Sticks: New martial arts club aims to teach students the 'Way of the Sword'
Amanda Martin
Issue date: 11/17/06 Section: Outdoors
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The Gonzaga Martial Arts Club is "dedicated to the promotion of traditional Japanese martial arts," according to club president and co-founder Dan Robinson. 13 students are currently members.
Robinson, a senior majoring in biology with a minor in classical civilizations, has been involved with Kendo (a form of martial art) since his freshman year at Gonzaga.
"I thought that it would be a great thing if we were to get GU students involved in this martial art," Robinson said.
The new club offers two kinds of martial arts to its members, Kendo and Aikido. According to Robinson, Kendo is Japanese fencing and literally means "the Way of the Sword." It has been practiced in Japan for more than 300 years and has changed little in that time. It began when Samurai were no longer allowed to carry swords in an effort to preserve their way of life. The ultimate goal of Kendo is to build character and learn a new way of living, Robinson said.
"We wanted to bring that, at some level, to the Gonzaga community," he said.
Kendo can be both a team sport and an individual life-leading art. The club will be participating in a tournament this weekend in Seattle, The Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation Tournament, where they will compete in sparring matches. They will be competing against about 350 other participants from around the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska). Russ Sinclair is the Sensei (teacher) for the Kendo section of the club.
"It's a really good way to refresh yourself and your energy," Sinclair said. "It's a great stress reliever, and it's an exciting way to be in shape."
"We have a lot of women in Kendo now," he said, adding that women do not have disadvantages to men in the sport. "It has nothing to do with strength or size - women do really well in Kendo."
Sinclair has been practicing Kendo for 10 years and has been teaching as a Kendo Sensei for four. In 2003, he and his wife Wendy co-founded the Spokane Kendo Club, which has more than 100 community members, and they were influential in helping Robinson start up the club at Gonzaga earlier this year.