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Monday 5 December 2011

Giri 義理

According to wikipedia 'Giri 義理 is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English. It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe.'

Giri 義理 is a concept that seems to get little attention in today's dojo. With understanding of basics there may not be a huge amount of time to teach some of the more intangible aspects of kendo. It's a concept that was very much a part of my first dojo and something I continue to uphold today.

Joining a kendo club is very different to joining your local gym. We all come together to take part in an activity that is supposed to hone the mind, body and spirit, without this in mind we're just folks in a dance hall hitting each other with sticks. It's the duty of all to come with the intent to improve themselves, for those with experience to pass on that experience and help those newer to the art to advance. For those that are just beginning it's important to take on board the lessons and advice given and do your best to improve. It's often said that the most important people in a club are not necessarily the ones who are the best, it's the ones who come week in, week out regardless of their ability but in an effort to get better and support the club.

Another example of giri exhibited by our club is how we 'subsidise' the members. Either through the additional two kata lessons a month, entrance fees for team competitions and the use of club armour. Tonight is kata night and we will probably have no more than ten people practicing but most likely less. Our kata venue is in a location that some find difficult to attend so usually we have much reduced numbers than our Wednesday practice. This brings us to today and Mano Sensei, the current British Kendo Squad Coach will be attending Kobudokan Kendo Club in Manchester this evening before he retuns to Japan and it's also our kata night. As much as I should go to Kobudokan, my concept of giri calls for me to be at kata. Regardless of whether I would benefit more from being at Kobudokan I have a duty to be at my own club's dojo tonight as I have been encouraging others to attend. Admittedly one of our members is taking Mano Sensei to Manchester and there to too is an example of giri, in that he will be representing the Liverpool dojo on our behalf but because he can't make kata it makes it doubly important that I attend to compensate.

Don't get me wrong, giri isn't the be all and end all. In today's Taikai situations there are plenty of opportunities to be a sword for hire. Loyalty to one's dojo shouldn't preclude the opportunity to join another team to fence at one of the team taikais. But loyalty, commitment to turning up each week that's the basics of giri and hopefully we can see a little more of that spirit on show.

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