Thinking about starting Kendo

[MattB]

Hey guys.
I am thinking about starting Kendo soon when I move. Not for any reason it just looks like fun. I just wanted to know what Kendo is like for thoses that study this art. My martial arts background consistes of Wing Chun, FMA, and JKD. My focus has always been on practicality not compition or metaphysics, but I have always liked kendo i don't know why just have.
So let me know why you started kendo, what training is like, how to pick a good club, and how it is affected your live?
I knnow it is a lot to ask but I really want to know.
Thanks.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I started kendo because I thought it would be fun. And it was, up to the point when it became time to don the bogu. I had my sensei hit me on the head a couple of times, with the level of intensity that can be expected during training. And I didn't like it.

I then did some research on the correlation between kendo and concussion and other ailments, and I liked it even less. I have had 1 severe concussion in my life, and I didn't fancy the risk of geting another.

Perhaps I should have not responded, and I really don't want to talk bad of kendo. You asked and I answered, and I have a lot of respect for people who stick with it.

 

[jarrod]

Hey guys.
My focus has always been on practicality not compition or metaphysics, but I have always liked kendo i don't know why just have.

i dabbled in kendo for a bit. i enjoyed it, but i found it pretty far removed from how i think an actual sword conflict would play out. the targets are limited as well as the way in which you can strike them. if you are primarily interested in practicality 1) a sword art may not be for you 2) if you go for a sword art, you might prefer iaijutsu/iaido or something along those lines.

another factor is equipment. i was looking for a side art to explore while still focusing primarily on jujitsu & kickboxing. $20-$50 for your shiniai & bokken, a few hundred for your bogu, around a hundred for your hakama... it starts adding up if it's not something you have a real passion for.

right now i'm studying arnis. i think my sticks were 15 bucks.

jf

 

[jarrod]

also wanted to reiterate what bruno said; kendoka are dedicated martial artists & respectable athletes...it just wasn't my cup of tea.

jf

 

[dbell]

I have been studying and practicing Kendo for over 38 years now. It is all those before me posted here and more. It is a very exacting system, requiring dedication (and some up front money for equipment) and the desire to be there to stick with it.

If you practice it with the intent of growing in yourself and in your body, it is a good art. If you are doing it because it looks fun, it may not be for you, as you will find, that it is a system that must be worked at, and many people do not call working at something fun.

It is not a street art, however, if you give me a shinai or bokken in a street fight, I will use my Kendo skills to stop the fight pretty quickly, and I'll restrict myself to just using the "legal" Kendo strikes and striking points...

 

[Ken Morgan]

Kendo is a great Martial art, but it is not for everyone.

In all contact MA you can get hurt, kendo is no different. However I have yet to know of anyone who has sustained injuries any worse then bruises, scrapes and blisters.

Kendo players are encouraged to practice iaido, and vis versa. Both are complementary to each other, and each help groom the practitioner in the art of Japanese swordsmanship.

I currently practice iaido and jodo, sister arts to kendo. If I had the time, I would add kendo to the list in a split second. Your first six months will be difficult, but once you get into it, I can almost guarantee you will come to love it!

 

[MattB]

I have been studying and practicing Kendo for over 38 years now. It is all those before me posted here and more. It is a very exacting system, requiring dedication (and some up front money for equipment) and the desire to be there to stick with it.

If you practice it with the intent of growing in yourself and in your body, it is a good art. If you are doing it because it looks fun, it may not be for you, as you will find, that it is a system that must be worked at, and many people do not call working at something fun.

It is not a street art, however, if you give me a shinai or bokken in a street fight, I will use my Kendo skills to stop the fight pretty quickly, and I'll restrict myself to just using the "legal" Kendo strikes and striking points...

Thank You for your post. I dont have mind the expense or the hard work. If you have taken offense that I said it looks fun then I apologise, but hard work in the arts to me is fun. How could some one not find it to be fun? Sorry agian if you are offened.

 

[terryl965]

Best of luck to you and enjoy the art aspect because there is so much to it.

