I am from Nagano, Japan, and started kendo at the urging of my parents, who were concerned about my physical weakness. When I entered junior high school, I joined the basketball club and left kendo for a while, but I joined the kendo club again in high school. At the time, the high school kendo club was on the verge of being discontinued, but I practiced hard with my friends and was able to grow to become a high ranking member of the club and win top prizes at prefectural tournaments. After entering university, I began to study law, so I took a break from kendo again. The reason why I started kendo again was that I happened to pass by a dojo on my bicycle and my child showed an interest in it, so I stepped into the dojo. At the time, my daughter was3I spoke to Dr. Iwanami, worried about whether he would accept me at my age, but he said that if my father could do it with me, he would.OKSo I decided to join the club. However, for a while after I started playing again, my body did not move as much as I would have liked, so I would only play pretend tennis with my child and then go home. As my child grew up, my own body started to move, and after a few years, I started to participate until the end.
Since joining, I have learned a lot from other members, both my children and myself, and it has helped me in my own work. I have always felt that I am growing with my older children. I have decided to take the Social Physical Education Instructor Course, which is subsidized by the dojo, but I am conflicted as to whether I am really qualified to take the course.
What made me realize my own growth after joining the Shikukai was that when I planned a training session to commemorate the retirement of the advisor of my alma mater, I asked for volunteers from the Shikukai members, and several of them came to Nagano to join me. I was also happy to receive comments from my advisor at the time and after practicing with my peers that I had become a good kendo player, never taking a step back.
What do you feel strongly about joining Shikukai?
I want to cultivate not only a winning attitude, but also a good sense of character."
There's a lot to learn in the practice."
It's interesting to see adults interacting with each other."
It is. I will continue to practice and grow with my children.
Masahito Maruyama, 4-dan (Jul. 2022, Feb. 2023)