[loginereQQ]

As many of you know, I attend a kumdo dojang. I also have friends who practice kendo, and one of them actually is a sensei at a local kendo club. After talking with him about it, I finally went and practiced with his kendo club, and I enjoyed it very much (Neil & Ignatz ought to be happy!). This is a touchy subject in some circles, but it was great fun meeting and practicing with new people, and I plan to do this again soon, and hopefully on a regular basis. After class, I chatted with few of the students, and they were surprised that I practiced everyday – this club meets once a week.

Some personal observations to note. There really is no material difference between kumdo and kendo. There are stylistic differences and differing emphasis on different things, but no more or no less than what I’d find between different kumdo dojangs. After figuring out what the Japanese terms were, which I’m still struggling with (but everyone was very helpful), I thought I fit in rather nicely.

I think there should be more outreach and exchanges between kendo and kumdo communities, without getting all worked up about who invented what. I recommend “cross-training” to anyone who is fortunate enough to live in an area with both kumdo and kendo schools, and is sufficiently advanced to have the basics solidly down.