 

[MattB]

i dabbled in kendo for a bit. i enjoyed it, but i found it pretty far removed from how i think an actual sword conflict would play out. the targets are limited as well as the way in which you can strike them. if you are primarily interested in practicality 1) a sword art may not be for you 2) if you go for a sword art, you might prefer iaijutsu/iaido or something along those lines.

another factor is equipment. i was looking for a side art to explore while still focusing primarily on jujitsu & kickboxing. $20-$50 for your shiniai & bokken, a few hundred for your bogu, around a hundred for your hakama... it starts adding up if it's not something you have a real passion for.

right now i'm studying arnis. i think my sticks were 15 bucks.

jf

Thank you for your post.
For me the expense is not a big deal, and also I already have experience in FMA. As far as practicality, you mean self defense, well I already have that in my WC and FMA training.
The reason I have for wanting to study Kendo are rather privat matter sorry for not elaborating more it is hard to explain.
Thanks again.

 

[Andrew Green]

It is not a street art, however, if you give me a shinai or bokken in a street fight, I will use my Kendo skills to stop the fight pretty quickly, and I'll restrict myself to just using the "legal" Kendo strikes and striking points...

I just had a rather funny image of a guy with a stick bopping a group of guys on the the head in a street fight and yelling "Men! Men! Men!" with each strike

 

[MattB]

I dont you would want to fight a Kendo student if he had a pole or something in his hand. Geting hit in the head would suck if not kill you.

 

[dbell]

Thank You for your post. I dont have mind the expense or the hard work. If you have taken offense that I said it looks fun then I apologise, but hard work in the arts to me is fun. How could some one not find it to be fun? Sorry agian if you are offened.

Nope, no offense at all! Just warning that it is fun (to me anyway!), just more work than many expect when they first start.

 

[Uchinanchu]

Kendo is a great sport, if you have the time, money, and patience to learn it (and take your lumps). My daughter did it all through junior high school. It was very good for her, physically as well as emotionally. It helped her to open up and become more sociable with her classmates as well as lots of other students from various schools.
Unfortunately, getting started can be very expensive. For all her equipment and uniform, it cost around 50,000 yen (that's roughly 500 U.S. $).
Sadly, once she graduated and went off to high school, they did not have kendo there, and she did not want to join a private dojo. Luckily though, her new school had kyudo (Japanese archery) and she fell in love with that!
Sorry, a bit off topic. Anyway, good luck with your endevors, whatever you choose to do!

 

[caped crusader]

Was going to ask about kendo but I see there is threads. I wanted to ask about throws or foot sweeps in kendo.
I am sure I saw these techniques in a Film.. no I am not getting confused with ju jitsu.

 

[caped crusader]

 

[isshinryuronin]

Interesting video, especially the old B&W one. I believe kendo itself was not designed as a separate art, but rather a training method, later evolving into its own thing. I would think that the modern absence of sweeps, take downs and other combat moves are the result of it being taught in public schools and its later sportification, much like what happened to karate. Perhaps there is the rare dojo that has retained the old ways. Others may have reintroduced such moves on their own based on their imagination of what used to be.

The old video looks like late 1930's to early 50's? Maybe before it became a true sport with its limiting rule set. I'm guessing that pre 1950 kendo instructors were taught by those also fully versed in iaijutsu and its combat applications, with their teachers being among the last full fledged sword carrying Samurai.

 

[BrendanF]

The old video looks like late 1930's to early 50's?

I think the first old B&W video - outside with the gent sitting observing - is from around 1890-1900. Interesting that one of the kids is using a kusarigama.

Perhaps there is the rare dojo that has retained the old ways.

The colour footage is from the famous Haga Dojo - Ikkenkai Haga Dojo

 

[isshinryuronin]

I think the first old B&W video - outside with the gent sitting observing - is from around 1890-1900. Interesting that one of the kids is using a kusarigama.

Then, it's almost certain that some of the instructors were true Samurai swordsmen, well versed in true combat techniques including sweeps, locks, take downs and most likely strikes, incorporating them into the kendo regimen of the time, before it turned into a sport.

 

[caped crusader]

I find the foot sweeps good and the grappling. just never seen it in any kendo competitions. not that i have seen many but it should be a part of it .

 

[punisher73]

You could probably still find that stuff in the koryu arts from Japan and schools that still teach Ken-Jutsu (tracing back much like the koryu arts).

When Japan lost WW2, martial arts were banned, so many focused more on the "way" of things and developing character than on conflict/fighting. Then add into each art was trying to find its own niche in things, they each removed things that made them like other arts to be unique. For example, karate removed the grappling portion and focused on striking only. Judo removed most of the striking of Jujutsu and focused on the grappling aspect. Kendo morphed into a sport and focused on the sword only.

Kendo is very much a sport and as such does thing differently in some cases than an actual "sword fighting" school. Because its a sport, you won't see those things in their competitions because it is a sword sport and not a combat art.