[wbeachcomber]

I remember something I've heard quite a lot - that when your opponent scores a hit on you, what they have done is effectively helped you by showing you where you left an openning. I think if you look at it that way, the person who scored the hit has gained by scoring the hit. The person who has been hit has gained by knowing where the weakness is (to overcome something, you need to know what you're overcoming).

(I can't believe I'm doing this) Apparently we're going on the philosophical tour. But who is the winner in this game? It all depends on how you describe a winner. The one who scored the point or the one who learned the most during that match? Or are they both winners because they both learned something? In other words, what's the definition of a winner? This differs per situation and is something we can discuss for days (please don't). The same thing goes for defeat. Defeat can be a win-win, a win lose or a lose-lose situation. It al depends how you look at your (or at your opponents) defeat.
But what I was trying to say with my previous post, defeat is not a negative word. I got carried away (just a bit)

I know what you mean T but in defence of Creepieguy, I know where he's coming from. You can hear something over and over again and understand it in theory as words. Then something happens (whether it be a good thing or a bad thing) and suddenly click, you get it and you really understand what it means. Not suddenly being able to do something perfectly or understand something perfectly but a kind of understanding that enables you to then take that to a new level. I've experienced this in tai chi, chi kung, archery and in kendo (being a beginner in kendo something will finally go 'click' and I go 'ah, I get it' and then I can start really progressing on it, even if it's just a feeling you get, like how you can just tell when an arrow is going to go straight, no matter how many times you get told before that first magical time you experience it, don't let fly unless it feels right).

Ack. That was rather long-winded. Did I make sense?

I don't know... I really don't. The click sounds nice, but I never had the magical experience (am I missing something?). When I do things correctly, I don't get the great click, I get the "let's work on the next problem" feeling or the "hmmm... surprising, I can do this correctly" feeling. I leave the great click for my moment of enlightenment .

I'm not a very spiritual person so when someone starts talking about how he/ she read some books and the next lesson or so he/she suddenly got it (and make it sound like an amazing moment of clarity), alarm bells start ringing and most of the time they didn't get it.

I've seen people whose exercise went smooth and they where so pleased with themselves until the sensei started talking... and the magical moment was gone. Do you see my problem?

Now creepyguy, I'm not trying to shoot you down here. You sound like a nice guy (except for the nickname , how did you come up with that one anyway?) and it's great that you are willing to share your experiences and every experienced kendoka has gone trough the phase your going trough (or will go trough). They can relate with all your kendo experiences and can help you out with your (future) kendo issues. So please don’t let me scare you off, I’m a little harsh sometimes, but I don’t mean any harm (I should use this as a disclamer ). Keep us informed and keep posting.