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The Hayakawa Kendo Club will be holding practice as usual this evening.

I know a few people will be away to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I feel like sharing some perspectives on Valentine’s Day. These relate to other holidays as well, so don’t feel like I’m singling you out ; )

From my perspective, Kendo is a lifestyle choice. It is something that is done for one’s own self development and personal evolution. I think developing one’s self is the most important thing you can do in this lifetime. In other words, even when you’re not in the dojo, you should be working on bettering yourself.

Relationships are commitments. The degree of commitment may vary (i.e. married vs. dating), but it is a commitment nevertheless. It is a 24/7/365 commitment if you’re married. I’ve heard it said that marriage is like dating, except with rings. From that perspective, you should be communicating your love, respect and appreciation of your partner every day of the year.

The modern Valentine’s Day is highly commercialized and is a day rife with anxieties and pressures. There are expectations that there will be demonstrations of one’s affection, flowers, chocolates, dinner dates etc. It’s effects are transient and in my opinion, aside from the commercial boost to the economy, I don’t see much value in it.

When considering the relative merits of Kendo (self-development), relationships (a daily demonstration of commitment) and Valentine’s Day traditions (giving into pressure to fit societal expectations of ‘romantic’), I don’t see a reason to stop practice on Valentine’s Day. That’s my perspective. I also feel much the same way about other societal traditions, so I’m not just being Mr. Grumpypants about Valentine’s Day 😉

Whether you’re doing Kendo tonight or being ‘romantic’, I hope you’ll do your best ; )