Battery engineer achieves balance of mind through sword art

By Baek Byung-yeul

The government lowered the maximum working hours to 52 from 68 in 2018 giving people more time to improve the balance between their work and personal lives.

Lee Gwang-jin, an engineer at battery manufacturing team of Samsung SDI, might be an example of someone who has achieved such a balance.

Lee has practiced iaido, a Japanese martial art that uses a sword, for 11 years, after starting to learn the lesser known practice in 2008.

“I enjoyed practicing various martial arts such as taekwondo or jiu jitsu as I have loved martial arts-based novels and films since I was young. Somehow I was interested in the sword art and began attending an iaido dojo, Lee recently told The Korea Times.

While practicing iaido, Lee said he could attain balance of mind.

“By practicing iaido, people can train not only their bodies but also spirit. The biggest change I learned through the sword art is to remain calm in my life,” he said.

“Whenever my mind is cluttered with all kinds of memories, I try to practice iaido to stay calm. Of course, I do lose my temper sometimes but I can get back to feeling calm, after practicing the sword art.”

Lee usually practices iaido at an indoor gym, he also trains at an outdoor training site once a month to cut bundles of straw or bamboo sticks.

“When I visit the outdoor training site in Cheongju, I usually cut about 50 bundles of straw,” he said, adding he has cut about 7,000 so far.

“I still remember my first time cutting the bundles. I brandished my sword to cut the bundle and the surface was so uneven, which was completely different from what I imagined. But now I can even cut bamboo sticks which are harder than the bundles,” Lee said.

Lee also had a chance to demonstrate his skills in front of people including his family.

“I performed a demonstration of iaido in public at a local festival held in Sejong City in 2018. After watching my performance, my two daughters told me 'Daddy you are so wonderful.' Their words were a great encouragement to me,” he said.

While learning iaido, Lee is also inspired by his fellow trainees.

“I have a fellow trainee who 93 years old. That gentleman has been practicing iaido for five years. Despite his age, he is always fit and excellent at maintaining his posture correctly,” Lee said. “Training together with him, I am learning a lot. Like him, I'd like to keep practicing iaido as long as I have the power to hold a sword.”