippon' requires you to synchronise your footwork, your cut and your kyai to 'show intent'. A cut only counts if you look like you mean it. It's a very shouty martial art, I think shoutier than my old taekwondo clubs were. It's also very niche. When every member of the club is training there is about eight of us I think? Maybe nine or ten at most? It's an expensive martial art to buy into too. The weapons are relatively cheap and the uniform isn't too bad. I bought a 'Kendo starter set' from a company called nine circles, which gave you a Kendogi (training jacket), Hakama, (The special trousers) A shinai (bamboo sword for sparring) white oak bokken (heavy sword for Kendo Kata) and a tenegui, which is a cloth worn under the helmet and a weapons bag. The set cost around £100 and included everything you need to get started. At the moment I'm using borrowed 'club armour' for sparring. When you decide to buy your own armour that's a big expense and can cost £400 to £1500 depending on the quality and type you go for. You also need to replace the shinai, they break and if you're training heavy I imagine you could get through two or three a year. They cost £30 upwards depending on type and quality. There aren't many places that train in Kendo. If you want to visit other clubs, it'll mean quite a bit of travelling. One thing I do like about Kendo, and this is a weird one - but there's no debate about how effective it is for self-defence. It is what it is, it's a martial art and very obviously NOT a self defence system. Sure, if you needed self-defence and you happened to have a bokken in your hand at the time... But I digress, the debate about the effectiveness of taekwondo for self-defence was always something bothered me back in the day. If I ever DID return to taekwondo, I think I'd try to push the self-defence aspect to the back of my mind and focus on the martial art side. So will I go back to taekwondo at some point? Strangely, I haven't ruled that out. When I left, in theory I was training for 3rd Dan, but if I went back I don't think I'd have any aspirations to compete or grade again. My kids are 10 and 14 now, and I think it'd do them good to do a martial art. Kendo probably isn't the right one for them though, I'm 44 now and I think I'm the 2nd or 3rd youngest in our club. For other practical reasons, I can see Kendo probably not being the first choice for a young martial artist. So, it might happen. She's got a lot of homework on at the moment, she's in year 10 and working towards GCSEs and he's starting high school next year. But who knows, it might happen. Over the years, I trained in several martial arts, including Kung Fu, Kickboxing and Systema. Taekwondo was always my MAIN martial art, but whatever happens now I think Kendo will be main art. I tried to look to see if there was a Kendo section on the forums, but there doesn't appear to be one. I do know it's a niche art and there are only a handful of practitioners in the UK. It's a shame really, but I can see why. It's probably not for everyone. I imagine it mainly appeals to experienced martial artists who are looking to learn something different. Martyn
Welcome back! I had a decade or so out of TKD, started again, got my black belt, kept going, now 4th Dan Your kids are getting to the age when they don't need you around quite as much, so the time is right to reclaim some of your own interests I reckon. I wouldn't worry about going back to TKD, but Kendo looks like a lot of fun too
You know, fun doesn't seem quite the word? It's arguably a more serious martial art than anything else I've done. That could be just down to the age demographic of the club though. It's certainly very interesting, you can see the framework and the shared principles it has with non-weapon martial arts, if anything it seems a bit more ritualistic than TKD was. It also seems very, very anti-commercial - the antithesis of a McDojo. At our club people do one grade before the equivalent of a black belt, and that's called Ikku or Ikkyu? You don't do that grade until you've been training for a long time. I've been at it for three months and I don't think I'll be taking that grading until I've been at it for at least a year. Then you take Shodan, which is the equivalent of a black belt. It's very common for people to take and fail Shodan multiple times. It's rare for people to pass it first time. Getting to 8th Dan is incredibly rare and difficult. Many 7th Dan's try many times for 8th Dan and never pass. There is no external display of what grade you either. You have to remember what level people are so you can line up in the correct order. Nobody takes any teaching fees and the club subscription pays for hall hire, spare club equipment to be loaned to students and a meal out for club members if there's a surplus.
