萬花筒 Kaleidoscope

理解稽古的意義

Understand What Training Means?

Meaning of Keiko

http://www.kendo-guide.com/understanding_training_of_kendo_keiko.html

Do you know what keiko means? In these days in Japan, I hear “renshu” more than “keiko”. What is the difference? And there is probably no exact English words to distinguish the two. That is why we use the word, “training”, for both.

你知道稽古代表的意思嗎?最近我在日本聽到”練習”次數多過於”稽古”，而其中是否有差異呢?用英文很難精確表達，所以我們都使用訓練來涵蓋上述二者。

Keiko means

“to think and study about the ancient times” (Kanjigen 5th Revision, translated by Hiro Imafuji).

“to think well about the ancient times (things) by reading old books” (Iwanami Kokugo Jiten, 7th Revision, translated by Hiro Imafuji)

So in kendo, it means “we think and study kendo that the sensei teaches us”. And of course, the kendo we learn is the kendo our sensei learned from their sensei.

稽古意思是去思考或學習古代(的事物)，所以在劍道裡代表思考並學習老師的教導。當然，我們學的劍道也就是老師從他的老師所傳承的劍道。

We can say that keiko is to inherit teachings from the previous times.

也就是劍道是去傳承先輩們的教導。

I see my job is to pass the teachings from my sensei to the next generation. That is why I have not changed or modified these teachings. Luckily I still have good relationship with my sensei so I can ask him when I have questions, even though I live in a different country.

我的任務是傳承我老師的劍道給下一代，這也是為什麼我不去任意修改或更動老師的教導。而當我有問題的時候，我會去向老師尋求解答。很幸運的是，即使我身處不同的國家，我仍然與老師一直保持聯繫。

He Teaches Exactly Like You Do!

The phrase came out of my students when we invited my sensei from Japan to teach us in October 2015.

2015年十月我邀請我的老師從日本來講學，我的學生就說”日本老師教的和老師一模一樣也”

I don’t change the teachings from I received from my sensei, Miyazaki sensei, the late Tsurumaru sensei and the late Murayama sensei. Why should I? They have studied kendo a lot longer than me and they have reached the point where I have not even reached.

我沒改變我從T老師與村山老師老師那邊所學到的，因為他們研究劍道的時間比我久，而且他們所達到的境界也是我所望其背項的，為什麼我要更動它呢?

Copy Everything

模倣一切

We need to copy every single motion of our sensei. In my case, even though the late Tsurumaru sensei and the late Murayama sensei were the main instructors at my dojo as a child, Miyazaki sensei was the one who was directly teaching us. So I copied everything he did, not only kendo but how he bowed and how he talked.

我們必須學習老師的每一個動作。就我還是孩子的時候，T老師與M老師也是道館的指導者，但宮崎老師是直接帶領孩子們的指導者，所以我主要模仿老師的劍道，不只劍道，還包括他的禮法與說話。

Maybe copying how he talked is too much but I just wanted to learn his kendo and copying HIM seemed the right thing to do.

也許連他的說話方式都學習聽來有點誇張，但是我覺得不只學形式上的劍道，連他的精神也學，才是對的方式。

It is like impression; you mimic the way a person talks and acts.

There are no books nor note taking at the dojo. There is the only way to learn. Just copy your teacher.

在道場裡沒有書或記錄，一切都是透過老師口傳心授，而你必需去領略它。

You also want to learn theories too, right? How do you think you should learn?

Master-Pupil Relation Never Ends

一日師徒，終身師徒

We are so used to the modern school system; go to school, learn things from a teacher, go home.

我們慣於現代化的學校教育，去學校學習，然後回家。

Maybe that is OK if you are going to school and taking notes and study at home. It cannot work like that in kendo.

如果你去上學，抄一堆東西然後在家溫書，這方法也許沒問題，但以劍道來說卻不完全是這樣的。

At the dojo, we need to focus on copying our teacher.

Observe the movements of the teacher

Copy Exactly what he/she does

The teacher will correct you when necessary

Repeat 1 to 3

You might want to clarify a few things but you should not expect your teacher to take 30 min to explain all the details.

在道場裡，我們需要專心向老師學習，學習一切。

用眼睛觀察老師的行為舉止與動作

透過模倣確實做到老師所做的

有需要時，老師會適度糾正

你可能會想要弄清一些問題，但是你又沒法讓老師仔細地花個30分鐘講解所有細節。

So after training or outside the dojo, when you have a chance to talk to your teacher, take that chance. Go and talk. You can invite him/her to have a meal with you and other students.

那麼在訓練結束或在道場之外，當你有機會親近你的老師，就把握機會發問，或者你也能邀請他與其他學生一起用餐。

You can then ask about theories of what you learned at the dojo. Even when it doesn’t make sense then, it will make sense when time comes. And not only that, kendo has a lot of teachings on life. So you can learn how your teacher connects his/her life to kendo and kendo to his/her life.

那麼你就有更多機會問到學理的東西，甚至你當下不理解它，但當時機成熟的時候，你就能理解了。不只這樣，劍道即生活。所以你能學習如何連結劍道與生活，也能學習老師如何把劍道應用在生活上。

Keiko is “to learn and study about what teachers learned from their sensei including philosophies of kendo, i.e. life”.

劍道是學習師徒制下的技藝，也包含劍道的哲學，而這哲學就是指生活。

People Change As Time Goes By, but The Way Doesn’t.

人會隨時間流逝，而正劍不滅。

This is introduced in a Japanese book, Reidan-Jichi, Collection of Komorizono Masao sensei's Kendo Teachings.

Translation from the book, p.37 to 38:

Kendo itself doesn't change but it is people who pass it onto the next generation change. It is a problem if kendo changes because people change. The way of the sword should be one. Kendo practitioners must study the way that they were taught and pass it to the next generation correctly. That is the responsibility we must not forget.

劍道本質並不會改變，會變的只是做為指導的人。但如為人一改變，劍道就任意更動，那麼會造成問題的劍道。劍之道應一以貫之。劍道老師必需學習教學的方式並正確的教給下一代。那是我們不能忘記的責任。

It Is the Way that We Pass Onto the Next Generation, Not Our Own Interpretation of the Way.

劍道是代代相傳的文化，而非僅止於個人的詮釋。