Every Friday, against the backdrop of evening quiet, the Highland Community Center is filled with an irregular cadence. As wood hits wood and bare feet stomp the ground, the Bellevue Kendo Club’s members shout in with every strike, “kiai!”
One of the central tenets of Kendo, a form of japanese swordsmanship, is the unity of spirit, sword and body. In competition foot and sword must strike simultaneously, the strike can’t be outside of restricted zones, and the combatant must shout “kiai” to earn a point. Therefore, as students practice striking technique with their wooden “shinai” swords, sensei Jeff Marsten makes them practice their shouts as well.
The Bellevue Kendo Club is kendo’s home on the Eastside, and was founded in 1989 by Marsten, who was the Senior US champion in 1992 and 1993. In addition to serving as director as the International Kendo Federation (IFK) for several years, he’s founded three kendo clubs in Western Washington to go along with the Bellevue Kendo Club at Highland. He’s done it all as a volunteer, too; there’s no money in kendo, at any level in the sport.
Kendo, has strong roots in Japanese tradition, which makes it as much lifestyle as sport. Students wear traditional Japanese garb, and have to understand the philosophy behind kendo in order to succeed.
A central part of kendo is “constantly setting goals for how to improve oneself,” said Dean DeJong, one of the instructors at the club. Ideally, kendokka (practitioners of kendo) “grow as people” while they improve their technique.
Despite his experience in the sport, Marsten – and the other senseis at the club – are still finding ways to improve, even from practice with the freshest students. In practice, any two partners can learn from each other, said DeJong.
Because of that philosophy, respect is an integral part of every moment of practice and competition. Marsten shared a story about a hotshot Japanese swordsman who pumped his fist after a point, and got it revoked. Combatants have to bow before and after points as a symbolic gestures of respect.
Bows became so prevalent that the IFK recently had to reduce their number just to save time, said DeJong. He emphasized the value of respect, “for kendo, for effort, and for study.”
Just like any other martial art, kendo has regular tournaments – held through the International Kendo Federation and its regional branches – and a ranking system analogous to black-belts. After reaching the black belt “dan” rankings, advanced swordsmen can rise as high as eight dan.
However, it takes decades of practice to get “decent” at kendo, according to Marsten. Instead, most people join Kendo for reasons besides the promise of glory or accolades. Marsten joined the sport at the urging of a friend while at UW, while others at the club joined for the sake of fitness or fun.
The club’s membership is as diverse as the members’ respective motivations and skill levels; young and old, men and women, and Japanese and American alike participate, as well as every demographic in between. As kendo has expanded in the Pacific Northwest, with the number of four-dan or higher increasing almost tenfold, the Bellevue Kendo Club has seen a surge in popularity as well.
Once kendokka join, the reasons for spending so much time on kendo change. For example, over his 38 years in the sport, Marsten’s priorities have changed substantially, from “winning, to being better, to trying to pass knowledge on and trying to help people.”
Marsten has plenty of reasons to love the sport, but the most visceral one is this. “Where else can you hit somebody as hard as you can and get hit, and you both have a good time out of it?” he said.
Derek Tsang is an intern at the Bellevue Reporter. He attends Interlake High School.
Information about the sport, the Bellevue Kendo Club, and classes is available at http://www.kendo-pnw.org/bhs/bel/.
