In kendo the mind is a formless part of the body. Many of the great swordsmen of ancient Japan used different metaphors to describe the mind such as the void, a mirror, wind and water. The moon reflecting on the water is a famous metaphor for the mind of the opponent being instantly understood by your mind. This metaphor perfectly illustrates what happens when just a single thought penetrates your mind during a kendo match causing ripples on the water, instantly the image of the moon disappears. The mind that loses its concentration by a single thought is open to being struck down by an opponent. The water metaphor also illustrates how the mind looks, while remaining calm yet what happens below is unseen by your opponent until it is to late. Don’t disturb the water, reflect the moon.
In kendo two hundred thousand strikes is roughly the average number of strikes one will strike in 15 years. The beginner will strike many times before the mind and body is actually able to coordinate with the footwork for a correct strike, it then becomes years before one is actually able to combine different strikes correctly. Friends, wisdom and techniques are added to your kendo training. When you reach two hundred thousand strikes one becomes acutely aware of the opponent. Free from worrying about the sword, a complete calm washes over the mind and body, strategy becomes a matter of instantly recalling what is needed. This is the non attachment to the outcome of a kendo match, concerned with only the present, it is complete awareness. Awareness does not mean that you will win all the time it only means that you are not encumbered by the trappings of a preoccupied mind. Since others may achieve the same awareness sooner it is clearly a level of kendo that can not be forced no matter how long you train. I continue to strike well past two hundred thousand strikes perfecting my kendo.