[Gerribase]

Salute,

Well I just started wearing Bogu. I thought I would be practicing without the Men for while, but I was wrong. I also thought that up to now my Kendo was quite sharp and quick, but last night a little 9 yr old kid kicked my butt all over the Dojo.

Problem #1 is that my Dojo is run by Japanese workers over here in Düsseldorf, so the training is all in Japanese, which makes things a little hard to follow.

But that aside, with Bogu on I feel like...."Crap". My speed is gone (but then I am 47), and its like starting from day 1 all over again. My response time to given open targets is so slow, and my posture falls apart very quickly. I basically feel very....Feeble and weak.

Is this normal for most folks ??

[Unoloknovagog]

Everyone started the same way, dude.

Doesn't matter how good you are... you will always find someone 100x better than you that will make you feel like you've just started yesterday.

[MizzDaizzy]

Keine Panik!!

That's totally normal!! As soon as you start wearing bogu you "feel" different Kendo. Basically you need to relearn everything. It took me about 4 trainings to get sort of into it again after I started with bogu. It'll be faster than when you started all the way at the beginning so don't worry about it. The speed will come back. It just takes some time and patience to adjust to wearing men & kote and having a "Regentonne" (do) around your belly . But it'll be better cause now you get to actually do jigeiko!! Hurray!

So don't worry, it's not just a thing people say, it's actually true. EVERYONE has this when they start to wear bogu. The secret is plain and simple: "just do it". Keep at it and keep going to trainings, even if you're not motivated or you feel "feeble and weak". You'll get better and can be proud of sticking with it! This is the first small mountain of the huge range that is Kendo which a majority of kendo beginners never conquer.

[womberte]

I know what you mean, I started wearing bogu about 3~4 months ago. My stamina is pretty bad and I was just at the point where I felt comfortable doing a whole lesson without bogu. I also started to feel like I no longer completely sucked. And then I got my bogu. I have been sickly for a while, but I no longer have the stamina to do a full practice, and the little bit of technique I had went down the drain. Add the fact that I am suddenly doing everything along with "the big boys" who make everything seem so easy it can get very frustrating at times.

BUT! Last lesson I almost managed to score a few ippons of my senpai during jigeiko (my zanshin wasn't good enough ) so that means I AM improving. And you will to, if you keep showing up for practice and do your best

[mdUzAMbG]

When I got first time in bogu I couldn’t even do suriashi properly …balance is off the window….I couldn’t see anything anymore…I couldn’t hear anything anymore…the smell… I thought I stayed Ok in kamae it seems I was wrong ….
You really have to start over from the beginning….from what I’ve heard from my sempai it seems that there are a lot of these moments in practicing kendo and now I really understand what starting from zero means.
On the other hand…this is when the fun part starts ….and this was the moment when I got the kendo virus
BTW I still can’t do suriashi properly with or without bogu and I realize now the whole time I was doing it wrong anyway …I’m a total n00b

[Uzezqelj]

1. Welcome to kendo :-)
2. You are starting all over again.
3. This is normal
4. This too will pass if you concentrate on _your_ kendo and not other 'external' factors.
5. _Look_ at sensei when they are talking usually they make it visually pretty clear when they are demonstrating good stuff and when they are demonstrating errors.
6. If you just now got into bogu, I doubt seriously your kendo was _ever_ sharp or quick. The truly wonderful thing about kendo is how our opponents act as a mirror in which we are forced to see our own kendo as it really is.

[glamourcitys]

The truly wonderful thing about kendo is how our opponents act as a mirror in which we are forced to see our own kendo as it really is.

how true that sounds...good answer

danke

[CaseyFronczekHomie]

I also thought that up to now my Kendo was quite sharp and quick

Yeah, you'll be cured of that quickly. Don't worry about it, just concentrate on enjoying yourself and improving as much as you can in equal measure.

[bettingonosports]

start to wear bogu it's like born again in kendo. need more practice and you will be cool.

[Nothatspecial]

As a matter of fact, this transition is so tough for most people that about 50% of them quit shortly after getting into bogu, in my experience. You're definitely not alone. So just stick with it, you'll be fine with practice.

[RorieSorNearop]

Totally normal. Don't get discouraged. It's a totally different ballgame when your opponent starts hitting back. But that's what eventually makes kendo so fun -- because you have a live opponent who is trying to outwit you. Infinite variety.

[leijggigf]

Salute,

Well I just started wearing Bogu. I thought I would be practicing without the Men for while, but I was wrong. I also thought that up to now my Kendo was quite sharp and quick, but last night a little 9 yr old kid kicked my butt all over the Dojo.

Problem #1 is that my Dojo is run by Japanese workers over here in Düsseldorf, so the training is all in Japanese, which makes things a little hard to follow.

But that aside, with Bogu on I feel like...."Crap". My speed is gone (but then I am 47), and its like starting from day 1 all over again. My response time to given open targets is so slow, and my posture falls apart very quickly. I basically feel very....Feeble and weak.

Is this normal for most folks ??

