Can you Guess the Kendo Teacher? And the Folly of our Intuitive Thinking

Summary

We often form a spontaneous judgment about a person or a particular situation based on our intuition. In most cases, though, such fast thinking process is not very reliable. In this example, my daughter Zarina Hannah shared some photos about her Japanese Kendo (sword fighting) class in Darwin, Australia. I confidently guessed in the photos her Kendo teacher – and it turned out that I was dead wrong! 

1.   Unreliability of Intuitive Thinking

Let me state outright that you will answer an exciting quiz. Hence, I urge you to read leisurely and sequentially. And don’t you dare cheat to jump at the blog’s end to sneak on the correct answer. If you do that, you will incur a string of bad luck for the next 10 years of your life! Prior to that quiz, however, let me provide first a brief context.

In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, author Daniel Kahneman states that “there are dozens of ways our intuitive thinking system can fool us”. As a psychologist, he stresses that our cognitive biases often result in many of our faulty decisions. Kahneman adds that simply relying on our fast thinking (System 1) might put us into unnecessary trouble without combining it with our slow, reasoning system (System 2).

In real life, we often ignore this old adage: “Do not judge a book by its cover”. Obese, old, and frail-looking people are usually regarded as pushovers. We tend to discriminate strangers we meet by the color of their skin, their racial features, religious affiliation – or even gender. At times, this fast-thinking intuitive attitude leads us into embarrassing situations.

2. Martial Arts and Kendo Overview

Martial arts are often regarded as codified systems and traditions of combat being practiced for various reasons: self-defense, military operations, law enforcement, and sports competition. Although not mutually exclusive, martial arts have two broad categories based on technical focus: (1) unarmed; and (2) armed or weapon-based. Notable examples of unarmed combat using largely hands and feet include the Chinese Kung Fu, Japanese Karate and Judo, Korean Taekwondo, and the deadly Israeli Krav Maga.

I practiced Taekwondo until my late 30s while I was pursuing my doctorate in Australia. And then I stopped totally when my arthritic limbs practically gave up! Our primary instructors then two very affable white Australians (a couple named John and Julie Davis); the founder, Master Rhee, who hailed from Korea, usually showed up during grading/competition events.

Globally, there is an array of popular weapon-based martial arts. In Asia, we have the Filipino Arnis (Figure 1), the Indian Gatka and the Thai Krabi-Krabong. The French Canne de Combat and the ancient English Singlestick are notable examples from Europe. In the Middle East, Tahtib is an Egyptian martial arts focused on stick fighting. In the case of Africa, the Nguni or Zulu stick fighting is extensively practiced in South Africa. 

Figure 1. Filipino arnis (stick fighting) during the Batang Pinoy National Championships held at Puerto Princesa City Palawan, Philippines, in August 2019. (Photo source: Sylvanny Delight Gastanes).

As a modern Japanese martial art, Kendo belongs to the second category as its focus is on sword fighting. The Japanese sword is also called samurai or katana. Its English translation includes ‘sword path’, ‘sword way’, or ‘way of the sword’. It combines the physical dimension of martial arts with values such as respect, humility, and sportsmanship. Historically, it can be traced to the Japanese sword’s emergence around the 11th Century (middle of the Heian Era from 794-1185).

It descended from swordsmanship (Kenjutsu) that evolved later in various forms through martial arts schools established by the Japanese swordsmen. Formal Kendo exercises (kata) were likewise developed through several centuries to hone the skills of practitioners. Naganuma Shirōzaemon Kunisato (1688–1767) is credited for the introduction of bamboo practice swords (shinai) and protective armor (bōgu) for sword training (Figure 2). A quality set of armors are often imported from Japan.

Figure 2. Kendo sparring in full uniform with bamboo swords and protective armor at Darwin Kendo Club, Darwin, Australia. (Photo credit: Zarina Hannah Pido)

Among the claimed advantages of practicing Kendo is the capability to maintain laser-sharp focus, particularly under a stressful and challenging situation. Former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (1996-1998) was an avid practitioner who held the rank of 6th dan. (Eighth-dan or hachi-dan is the highest dan grade attainable through a test of physical kendo skills). He reported that “the practice of kendo is associated with success”. Kendo is now widely practiced in many clubs around the world, including in Australia (Figure 3). 

3. Daughter’s Kendo Class in Darwin, Australia

Our 26-year-old only daughter Zarina Hannah has been attending Kendo classes at Darwin Kendo Club in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. (Onwards, I shall simply refer to her with the moniker Hannah.) She is a junior medical student at Flinders University. A health buff, Hannah gave me a pedometer while in the Philippines in January 2021 to walk 10,000 daily footsteps! (My 20th blog about this 10,000 footsteps topic may be viewed through this link https://huescribbler.com/a-positive-health-consequence-of-covid-19/.) Her first cousin Antoinette Aralar often practices with her (Figure 4). At less than five feet tall, Hannah physically dwarfs among other students. 

