How I Became Interested in Naginata

I work at a few high schools in Saga, Japan. One of my schools had a Cultural Festival in November 2010. The school's Naginata Club performed Rhythm Naginata at the festival. It was my first time seeing Naginata, and I thought it was very interesting. I then watched one of their practices, which involved practicing Atarashi[1] Naginata forms and sparring. I was impressed with how graceful, strong, and bold the students were. I'd like to be that graceful and bold.

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[1] 'Atarashi' literally means 'new'. Atarashi Naginata is the modern sport version of Naginata, as opposed to the older, now rarely practiced combative martial art forms.