[osteoftex]

I find most people don't think kendo is all that strange, no more so than any other martial art. The fact is, most people don't care all that much about your hobbies unless they have an interest as well. Everyone here thinks it's cool and loves to talk about it, but for most of your friends and family it's just sufficient to say you do it and leave it at that.

It's not particular to kendo, it applies to whatever you do. I snowboard, and I could spend hours yakking about technique and equipment with people who cared but people simply don't care. It's just enough to say that I snowboard, and leave it at that. People don't want a conversation to be a lecture. So if I travel to Banff to ride, then we can have a conversation about the drive, the condo, did we do any shopping, etc, all stuff that allows anyone to participate. They don't want to talk about the runs or the conditions or what boards I used unless they also ride.