Alexander C. Bennett has two PHDs in Human Studies and Sciences
from the University of Canterbury and Kyoto University.
He holds the ranks of 7th dan Kyoshi in Kendo, 5th dan in Iaido and Naginata,
3rd Dan in Jukendo and Tankendo.
He is professor at Kansai University of both Kendo and Japanese Culture and History,
vice-president of the International Naginata Federation, member of the international committee of the
All Japan Kendo Federation, director at the Japanese Academy of Budo, cofounder of the
Kendo World Magazine, and author of several books in English and Japanese.
All the time I've been Japan I've been justifying why I do this,
how can this make sense in the 21st century, or to, you know, an expat Kiwi.
I'm not Japanese, I'll never be Japanese, you know.
I don't look Japanese, I'm quite happy to embrace Japanese traits and New Zealand traits
because let's face it, I've spent, you know, over half of my life here,
so it's only natural that I'm affected in some way,
or influenced I should say in some way.
But all of these years while I've been researching Bushido in the history and practicing,
I've also been trying to justify why I'm doing this, which most Japanese people don't do
because that's part of their culture but that's not part of my culture.
And it sort of made me realize that: "Ah, of course it's part of my culture, you know.
I'm not doing this to be Japanese, I'm doing this because it has relevance to me as a human being.
And that's sort of what's kept me in it all the time.
I actually strongly believe that there's much that I can get from Budo to help me navigate life.
And it's not about Japanese culture or being Japanese for me, it's just...
It is what it is.
But you have to have certain skills in the language for example, and so on,
to be able to make sense of all of this information that's out there if you want to use it.
So I don't know, I can't even remember what the question was...
Every day starts with Kendo at Kansai University, where I work.
Kendo starts at 7:30 in the morning, goes to 9 o'clock.
Then students have classes and then I'll go to the University gym
and do a little bit of training, conditioning, and then I'll have class.
Not every day.
At Kansai University, I teach four classes, and two of those classes are actually martial arts
so it's just another excuse to be in the dojo.
One of those classes is the History of Budo and Budo Culture and also Japanese, a Japanese History class.
So basically just teaching all the things that I like.
I don't even think of it as a job, it's just, you know, it's what I like to do,
so I'm really, really happy to be able to do that.
And then, when classes finish in the afternoon, I'll probably, depends on the day,
but I might go to the Shubukan dojo to practice Naginata, or I might go to the Shiga prefecture Budokan
to practice Jiki Shinkage Ryu which is Kenjutsu, an old classical style.
On Saturdays I'll be usually practicing Kendo in the morning
and then Jukendo and Tankendo in the afternoon.
And every day is...
Something is going on and so, probably in a week,
I will be in the dojo actually training up to 14 times, 14 different sessions.
And the rest of the time, trying to meet deadlines, which is the bane of my life at the moment.
Lots and lots of deadlines.
So there's a lot of writing going on, and a lot of research in my spare time outside of the dojo.
So it's pretty much what my life consists of.
When come the summer holidays or the spring holidays, which we're in now in Japan,
that's usually when I go back to New Zealand for national training camps.
Or I might go somewhere else overseas to participate in some kind of international event.
So outside of school time, I spend a lot of time traveling around with my Kendo equipment in hand,
ready to go and train with anybody anywhere, to be honest, yes.
I do get asked to do a lot of translation for like the All Japan Kendo Federation, Naginata,
Nippon Budokan because they have a lot of international events
and in recent years, pretty much, they've just..."Oh wouldn't I be here?" and it's like...
You can't really say no, right?
You know, because it's what you do but it's also: "Ah God…"
You know, it's just a big stack of stuff to do.
And then of course, as you mentioned, Kendo World,
is a magazine that I and a couple of other people started up in 2001, and we've kept it going,
publish it in paper form and also online two times a year.
It's really really hard to get that out on time because there's just so much stuff to do.
But I try and prioritize that in June and in December to get
the magazines out and all that information out.
But it's just a constant, constant battle trying to keep up with all of the stuff that's going on.
If I'm not translating stuff, I'll be interpreting at a seminar.
If I'm not interpreting at a seminar, I'll be writing some of my own papers or books
in English or Japanese.
And the problem is, with me, I'm not very good at saying no.
And I end up, sort of, you know, hanging myself a lot, and biting off more than I can chew
because it's so exciting to do.
And when I'm writing something, or translating something,
I will suddenly discover something else that's really cool,
that needs to be looked at and done properly.
And it just is exponential in a way, you know?
It's just...
It's just really, really fulfilling but, I just wish there were more hours in a day.
In the next episode, Alex lets us know how hard it can be to live and work in Japan,
and how he managed to sit through and overcome his doubts to create a satisfying life in Japan.
Not much has changed, you know, in 20 years.
But inevitably, one day, they just pack up and leave.
It's very easy to get bogged down with, bogged down with bullshit.
As you know living in Japan, sometimes you just can't see the wood for the trees over here, can you?
Stay tuned for a next episode on Seido's Channel.
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