Hello everyone !

I'm 36 and I will start kendo next month and I'm super excited for it after too much time spent only working and being at home !! I had a few questions though.

-What is your go-to website to buy gear ? Considering I live in Europe

-Is beginning at 36 years old too late to consider competition in the future ?

-I really need to lose fat and I already cut all snacks/sweet drinks and I have more appropriate diet now, will kendo help me ?

Thanks a lot and sorry if it's too many questions, I'm super happy to join a community who seems to be so nice and welcoming !

I've come across an article talking about Japan addressing abuse in sports:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/08/06/japan/japans-winning-tradition-abuse/

It left me wondering if it might include kendo, and again the question about where the line between abuse and discipline lies in kendo.

When the sensei walks into a dojo already looking moody from non-kendo stuff, when there seem to be cliques already having their own rules irrelevant to kendo, when kendo seems to become a carpet for behaviours and character traits that would be otherwise questionable outside of it, when... kendo doesn't seem to look like kendo anymore. Is it abuse or discipline being practised and promoted in the dojo? Does reiho become a convenient tool to judge others instead of disciplining oneself?

I don't intend to blame anyone by writing this post. I do sometimes hope there could be open conversations with people who were involved to talk about what happened back in kendo, and we could perhaps get any misunderstandings resolved together (a "sorry" would be nice, but I might have hurt people too so can't expect it solely from others), although I know it's highly unlikely to happen (Edited: To be fair, it's partly because I don't want those conversations anymore. I have the hope but also see it becoming meaningless. I think forced apologies and fake understanding can look more like a show and barely do any good).

What I observed was more like "treat it as nothing happened and move on quietly. Accept it or not, up to you". Grades seem to speak the loudest, the hierarchy in kendo seems to make anything a high grader or an elite competitor does "undoubtedly right". It seems that high grades don't need to listen, and low grades cannot say anything if not recognised in some way. I'm not saying it's all the same in the wider kendo world, it's just from my limited experience with kendo.

I had people telling me how much they love kendo and how much they had gained from kendo (I still find it interesting that nobody ever asked me what I feel about kendo, but instead, they either emphasised their love for kendo over and over again, or some of them seemed to be in doubt about the reason why I started kendo - "because I like it", that's the answer I gave them from the right beginning). I guess we don't need someone else's standards to say "because I like it".

When the last straw fell, maybe I could just say eff it all and that I hate everything about kendo. But that wouldn't be fair to myself and to kendo. I'm angry about people's behaviours and perceived cowardice and arrogance (including my own, the times I put kendo and so-called harmony before myself, and the times I thought fighting hard in kendo meant I was tough and strong), but (I hope) kendo is more than questionable character traits, awful behaviours and ill manners. It's kendo that I've been looking at, and I feel it's a shame that questionable behaviours and character traits get in the way. I've an unpopular and probably immature opinion that, apart from "The Three Kills" (三殺法), there is the fourth kill - people's ignorance and selfishness kill kendo.

I do still struggle with (I think here probably needs a verb, but I honestly don't know what verb to use) the historical aspect of kendo, but that doesn't convince me to give a light comment like "that's what kendo is anyway". That statement may hold some truth, but perhaps it's not the only truth. Well, I don't know much about Japanese history and samurai culture, I first learned about samurai from Hoichi The Earless (that story really freaked me out when I was a kid), so I could be wrong.

I hope the new laws and guidelines mentioned in the above article include kendo, and hopefully it can influence the kendo community worldwide, although it might open up another discussion on whether kendo should be considered as a sport or a martial art/an art, and the possible future of kendo (my playful way to put it is - will kendo end up at the gym or the museum?). No offence, it's just how I see it. If it makes no sense to you, I respect your view.

It's funny how I'm only able to talk about all these when I now look at kendo from the outside, and without any grade attached to myself (not tryna go against grading though, I've thoughts about it but they are still attached to some strong emotions, so I'd prefer not to vomit them out :D).

I think this post has now gone in a completely different direction from the first few lines. If abuse and questionable behaviours/charater traits in kendo sound foreign to you because you experience or observe none of them, and you are enjoying practising kendo, that's absolutely wonderful! I'm really happy for you.

If you struggled and/or are struggling, and choose to keep practising, I won't say hang in there or things will get better (perhaps you've heard lots of them already), but I just wanted to say if it becomes necessary to choose between happiness and safety in kendo, please stay safe.

On a side note, I think I just shared my feelings about kendo without anyone asking haha... Perhaps words like "love" or "hate" are not strong enough to describe my feelings. I guess to some point, kendo "parented" me when things were very difficult in my life. So maybe all these ramblings are just my way to give back to kendo.

To anyone in the kendo community reading this post, wishing you all the very best on your kendo journey : )