Kendo Suburi Diary
Introduction
When I started kendo my teacher said that to reach enlightenment through kendo one should practice 1000 suburi everyday for 1000 days. This idea stuck with me for more than ten years; through university, my two years in Japan, moves around Europe, marriage…
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At the end of 2003, I felt that I was not getting as much out of kendo practice as I had been before. But I realised that I couldn’t expect my teacher just to give me the answers I needed, especially at 3rd dan level. I would have to look for them myself.
The idea came back to me. 1000 suburi for 1000 days. It seemed to offer the solution to my problem. Just before Easter 2004 I decided to take the challenge.
This is a diary of those suburi.People believe that the reason for mastering swordsmanship is to be able to cut down one’s enemies. For myself, however, I seek to master swordsmanship because through it I seek divine principle. If once I attain this, my heart will be as still water, calm and quiet, like a clear mirror lucid and bright, able to cope instantly with any situation. For when faced with any incident my spirit will react on its own. Of what comes to pass, my comprehension of it will be instantaneous. To truly attain to this plane is to be one with the way of heaven. Throughout earnest training and by clearing the mind (kokoro), I seek only to awaken to the one root principle of the heavens.
Yamaoka Tesshu: Concerning the Aims of Kendo
