Step inside the dojo with the Ballarat Kendo Club

It happens in an instant.

Two sets of eyes are separated by metal bars and tradition. They're calculating - waiting for a misstep.

When it comes, it's over quickly.

One strike in a split second, delivered with centuries of power and refinement.

"It's very hard to get through and deliver a killing blow," Oliver said.

"It's a bit like surfing, you get a wave after heaps of dumpings, and you get that thrill again. When you beat someone who's been doing it a lot longer than you, feel pretty big."

Oliver is the founder of the Ballarat Kendo Club - the second-oldest in Victoria.

Kendo translates to the "way of the sword" and is one of Japan's oldest martial arts. To an outsider it resembles something close to fencing.

It's rooted in the lifestyle and spirit of the samurai tradition, and it's believed that through learning kendo, one can understand the principles of the sword.

The unification of Japan at the turn of the seventeenth century removed most opportunities for actual combat, so the samurai turned swordsmanship into a means of cultivating discipline and patience and a skill for building human character.

STEP INSIDE THE DOJO:

Oliver, who'd practised karate and judo for decades beforehand, discovered kendo on a trip to Melbourne.

"There was a very small Japenese gentleman - very gentle. He was running the people who had been training for a while around the floor, just dropping them with ease," he said.

"A couple of weeks later, a young Japanese man, around 25, was at a session and raised his sword above his head (at the instructor). They were screaming at each other in Japanese.

"All of a sudden, the (instructor) whacked this guy's sword down, put his sword under his throat, literally lifted him off the ground and threw him down.

"I was dumbstruck. I'd never seen anything like that.

"To see that an older person could do that with relative ease against a much younger, stronger opponent, I was hooked. I wanted to know how that happened."

Weekly trips to Melbourne became too onerous for the Ballarat born-and-raised Oliver, and in 1987 a crossroad appeared.

"I had to transfer for work and it was easier for me to keep going by starting a club up here in Ballarat," he said.

"Through the week, I was training kendo in Ballarat and on Sundays going to train with my teacher."

Around 20 people attended Oliver's first eight-week introduction course, showing enough interest for horizons to expand.

The club's infancy was hardly perfect.

Oliver's job took him north of Maryborough, with two car engines the price of weekly trips to sustain the Ballarat club in its early years.

Time brought improvement and growth. Soon, Oliver and the club's best were earning state and national recognition.

Victorian titles beckoned in the mid-90s, while international visits from Japanese senseis strengthened the club's stature.

By the turn of the millennium, Ballarat was among the most revered groups in the country - hosting the national squad in its preparations for the world championships, travelling overseas for tournaments, and farewelling members to undertake teaching in Japan.

Tarl O'Mara, who won a fourth team national championship in 2019, began representing the club globally.

"He was in Denmark at a tournament and defeated the whole Polish team on his own," Oliver said.

"We've got people who have done really well and get a buzz out of international competition. And, we've got some people who just really enjoy practising."

Now, the club's trainings attract 20 or more a week.

Kendo remains the same. Practitioners still wear traditional bogu (protective armour) and aim to score points by striking the head, wrist, body and throat with the cutting edge of a shinai (bamboo sword).

Numbers in Ballarat and the world are growing as the mystique takes hold.

Star Wars fans have flocked to the sport, with the series' creators revealing kendo influenced many lightsaber duels.

Anime's resurgence in popular media has attracted many intrigued by Japanese culture.

For others, the allure of the unconventional is too strong. Where else can one immerse themselves in the samurai lifestyle than a tiring community hall behind a supermarket complex?

"More than most Japanese martial arts, (kendo) is indelibly linked to the samurai," Oliver said.

"(It's the) reverence for the soul. The way we dress and conduct ourselves on the floor is very much based on the culture of the samurai.

"When the emperor came in, the samurai was supposed to disappear. Samurai started teaching kendo to commoners because they wanted to retain their traditions and etiquette. So, all that fortune has been passed down.

"I've noticed that the older I get, the more intrigued I am at the wisdom that's gone before us.

"Kendo has a tradition that can be traced back over thousands of years. It develops perseverance, respect and you learn how to dig deep and not give up."

On Sunday, Ballarat will welcome participants from across the state for its first tournament out of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The free event takes place on Sunday at the Eastwood Leisure Centre.

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