Ok have a think about this , I started kendo at about 10 and finished at 14/15ish , then came to iai in my twenties.

Because of being a kid I could move with lightning speed , totally fearless and got incredibly cocky.

One night my sensei ( who was in his early 60's then) took me aside and said that I would not be able to carry on at that speed.

It took me about 10 years to work it out, he didnt tell me directly but it occured to me one day whilst Iai training

Whilst at honbu, the sensei was demonstrating a point about distance and timing, I voluntered , and whilst facing a nanadan in his mid 60's and me in my mid 20's , I instantly knew I didnt stand a chance, because the sensei infront of me had done the dojo time and if need be adapted his technique with age, a child can go a million miles an hour but what if that child was the same age as you and tried it?

Perhaps then you would have the upper hand, what I somewhat taking ages and around the house to explain is that you cant do kendo/iai/100 m sprinting like you could at 15/30/40/80 years old , I find it constantly changes, agressive youth evolves in a mature well rounded technique, but we all still learning, and im still learning that lesson.

So dont be down, just steadily make it more difficult for your opponent, you may not win you may never win, but making it just that little more difficult each time is enough to keep going...

[Boripiomi]

My kendo goes down the drain every time I realize I am doing something fundamental completely wrong. Its probably normal?

I think the main difference with how it was when I first got into bogu is how I don't really notice my bogu being there. Thinking in reverse, maybe you could get into it faster by not thinking about it!

[Phassetus]

Don't compare yourself to a 9yr old, his development path will be totally different to yours.
And try not to be to hard on yourself when looking at the progression of the guys in there 20s.

Everyone one has strengths and weaknesses. The strength of a someone who is 45 is different to someone who is 9 or 20. Using your strengths will help balance the playing field.

[avappyboalt]

Salute,

Well I just started wearing Bogu. I thought I would be practicing without the Men for while, but I was wrong. I also thought that up to now my Kendo was quite sharp and quick, but last night a little 9 yr old kid kicked my butt all over the Dojo.

Problem #1 is that my Dojo is run by Japanese workers over here in Düsseldorf, so the training is all in Japanese, which makes things a little hard to follow.

But that aside, with Bogu on I feel like...."Crap". My speed is gone (but then I am 47), and its like starting from day 1 all over again. My response time to given open targets is so slow, and my posture falls apart very quickly. I basically feel very....Feeble and weak.

Is this normal for most folks ??

Yes, it is completely normal. Trust me... *remembers how hard it was - still can be ...*

As for it being in Japanese, well, 2 of our 5 Sensei are not Japanese speakers (nor are the vast majority of our students) and it is all in Japanese here. That is completely normal for Kendo.

[st01en_lox]

Is this normal for most folks ?? Yeah. And it doesn't go away. Starting to think you're getting good, and then being disabused of that notion; it's more of a recurring motif in kendo than a one-time occurrence.

[iH1wMOhE]

Salute,

Well I just started wearing Bogu. I thought I would be practicing without the Men for while, but I was wrong. I also thought that up to now my Kendo was quite sharp and quick, but last night a little 9 yr old kid kicked my butt all over the Dojo.

Problem #1 is that my Dojo is run by Japanese workers over here in Düsseldorf, so the training is all in Japanese, which makes things a little hard to follow.

But that aside, with Bogu on I feel like...."Crap". My speed is gone (but then I am 47), and its like starting from day 1 all over again. My response time to given open targets is so slow, and my posture falls apart very quickly. I basically feel very....Feeble and weak.

Is this normal for most folks ??

Yes.

Yeah. And it doesn't go away. Starting to think you're getting good, and then being disabused of that notion; it's more of a recurring motif in kendo than a one-time occurrence.

oo! oo! That's VERY true!

[Cabinanteerip]

Think of yourself lost in a mountain range. You start climbing up one mountain, find a plateau, get some easy going, then hit a peak...you struggle up that peak and hit the summit then top of the mountain...you're all excited and happy and thinking "dang I'm good, that wasn't so bad"...then you turn around and what do you see...more mountains showing you how far you really are from your destination - that's kendo.

It's all in you...and that's been said here.

As for the bogu, most people forget that the bogu has weight and that the weight is all forward. You'll get used to it. I do however, find that people that have played "armoured" sports like american football, ice hockey, and the like get used to the narrow field of vision and weight quicker.

[Nothatspecial]

Salute,

been a few months now, off and on with back pain, but I'M starting to get the hang of it now.
Feels like I'm actually starting to do Kendo.

[Arrectiff]

Good you've hung in there and especially despite intermittent back pain. I found if I keep my waist wedged up (kinda curved out) against the stiff part of the hakama - some people even put a flat, wooden piece between back of the hakama and their backbone - I don't get back pain. Also, a long soak in a hot bath after practice.
When out of bogu for a while, due to knee problems (from Iaido but kung-fu caused some time ago), as soon as I got all gear on, the doh seemed so heavy and I arched my back (inwards)=backache. As you know, Kendo is a "do" or Way, there for us for a long time, so continue to hang in there.