The Mind of No Mind -- Kendo Documentary Part 1

[flower1921]

I can't read the text!:(

[bibibi8888]

@XiaoLinLong: to master your spirit you must overcome w/ your physical endurance then you'll easily to control your mind. Tough exercise definitely is a big help. No pain, no gain.

[BeamMeUpSir]

Kendo has been a blessing in my life. I moved to Japan a lost young man when I was 22, I had just finished my tour in the US Marines & I found work as a Pharmacist on an American Military Base in Okinawa. I was lost, involved in drinking & easy women, Kendo allowed me for the first time in my life to deal with the fact my father walked out on my mom and me at a young age, mom moms death from cancer & the fact I never forgave myself for not being around to say goodbye to her. Kendo gave me peace.

[FlyingMandarine]

Interesting documentary; I enjoyed watching it, especially listening to those people's take on what they feel is kendo, mushin, etc., as opposed to just reciting a definition directly taken out of a book. The editing (the coloring in particular) was great, but curiously, about half the documentary's audio was not in sync with the image. In any case, thank you for sharing this with us!

[TheTommyKay]

Thank you for sharing.

''Yuki to Meyo''

-Valency and Honor-

>Σθενος και Τιμη<

[DrChrisOuellet]

Your historical reference is inaccurate. Even the older koryu do not date as far back as 12th century and modern kendo is even very different than even pre-war kendo. This is not an old art, it may have old roots but it's definitely NOT an old art and you should not present it as such.

[TheTrismegistos]

Nice documentation! like it!

[stantheman66166]

@TheTrismegistos Thanks a lot for the comment, glad you like it : - )

[XiaoLinLong]

I wish America would stop martial arts from becoming too much sport and exercise. It's a way of life and mental, emotional, and spiritual cultivations. And I'm an American martial artist.

[stantheman66166]

@XiaoLinLong Thank you for posting your comment. I wouldn't be the best person to have a say on this since I don't know much about martial arts in America, but I certainly agree with you about the cultivations of mind you mentioned in the case of kendo.

[Welther47]

@XiaoLinLong I don't think there's anything wrong with making it a sport. Nothing is lost because of competition. If you take Iaido, It's still a "hobby" you go to, in our modern word. Wether that is good or sad is debatable.

[MrLifestudent]

@XiaoLinLong well then captain america...it's up to you....only you can stop the americans from doing kendo...because your an american....I'm an american also...

and I approve this message.

[MisogiMuskoka]

This is such a blessing, and a great gift. Thank you.

[stantheman66166]

@MisogiMuskoka Thank you very much for your kind words. Glad you like the film.

[TimeManInJail]

i would think the yelling simply an sign of courage knowing that your attack are accurate and deadly!!yelling to show no sign of fear!

[stantheman66166]

@TimeManInJail

Yes, if you are far more skillful, faster, have more stamina than your opponent and are in total control of a match.

[kendostudent]

@TimeManInJail

The main purpose of the "yelling" is your kiai or spirit. It rallies your inner strength to deliver a properly executed strike. Each strike must posses ki-ken-tai-ichi.

Ki - your sprit (expressed in the "yell").

Ken - your sword.

Tai - your body.

Ichi-one (everything coming together in one moment).

and yes, it's also used to "show no sign of fear!"

[Maria29493]

is yelling required?

[stantheman66166]

@Maria29493

Yes, it is required in competitions. In Kendo, the yelling is referred to as "Ki-ai". "In competition, a point is only awarded ...... the kendōka must execute a spirited and convincing ki-ai (気合?) in co-ordination with the strike...... ----- Wikipedia".

[stantheman66166]

@Maria29493

"Body-mind integration plays an important role in the realization of mushin, and Ki-ai is the verbal evidence of this integration.

Ki-ai refers to a verbal outflow of a synergistic force ferived through body-mind integration. It is not simply a shout meant to “startle or mesmerize” the opponent. It is the verbal revelation, demonstration, and evidence of a synergistic force issuing from the body-mind integration." ----- The Shambhala Guide to Kendo

[stantheman66166]

@Maria29493

It helps kendo practitioners to remain their concentrations and determinations I think. It is sometimes a reminder to your opponent and yourself that you are still in the game at the time you feel your lung is going to burst and you are screaming for air. ~~

[stantheman66166]

It might be easier to see the difference by comparing a scene in the film with the same scene in the orignial clip straight from camera, you'll see some of that in the film credit in the end. I hope I answered your question. Apologize for the slow upload, I constantly get a network error when the uploading's 80% done after 6 hours therefore need to start over, such a pain.

[Anime12478]

@stantheman66166 Wow, that's a crappy problem. I'm looking forward to see the rest of the video when you can successfully get it uploaded.

Thanks for the further explanation though. At first, I thought that it needed the annotations but, upon further viewing, it turned into a "nice to have" but not really necessary since the perceived message was getting through and I kinda thought it might get in the way.

[stantheman66166]

@Anime12478 Thanks man, fingers crossed for the uploading. I'm thinking it might be helpful if google provide a small freeware desktop application allowing youtube users to upload only part of the videos and come back to upload the rest later, rather than uploading the whole chunk in a less stable web environment. Should be easy for google.

[stantheman66166]

About the color scheme, it's really both the color and light, I made the bright part brighter and shadows even darker to create a more striking contrast and feel, meanwhile tint the frames, those two together create my "voice" to the audience, describing what I think or feel about kendo at a particular moment, in shiai, ji-geiko, kata, or general practice. This is one thing that I'm trying to do differently than a conventional documentary where the exact facts are shown without subjectivity

[stantheman66166]

Before I lead the audience to the subject of the state of mind and mushin, I felt that it's necessary to at least gave them some idea of what kendo is like, so I included some kendo training sessions. But there're only there to let the audience to gain a look and feel of kendo. Especially for Tora Dojo's second training session, I didn't want to include much interview talks, but just let the audience to observe and feel what kendo is like through 10 mins of intensive trainings themselves.

[Anime12478]

I like how the video gives in-depth displays of general Kendo practice.

If I may suggest some things though, you might want to add some annotations to tell the general audience what's going on at practice. We know what's going on, but does the general Joe know what's happening? Also, what do you mean about the color scheme expressing your views on Kendo? I can see it as a dramatic effect but I don't understand where you're getting at with that.

[stantheman66166]

Thanks very much for spending time writing your opinions and giving suggestions about my film in the first place, I appreciate it and glad there're aspects of the film you like.

I don't want to reinvent the wheels to make another documentary trying to asking the simple and difficult questions "What is kendo?", there're already many good ones on this subject. I aim to try answering the questions of "what is mushin and what is a kendokas' state of mind in shiai?"