Purdue Kendo Club
Guidelines & Philosophy
Welcome to the Purdue Kendo Club!
Established in the Spring of '98, we have seen tremendous growth and have
been widely recognized throughout the Purdue and Greater Lafayette area
with efforts to educate the community about the martial art of Kendo.
The Purdue Kendo Club began as an informal meeting
between a few students who wished to spar and maintain their Kendo skills.
The founding fathers of the club were Shinsaku Ozaki, who is currently
a member of the Miami Valley Kendo Dojo of Dayton, OH and Yoshi Kurokawa
of the Chicago Kendo Dojo.
The club was officially recognized by the University
in April of 1998, and has been maintained ever since by Kerry Tamura (instructor
and '98 - '99 president).
The Purdue Kendo Club takes an active role in educating
children, as young as 8, to adults. We perform numerous demonstrations
in local high schools, university functions, as well as being televised
on the CBS affiliate, WLFI, channel 18.
Experience
Equipment
One thing is required. You must
have a shinai (bamboo sword), which may be purchased through the club for
$35. The club purchases their shinais from a Japanese distributor. You
may find cheaper shinais, but we recommend that you not purchase such shinais
because they are of poor quality. In general, maintenance is required.
A cheaper shinai will demand more time and care. There are various sizes
as well. It is common for a beginner to purchase a shinai not fit for the
individual, which will greatly harm one's form.
You are not required to buy any of
the garments. T-shirt and shorts are acceptable.
Fees
The fees will be $30 per semester. The payment will include:
-
usage of equipment (armor)
-
inviting senseis for instruction
-
tournament entrance fees
-
traveling expenses
-
damage to the facilies
-
misc. fees
If you have any questions regarding
the expenses that the money will be used for, please feel free to contact
us. Usage of the facilities are free. Miscellaneous fees will include copies
and other expenses which will eventually and unfortunately pop up. When
they do, you will be notified.
Option 1:
You can pay the $30 registration fee
up front in cash or check (please make payable to Purdue Kendo Club).
Option 2:
You may come to two practices, and
if you are interested in joining, we ask that you please bring payment
on the third practice.
Tournaments
Undoubtedly the best part of the club
and the martial art! We participate in one tournament per semester due
to the fact that there are not many Kendo tournaments. For the first
semester, we have traditionally travelled to the Chicagoland area to participate
in the annual Midwest Kendo Federation Tournament. In the second
semester, we travel to Cleveland, Ohio for the Cleveland State University
Kendo Tournament sponsored by the Greater Northeastern U.S. Kendo Federation.
These tournaments are generally for intermediate and advanced levels, but
if you have shown outstanding progress and have the necessary equipment,
participation in the tournaments will be heavily considered. You
can still travel to a tournament, even if you are a beginner. Even though
you may not fight, it is an unforgettable experience, and it is the exposure
to tournament competitions that catapults anyone's motivation to grow in
Kendo.
Philosophy of
the Purdue Kendo Club
Our philosophy is that through discipline,
a spirited heart and an enjoyable time, success can be achieved.
Yes, there are rigorous exercises, but what sport or martial art doesn't
have a hard workout? It is through discpline that one will condition
him or herself mentally and physically to overcome fearful situations or
obstacles that seem impossible.
Combined with a vivacious heart, the
mind, body and spirit will be in perfect tune to get through a difficult
exercies, to overcome the pain, and overall, have a positive, contagious
attitude! Mind over matter. No pain no gain. Our overall
goal is that by the lessons and wisdom Kendo teaches, one can discover
life-applicable experiences. Even a fraction of the qualities and
concepts grasped from the teachings of Kendo, will contribute to
personal growth and maturity for the future.
It is time to awaken the Samurai in
you.
Location
See the schedule
for where we are practicing. If you want to visit us, campus map and West
Lafayette map are available below:
Last
updated: 8 September 2000 |
