What to do in a first match

by Johnny
(Zagreb, Croatia)

I started kendo 3 months ago. 1 month ago I had my first kyu exam and I passed. My sensei decided to give me bogu and I will have my first practice with it tomorrow.

There is a tournament coming up in 1 month and I will be competing on it, so I wanted to ask what would be your advice for me for my first kendo match?

I don't expect to win, I just want to give my best and learn a lot from it so I want to know what should I really concentrate on?
Thank You!

Answer: Thank you for your question.  First of all, congratulations on your kyu exam! And second of all, good luck with your first shiai!

What you said is exactly what you have to do. Do your best and learn from it. I would say the same thing.

In addition to it, I would like to say that you should strike more than you defense. Do not think about executing cool techniques or anything. Attach when you think you have to attack.

Blocking too much will not give you much to learn even though it may prevent you from losing. So if you do not expect to win, attack!

Hope this helps.