On his very first day of kendo, Godi Renz decided he would go to Japan.
Way of Life #4, “Kendo Family”, is a portrait of Godi Renz (Renshi 7-dan) at Budokan Zürich. What follows is transcribed from the subtitles of the film — Godi Renz’s own words, in the order they are spoken, under the chapters of the film.
My very first kendo training — that was the moment. I knew immediately — boom, this is it.
Decided on day one
It hit me so hard, right after that first training I asked my sensei. For an address in Japan. I want to go to Japan to train kendo.
He was stunned — "You just arrived today. How do you know?" I said, "I know".
A lifetime of learning
For me, kendo is a lifetime — a schooling for life. Where you learn everything you need to go through life. Hard times, good times — training resilience.
Kendo family
In a hard time of my life, I was glad to have my kendo family here. I don't know what would have happened without them, or this place.
To the next generation
Respect for each other, friendship — all the etiquette. Mindfulness, caring for each other. And still training hard together — but with a good heart.
Tolerance and respect — for mistakes, too.
About this series
Way of Life is a series of short portraits of people who live the way, filmed by KAIDO Inc. in dojos across Europe and Japan. One person, one word, a few minutes.