Martial Arts at KGU

Last week, for our Special Lectures on Japan class, the lecturer took us to several of the dojos on campus to learn about the martial arts that are offered as extracurricular activities at KGU. We went to four different dojos, and students are joining most of them.

I'll start where we started our tour, the Kyudo dojo:

Most of the students in this club were at a competition, but we got to see a demonstration from some of the junior members. Kyudo is a form of traditional archery with very specific forms and movements. 

The bow is called a yumi (弓), and arrows are ya (矢).

Next, we went to the Kendo dojo. Kendo is an art that students usually begin practising in elementary or junior high school, so it has a higher barrier to entry for exchange students who have not practised it before (so none of the exchange students are joining this year). 





It is a bit unnerving to watch for the first time, because each attack with the wooden sword is accompanied by a kiai or shout. So, listening to a room full of people practising kendo for awhile can result in a headache! Also, it gets really hot in the practice room. I can't imagine how hot it must be in the kendo uniform...




Third, we went to the Judo dojo. 

This is another sport that people usually start when they are young, so there is a high barrier to entry. Though, one of the exchange students has experience in western wrestling, so he's going to see about joining in Judo practices. 

Finally, we went to the Aikido dojo. The lecturer who took us there is the leader of the Aikido club, so we spent a good amount of time there and several students have joined the club. Aikido makes use of redirection of energy, and the attacker and defender have to be in-tune with each other in order for no one to be hurt. Aikido also makes use of wooden swords and staffs.



Neither Graham nor I are joining any of these clubs, but I've joined a group of people who practise Tai Chi here on Thursdays. Tai Chi is from China, not Japan, so we weren't introduced to the group during class, but the lecturer happened to know the teacher, and they happened to be meeting right after our tour ended. What luck!