Who are our students? They come from all walks of life and are all at different stages in their martial arts journey. Today we meet:
Stu, one of our beginners
Stu has been doing Shorinji Kempo for about three months now, and was nervous about whether he was fit enough to keep up. But he’s settled right in and we’re loving having him around!
Give us a vague idea of who you are outside of the dojo.
I’m a parent, librarian, and aikido teacher, with a nerdy fondness for tabletop RPGs and board games.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
I used to be a very prolific Wikipedia editor and administrator, with a whole bunch of special executive powers on the site.
Why did you start Shorinji Kempo?
My wife has been doing Kempo for a few years now, and I was looking for something that would both complement my existing training and provide a bit of a workout – Kempo seemed to fit the bill. It has a few philosophical and technical correlations with the aikido and taijiquan that I’ve been doing for years, and requires more physical effort than either of them.
What were you most nervous about before you started?
Keeping up with all the young, fit, healthy people with my old, tubby, knackered body. Turns out I can manage, just about. It’s nice to have fellow students who provide a bit of a benchmark to work towards.
What were you most looking forward to?
Learning more about the system’s history and philosophy. Learning to kick, punch and throw people around is interesting, but if I just wanted a scrap I’d be doing MMA or Krav Maga. What I’ve always found fascinating about the martial arts is the underlying theory, historical development, and processes of personal improvement that they foster – the dichotomy in simultaneously answering the questions, “How can I be a better person?” and, “How can I punch someone very hard in the face?” is fascinating to me.
How long did it take you to learn how to tie your belt?
I already knew how to tie a belt, so about five seconds – although in fairness, the Kempo way of tying a square knot is a nice, efficient way that I’ve now adopted for other martial arts.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in Shorinji Kempo?
It’s not a cult. Honest. Although I guess that’s what a cultist would say…
Favourite Shorinji Kempo philosophy?
Fusatsu katsujin “Do no harm, preserve life” – good advice, and it creates an interesting friction with one of my favourite sword aphorisms, satsujinken katsujinken, “The killing sword is the sword that preserves life”.
What would you say is the main benefit you have got out of doing Shorinji Kempo?
I’ve met a bunch of cool new people. Martial artists are nearly always good friends to have, and not just when you spill some big bloke’s pint in the pub.
If you could change one thing about the world, big or small, what would it be?
This has the potential to end up as a huge rant… suffice to say, I’d like to see critical thinking taught from an early age. Let’s leave it at that.
Favourite martial arts film? And why?
Easily the hardest question in this list. I’m going to go with Drunken Master, for its excellent balance of comedy, acrobatics, and classic HK cinema student/master dynamic.
Favourite martial arts actor? And why?
Toshiro Mifune. Stole every scene he was ever in. The charisma of Laurence Olivier, the physical presence of Schwarzenegger, and the fighting skills of Yoshio Sugino, all in one package.