Tuesday nights are blocked. So are Thursdays. Patrick Kipfer works as a chef and changed workplaces so that his hours would line up with training.
Way of Life #16, “Kendo Is My Center”, is a portrait of Patrick Kipfer (3-dan · Nito) at Senbukan Luzern. What follows is transcribed from the subtitles of the film — Patrick Kipfer’s own words, in the order they are spoken, under the chapters of the film.
Those are my anchor points within the week. First comes practice — then tournaments, seminars. It starts from kendo. Kendo is my center.
Everything clicked
By coincidence, I found the beginner course at our dojo. I'd just finished my apprenticeship — I had free time again. I wanted sports — martial arts always interested me.
Everything clicked together at the right time. I study sports science — I've tried judo, many martial arts. But kendo is, in a way, your first love.
Had I started with judo, maybe I'd love judo. But I started with kendo — and loved it from the start. The fighting, the tension in keiko — it's amazing.
Like breathing
I still work as a chef — but I changed my workplace. So the work hours align with training hours. Evenings free — the dojo.
Weekends off — the dojo. I love it so much, it's like breathing. Tuesday nights are blocked.
Thursdays too — there's training. Those are my anchor points within the week. First comes practice — then tournaments, seminars.
It starts from kendo. Kendo is my center.
Nito, from scratch
Because of an injury, I switched to nito — two swords. I'm the one doing nito in our dojo now. For me it was a fresh start — beginning from scratch. I think about it on the way there, and all the way home.
The courage to be loud
I went to Japan once, in 2019. At first, people didn't understand why I was there. We said we do kendo — they didn't follow.
So we did the men motion — "Ah — he means our martial art." Their faces changed. They knew: he cares.
He's here for a reason. Kendo has given me so much. Posture, confidence — overcoming yourself by being loud.
Swiss and Japanese culture are very similar. Almost overly polite — sorry, excuse me, sorry. So the kiai takes courage.
But it gives courage back when you do it. Too shy — it gives you courage. Too brash — it calms you.
To everyone in Japan who hasn't tried kendo — give it a go.
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.