Kendo is spreading outside of Japan. We interviewed Cardinal Maxime, who began kendo in Canada at the age of 19, about what inspired him to start kendo and the cultural differences between Canada and Japan. Even things that we Japanese take for granted can lead to fresh discoveries when we change our perspective. (Published in the September issue of Kendo Nippon, Part 1 of "Overseas Kendo Chronicles")

Profile

Cardinal Maxime Born in Montreal, Canada. Started Kendo at age 19 and currently holds a 4th dan. Works as an engineer at Rakuten, Inc. Founder of the Rakuten Kendo Club.

Kendo history

Member of the Kendo Club at McGill University. Studied abroad at the International Budo University for one year. Member of the Kendo Club. Studied Kendo at the Kendo Club at Kogota Agricultural and Forestry High School for two months. Member of the Rakuten Kendo Club (founded the Kendo Club).

What made you start kendo?

-First of all, could you tell us what motivated you to start kendo? Nice to meet you, my name is Maxime. I started kendo when I was 19 years old because a friend invited me (lol). At the time, there were four or five dojos in Montreal, Canada, where I lived, and I belonged to one of them, the McGill University Kendo Club. The McGill University Kendo Club opens its dojo to the general public as well as students. Neither my friend nor I were students at McGill, but we joined the dojo. It was about a 20-minute drive from our home. *Photo with my Canadian kendo friends. Maxim is the man with the blue body in the bottom right. I've always been interested in martial arts, and at one point I even studied aikido. However, there were no teachers or students my age... I also found the formalities difficult, so I didn't continue. As for kendo, I had seen the manga and anime version of "Rurouni Kenshin," so I thought I had a pretty good idea of ​​what it was (laughs). Like the kendo forms, it can be formal and difficult, but there are matches, and it's fun.

Training in Canada

- It must be fun to have a lot of people your age. How long did you practice? I practiced three times a week, almost every day. I started wearing protective gear about three months after starting kendo. I had about 20 friends who started at the same time. It's really fun to be with people your age. Of those, four or five are still practicing, including one who reached fifth dan and Tuan Anh Hoang, who was selected to compete in the world championships. He's my best friend. Kendo isn't as popular in Canada as it is in Japan, so my sensei just wanted us to keep practicing. McGill University's kendo program is "Happy Kendo." That's why we bought a lot of protective gear at university, and we were allowed to wear it as soon as we passed third kyu. That's probably unthinkable in Japan, right? (laughs) The most important thing was having fun. I'm sure they also wanted us to wear protective gear as soon as possible. Dojos overseas have few members, so I think they wanted even one person to continue. Without continued practice, the dojo wouldn't even survive. However, it's not just fun; practice can be tough. We also did a lot of practice with the sword.

His mentor was a former French national fencing representative

- It's wonderful that you value the feeling of having fun. What was your teacher like? My teacher in Canada was a French seventh-dan instructor. He was originally a member of the French national team for fencing, but started kendo at the age of 35. His wife is Japanese, by the way. He has lived in Montreal for over 40 years and is currently the president of the Canadian Kendo Federation. His thrusts are really cool! Also, the university students who came to study abroad from Japan were important teachers to us. I often received kendo lessons from my Japanese seniors, and I was also very grateful to Korean students. *Maxim's mentor

Cultural differences between Japan and Canada

- I feel like the "club activities" culture is unique to Japan. You studied abroad at a Japanese university and high school, but did you notice any cultural differences between Japan and Canada? There are no clubs in Canada. There is also no senior-junior relationship like in Japan, so I was surprised at first. Being only one year apart means you are considered a "senior," a concept that doesn't exist in our country. The strict hierarchical structure at International Budo University was a particular culture shock. -Even now that you have been practicing kendo for over 10 years, are there still some aspects of hierarchical relationships that you don't understand? Yes, that hasn't happened recently. I've seen many kendo events, and I've witnessed some sad scenes of seniors bullying juniors or ignoring new adults or foreigners in the community. I think the hierarchical relationship is a well-designed system, where seniors are considerate of and help their juniors, and juniors show gratitude to their seniors in order to repay the kindness they've shown. It's even better if the compassion for others comes from within. Forcing it can lead to an unnatural hierarchical relationship. For example, bullying can occur. I think that's a shame. Also, while it has nothing to do with hierarchical relationships, there are some people who continue to practice kendo even though they don't like it... I wonder why. Incidentally, in Canada, there was no hierarchical relationship; everyone was friends, and teachers were teachers. There was no tradition of seniors looking after their juniors.

What is the appeal of kendo from the perspective of foreign fencers?

-What do you like about kendo, Maxim? What I like about kendo is that you can move your body with all your might. Another thing is that the match is decided in an instant. It's fast-paced and fun. I especially like the concept of "sutemi" (a form of sacrifice), where you hit the opponent's face with all your might. It feels really good. Also, in kendo, even if you don't understand each other's language, I feel like you can understand what kind of person you are if you can do kendo. Kendo doesn't lie. And the fact that you can continue doing it for a long time is a big attraction.

I want to do "good kendo" that anyone can see, not just because I'm a foreigner.

-Is there anything in the future that you would like to pursue in kendo or create in the kind of team you would like to create? My goal is to have everyone say, "That's good kendo." Not just because I'm Canadian, but because I'm good kendo as a swordsman. I'm currently working towards the rank of 5th dan. *To all members of the Rakuten Kendo Club: I hope that the Rakuten Kendo Club will one day reach a level where they can win a prize at a corporate Kendo competition. *Halloween costumes I would also like to create an environment where employees can start kendo even if they are beginners. Many corporate teams have many people who already have experience in kendo, but I think it would be great to have an environment where beginners can start at any age. I think that if there is a fun environment, people will naturally gather, whether they are strong or beginners.