Japanese kendo is a modern sport that attracts Tunisian youth

Badreddine Ouhaibi - Tunisia

Dozens of visitors to the Menzah Cultural Complex in the Tunisian capital gather in front of a training hall to watch an exotic sport in which young men and women dress in well-known Japanese combat costumes that refer to the memories of old Japanese samurai films in the 1980s.

Kendo has been known to the Japanese since ancient times as the art of guiding the sword or the path of the sword, a martial art with this machine that made its way to the records of Tunisian sports in 2014, the date of the establishment of the Tunisian Kendo Association, which attracted in its shy beginnings a few dozen young men and women.

Kendo is also a rare sport that has for centuries preserved its characteristics and rules of change and modification, despite the imperial decree abolishing the use and use of the sword in 1868 and then criminalizing the American colonizer for this sport, which he considered hostile military practice in 1945.

The trip to Tunisia
Tunisian Sofiane Beji was able to form the first Tunisian kendo team in 2014 after a sporting trip between Europe and Japan, where he learned and excelled in this sport and earned high degrees qualified him to introduce it, before he established the first club in the Tunisian capital and is responsible for training those who want to master it young men and women .

Beji says to Al Jazeera Net that the beginnings were rather difficult, and that convincing young people of the enormous advantages of kendo sport on the mental and physical levels required a great effort, and he was keen in the definition of sports to give an attractive image of Japanese civilization in terms of indulgence and discipline in the hall to attract followers hesitant.

He adds that kendo requires continuous training in order to develop his combat skills by passing tests usually conducted in Japan and supervised by international heroes and Japanese teachers to obtain degrees to allow him to be included in the global lists of outstanding people in the sport.

Through his participation, Beji is keen to introduce the activity of the Kendo Sports Association in Tunisia and to give a positive image of the seriousness of his young team in dealing with this Japanese sport with excellence and their progress, which enabled him many times to receive the support of the Japanese Embassy represented in valuable equipment and equipment.

Discipline and commitment
The enthusiastic cries of young people within the training hall, which start in an upward fashion, suggest great commitment and discipline, and the movements are accurate, while technical supervisors assess what crooked they are when necessary as they move between rivals.

The practice of kendo requires a great deal of concentration and consistency between sight, foot positions and the opponent's body, which represents a set of goals for the player to be hit by his sword, in ways that adhere to technical and technical rules to achieve points varying from place to place depending on the severity of the place of injury in the human body.

Ahlam, one of the new entrants to the team, says she feels a significant improvement in her physical fitness since the first training sessions after she was very feeling the constant fatigue for no reason, and that her ability to focus has evolved, which reflected positively on her study and results.

She adds that the development of her sense of complacency and the positive energy that dominates her once she leaves the training room was a key incentive for her to continue to attend the exercises, stressing the fun atmosphere that prevails in the team of trainees who do not exceed the average age of employees 22 years.

Martial arts specialists define kendo as a delicate blend of the fighter's physical and mental discipline, and that the player is required to respect the traditional kendo traditions from the traditional dress code and the competitor to the arena, and each has its own tribute.

Shine and obstacles
The Tunisian Association of Kendo has participated in many international camps for this sport.Tunisia was the first Arab country to participate in the 2018 World Championships in South Korea and achieved promising participation although it is new in origin.

The head of the Tunisian Association of Kendo Ahmed Nouisir told Al Jazeera Net that a training program has been set up that will include points that will reflect positively on the upcoming posts of the team, including the composition of technical staff, coaches and referees.

Nouisser added that the association is preparing for the first Tunisian kendo championship in December, and said it will be an important stage during which the association will be able to assess the performance of Tunisian players and choose their representatives at the World Championships in Paris in 2021.

Sufian al-Baji says his team relies mainly on donations from friends, associates and players to participate in the camps, in the absence of the state's total absence from the team's support.