The purpose of the present paper is to clarify what junior high school kendo club students think about kendo, and to comprehend their desire to continue. It will also focus on the possibility of lifelong kendo. The subjects were 2302 junior high school members of kendo club. They responded to 54 questions.
The results obtained were as follows;
Junior high school kendo club students show very strong desire to win.
Nine factors were extracted in factor analysis using their answers. These factors were “affirming the effect of practice”, “hatred”, “desire for a widespread appeal of kendo”, “demanding practice”, “continuous motivation”, “demanding for convention”, “recognizing the value of physical ability”, “rejecting of restraint”, and “displeased with judging”. And we analyzed the effects upon the various factors by the difference of start period in kendo and kendo record.
The groups with a high kendo record and who started kendo before admission to junior high school affirmed the effect of practice and had continuous motivation. But they were displeasured with the judging in kendo.
As characterised by the difference in the kendo record, the group with a high record in kendo felt the negative image of kendo. Also, the group with a low record in kendo was concerned with the widespread appeal of kendo, conventional style and physical ability.
As characterised by the difference in start period, the group starting kendo before admission to junior high school was very interested in practical activity. The group starting kendo after admission to junior high school was concerned with conventional style and physical ability.
The results indicate the possibility of lifelong kendo in terms of the groups with a high record and who start kendo before admission to Junior High. Furthermore, the groups who join after admission to Junior High tends to quit kendo.
