Kendo and Chess

When I was in my late teens I was inspired to join a kendo club after watching the National Geographic Documentary - Kendo's Gruelling Challenge The 120 second test of spirit. It was in fact a documentary originally in Japanese that had an American commentator dubbed over it. They also changed the original title of the documentary. I have to admit that I didn't join a club straight away. Unfortunately it took quite a few years before a club turned up in my area of Scotland. I was in my early twenties when I started Kendo.

My beginning chess isn't quite as inspirational. I just seemed to be drawn to the game when a club started up in my primary school. To tell you the truth I can't really say why I liked chess at the time. No one in my family played the game. I unfortunately quit after finding no real support in secondary school. When I was in primary school I went to a few tournaments but in secondary I didn't attend a single one. Its a pity I gave up and I have to admit I didn't really study the game at all. Since coming back to chess I certainly study the game a lot more. I didn't have a single book on chess when I was a kid I must have about ten or so now. I think when I was a kid I may have taken a chess book out once in a library but I can't really remember. Could I have been a Grandmaster? Probably not. It takes a lot to be one. Just like it takes a lot to be a 8th Dan in Kendo. But if it can take almost a lifetime to get to 8th Dan is it really unlikely that you can be a Grandmaster in your sixties?

In the modern world we hear about teenagers getting to Grandmaster level all the time. We want to be a Grandmaster yesterday. But all this hurry doesn't seem to help us. I know they say that the best years of a chess players career are around forty and then they start to decline. I think perhaps at least reaching master level isn't impossible. Kendo and Chess are a journey that lasts a lifetime. Perhaps it doesn't matter were the journey ends. In Kendo the four poisons are (ku) fear (gi) doubt (kyo) surprise (waku) confusion. They are also applicable to chess. Fear of losing for instance. Doubting your abilities. Surprise at an opponents move in reply to a sneaky trap. Confusion due to not understanding a chess position. They can all be mastered with practice and increasing your chess knowledge. I hope some of this is helpful and that you enjoy the documentary on Kendo.