[Brainpole]

I first came to Japan back in 1984. I knew very little about the country, colture, people, and history but had a desire to learn all I could. I also grew up listening to stories of my immigrant relatives who moved to the US and learned to speak the language.... the idea was we live here, we have to learn the way they speak and do things. I took this thinking with me to Japan.
When I was finally leaving Japan a little over 4 years later, I started to understand that kendo and budo were much more than just martial arts, and having grown up playing American football, and being a big guy, I was surprised at the power tiny old men and women displayed in doing kendo particularly. I knew my size and physical strenght counted for virtually nothing in competition with them, some other source of strength they had was overwhelming.
Unfortunately, I was soon to leave, but I promised myself that if I ever returned, I would find a place to try learning kendo.
As luck would have it, I came back to Japan in February of 1993 and the military base I was at had just started a kendo club 10 minths earlier. I plunged in and am now the club captain, and I cannot imagine life without kendo and the "family" I know through it.