On April 12, a series of kendo cultural events were held at the Butokuten kendo dojo in Changhua City. More than 200 kendo enthusiasts from around the country joined the event and gathered to practice sword arts. The oldest participant, 88-year-old Wang Chuan-hsi, started learning kendo from the age of 13. Wang says, “When practicing kendo, you must straighten your back and stand upright. The more you practice, the stronger your bones will be”.
The event drew many kendo lovers to participate. Wang, who received a Japanese education at a young age, says that he saw policemen practicing kendo when he was a child. He observed how, when the players sparred with each other, they shouted as they swung their sticks and bowed in respect at the beginning and end of each match. He was very interested and started taking lessons, forming a tight bond with kendo, which he has now been practicing for 60 years. Wang said kendo requires one’s full attention, with partners comparing skills and exchanging experience with every swing and parry. Kendo is a sport that benefits the mind and body and improves one’s concentration, says Wang.
National kendo team member Liu I-ting, who, at 34 years old, was one of the few women at the event, said that because she was anemic as a child, she could hardly stand through the flag-raising ceremony in elementary school. When she entered junior high school, Liu saw her seniors wearing handsome kendo outfits and was impressed by their swordsmanship. This prompted her to take up the study of kendo. After going through her physical training for kendo, her anemia symptoms cleared up, she says.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者張聰秋
The event organizer, the Republic of China Kendo Association, also invited an eighth-dan kendo master and disciple of Musashi Miyamoto, Chen Hsin-huan, to provide instruction in sword skills. After a morning of sparring, everyone was dripping with sweat. The event was interspersed with activities like tea ceremony, ikebana flower arrangement and calligraphy. These quiet arts stood in marked contrast with the intense power of the kendo bouts.
(Liberty Times, translated by Zane Kheir)
彰化市武德殿四月十二日舉辦劍道文化系列活動，來自全國二百多位劍道愛好者齊聚交流劍藝。年紀最長的八十八歲王傳喜，十三歲開始學劍道。他說，打劍道腰要直、站要正，骨頭越練越勇健。
本次活動吸引不少劍道愛好者參加。自小接受日本教育的王傳喜說，小時候看到警察打劍道，開始到結束都要行禮，雙方對峙時還要邊打邊吆喝，他看得很有興趣，加入學習行列，就此與劍道結下不解之緣，一打超過一甲子的歲月。他說，劍道要全神貫注，攻守間互比劍藝、經驗交流，是一項有益身心和練習注意力集中的運動。
三十四歲的劍道國手劉怡婷則是少數的女性。她說，小時候因為貧血，連升旗都無法久站，上了國中，看到學長穿劍道服練劍藝超帥，開啟她學習劍道之路，練了劍道鍛鍊身體，貧血都好了。
活動主辦單位台灣劍道聯盟也邀請宮本武藏傳人、劍道八段的正宗高手陳信寰指導劍藝，一個上午的劍藝交流，每個人都大汗淋漓。現場穿插茶道、花道、書道等活動，靜態技藝與劍道的力道形成對比。
（自由時報記者張聰秋）
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