Figure 4. Zarina Hannah Pido (left) with first cousin Antoinette Aralar at Darwin Kendo Club, Darwin, Australia. (Photo credit: Zarina Hannah Pido)

On 14 October 2020, Hannah sent me by private message (PM) several photos of uniformed people who were present during her Kendo class. Please take a careful look at these photos. The blog’s quiz shall involve your analysis and/or interpretation of just two photos that are shown below (Figures 5 and 6). The only factual information given here is that both Hannah and Antoinette are Kendo students; what you need to figure out is the identity of the three other folks. Kendo is different since you don’t see the belts and ranks of the practitioners in their uniforms. In other martial arts – such as Karate and Taekwondo – beginners wear white belts while the highest rank practitioners don black belts.

Figure 5. Zarina Hannah Pido (left) with an Asian lady at Darwin Kendo Club, Darwin, Australia. (Photo credit: Zarina Hannah Pido)
Figure 6. Zarina Hannah Pido (middle) with two white Australians at Darwin Kendo Club, Darwin, Australia. (Photo credit: Zarina Hannah Pido)

4. Kendo Teacher Quiz

At this juncture, I shall go back to our discourse about Kahneman’s intuitive thinking. As for the blog’s quiz, you will then respond to this question: “Who is/are the kendo teacher/s among the three practitioners in Figure 5 and Figure 6?”. The formal Japanese title for a teacher is sensei. (A martial art teacher is also called us either an instructor or a coach.)

Only one of the eight options listed below is true about the identity of the Kendo teacher/s. Based on your intuitive thinking, experience, hunch, gut feel or a combination thereof, which option will you choose? Again, go back to Figure 5 and Figure 6 to ponder through the list of choices concerning the identity of the Kendo teacher/s as listed below.

  1. Asian lady
  2. Caucasian lady
  3. Caucasian gentleman
  4. Asian lady and Caucasian lady
  5. Asian lady and Caucasian gentleman
  6. Caucasian lady and Caucasian gentleman
  7. All of the three
  8.   None of the three

After you are done pondering, please get a pen and a piece of paper. Take a deep breath before you make a decision. Then, write the number of your chosen option.

5. Identity of Kendo Teacher

What is your answer to the quiz? Read it aloud to yourself. Are you confident about the option you chose or do you have doubts? 

I assuredly chose Option 6. I reckoned that the Kendo teachers were the Caucasian lady and the Caucasian gentleman. In the first place, they are physically imposing based on their height and physique differences with Hannah.

My choice, though, was dead wrong! Hannah replied in the PM that the correct answer is Option 1: The Kendo teacher or sensei is the Asian lady. Why did my intuitive thinking fool me?

In the earlier part, I mentioned that my Taekwondo teachers during my schooling in Australia were a white couple. Subconsciously, my choice could have been influenced by that factor. Despite my knowledge of martial arts in general – and Taekwondo’s previous practice in particular – I still guessed t it wrong. And to think I would be happy to bet a substantial sum of money that my choice was simply impeccable!

Admittedly, I may have misconstrued the Asian lady because of her unassuming appearance. Thus, I have failed to regard her as a martial artist – let alone a Kendo teacher. The fact of the matter, though, is she has been participating in international Kendo competitions! Had I encountered her in the street while intoxicated, I might even brazenly brush her off if she happens to cross my path. In retaliation, within seconds, she could have conveniently hacked me with her sword into pieces (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Animation of a hypothetical encounter between the author and the Kendo teacher.

6. Parting Shot

Don’t be disheartened if your presumption was wrong. When I randomly asked some colleagues to make their educated guesses to identify the Kendo teacher, more than half of them responded wrongly. Going back to Kahneman’s earlier discourse, he said, “maintaining one’s vigilance against biases is a chore but the chance to avoid a costly mistake is sometimes worth the effort.”

Lessons Learned: We must never judge people by their physical appearances. It’s more prudent to follow the advice of the Sicilian Godfather, Don Vito Corleone. (You may read my 22nd blog about this topic through this link https://huescribbler.com/on-being-fast-versus-being-rich/.) That is, we must always be respectful to the strangers whom we meet, for we don’t know what power they may have – or how violent they could be.

Please share your feedback with the readers concerning your conjecture about the Kendo teacher. You might share with them the same sentiment that your fast thinking system has led you to make the wrong choice!

Copyright © 2021 by Michael D Pido

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