I know that -てみる can mean "try", but my understanding of it is that it means "try it and see what it's like" or "give it a try". But is there a way of expressing "try" that emphasizes that effort was made to succeed?
As an example, saying "I am trying to do Kendo" in Japanese:
剣道をしてみる。
sounds like I'm going for a brief "trial" to see how I like it. How would I express that I am making a strong effort to succeed at it?
As a native speaker, I would say:
剣道をがんばっている。
or
剣道でがんばっている。
But, these are a little bit colloquial. When I want to be more formal, I will say:
剣道に励んでいる。
or, simply,
いっしょうけんめい剣道をしている。
The other answer covers "I'm trying my best at X", but "try" in English has another meaning, I would say the most common meaning in fact, of "attempt" [something that may not succeed or even get off the ground]. For this meaning, what I've heard is volitional + とする, like this:
剣道をしようとしている。 I'm trying to do Kendo [but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find an instructor, etc.]
魚を取ろうとすると、消えちゃった。 When I tried to catch the fish, it disappeared.
