Talent Ming Myaskovsky

My grandfather and his father's before him have practiced kendo for four generations. As far back as I can remember, and even before that, my aunt used to take me along her practice sessions, and I would take a nap in a corner of the gym or play around with other people's shinai ( bamboo sword). I began to properly practice kendo when I was five years old. At the training hall and at the gym, I had three to four lessons a week from early mornings to late afternoons. Spiritually, kendo exists in another place for me. Regardless of the blistering cold or the scorching heat, as soon as the keiko (lesson) began, nothing else mattered. Kendo is a way of self-discipline and how I learned to respect myself. Once the basics are down, practicing kendo calms me. My mind seems to shut everything else out, and my opponent and I are all that exists. All the worries and stresses of the day, or of life, seem to fade away.....