New to Kendo

[hayabusa24]

Hello everyone, I am new to these forums, and new to Kendo as well. I will probably be starting Kendo training soon, but I have a question. Is there anything against using the left hand as the main hand? I am curious because I have practiced weapons and martial arts since I was young, but my left arm/hand is by far my strongest and I feel pretty much like a clumsy oaf if I had to rely on my right as the main. If anyone knows, I would certainly appreciate a reply. :smiley:

I suppose I will take a moment and introduce myself to you as well. I am 24/m and I am from the state Oklahoma in the US. I am currently attending college in the field of International Business. I speak some Japanese and Mandarin, though my native language is English. I have loved martial arts since I was young and have taken Goju-ryu and Wu Shu, and I also took fencing for a couple of years. I have been interested in Kendo for many years, but have never been able to take it because noone offered it even in the whole state of Oklahoma :down: , until now that is. Well, it is nice to meet you all and I look forward to being a fellow practitioner. Matta na!

[LNGUYEN]

Hello and welcome,

In Kendo, left hand is the main force and right hand is for directing. Like in a car, left hand is the engine and right hand is the wheel. You actually have the advantages there. Search the forum for more info.

[tanueirin]

Hi hayabusa24,

I am also a newbie and I hope it's alright if I piggy-back onto your thread. :emb:

I started kendo 2 months ago and our senpai sometimes makes us do men cuts with left hand only. ARRRGH welcome to a world of pain if you have puny arms AND are right-handed like me. So you're quite lucky, really.

I have also noticed a curious phenomenon. On my left hand I have callouses on my palm under the middle and littlest finger, none on the ring finger. On my right palm I have a callous under the middle finger only. Does this mean that I am gripping my shinai incorrectly? If anyone could enlighten me I would be very grateful.

Also, to me it seems that the right hand acts as more of a fulcrum while the left hand determines how much force is directed into a cut. Would any of the veterans around be able to confirm/deny this?

Thank you!

[Raiza]

I have also noticed a curious phenomenon. On my left hand I have callouses on my palm under the middle and littlest finger, none on the ring finger. On my right palm I have a callous under the middle finger only. Does this mean that I am gripping my shinai incorrectly? If anyone could enlighten me I would be very grateful.

Also, to me it seems that the right hand acts as more of a fulcrum while the left hand determines how much force is directed into a cut. Would any of the veterans around be able to confirm/deny this?


Doing kendo for almost 2 years doesn't make me a veteran, but maybe I can help you a bit. I'll speak for myself.
Left hand. Easily visible callous at the base of the little finger. I have a tiny callous at the base of the ring finger and an even smaller one at the base of the middle one. I have to squint like heck to find that one.
Right hand. Tiny callous at the base of the little finger. Squinting required.

It seems like your left hand is angled more towards a 90 degree angle to the hilt. Not like you're truly "fisting", but not too far off. You're using a fist-like arrangement with the right hand, even more than your left. The right hand must finish at the same time as your left, so it's not a true fulcrum arrangement.

Here's a nice page (http://www.geocities.com/covinakendo/grip.html) to check your grip. "Fisting" is clearly shown in the first picture of the Incorrect Grip section.

If you're experiencing pain (not tired muscles, but pain) during katate-suburi, please get your technique checked out. Either incorrect technique or a handle that's too big/small for you can cause that.

Hope this helps.

[Revenir]

Hey, I have a strong left hand too, I'm a lefty actually. I was wondering the same thing when i first started and I asked my sensei if it was okay and he said a very definitive NO. I'm not sure if it was a traditional thing or something but for one thing, I think it's better this way. Like the others said, you swing with your left and control wth your right.
Sometimes I wonder why they didn't make it the other way round because I think more people are right-handed and have a stronger right arm.

[kendomushi]

I am left handed. Grew up in an era when my kindergarden teacher struck me with a yard stick or ruler across the back of my left hand every time I tried to do things with it. My mother stopped that by threatening to impale the teacher on the striking device. But I digress...............

When I started kendo, it felt very unnatural, being a lefty. But given time and practice the noraml grip and stance are very normal. Just give it time.

The right hand is not a true fulcrum, power distribution is roughly 70% left, 30% right and both hands move together.

Blisters and calluses on the left thumb and base of the ring or little finger of the left hand aren't unusual. My instructor always says that shows you are learning. But he also says if you get them on the right hand, you need a life............ :p

[Siglith234]

I am also left handed it proved much easier to do strikes suburi and any other activity the right hand at the top is there just to guide the shinai the left provides the power

Good luck on your kendo journey :happy:

[tanueirin]

That is an excellent page (http://www.geocities.com/covinakendo/grip.html), Raiza! All the other beginners go there NOW and have a look, before it's too late (erm, maybe not all at once. I don't know what their traffic limit is).

Yep, the angle of my left hand grip was slightly off. It's nice to pick up these things early on. :happy:



The right hand is not a true fulcrum, power distribution is roughly 70% left, 30% right and both hands move together.


Thanks for the advice kendomushi, I can't wait to apply this tonight. Yay! Kendo! (As you can see, I still have those fuzzy warm romantic beginner feelings. No doubt this will come to an abrupt end when I put on bogu for the first time.) BTW I will pretend that I am too young and innocent to understand the comments about calluses on the right hand. Um, would they be from surfing the Net for too long with the mouse? ^_^

Thanks everyone for your input!

[liuzg]

Doing kendo for almost 2 years doesn't make me a veteran, but maybe I can help you a bit. I'll speak for myself.
Left hand. Easily visible callous at the base of the little finger. I have a tiny callous at the base of the ring finger and an even smaller one at the base of the middle one. I have to squint like heck to find that one.
Right hand. Tiny callous at the base of the little finger. Squinting required.

It seems like your left hand is angled more towards a 90 degree angle to the hilt. Not like you're truly "fisting", but not too far off. You're using a fist-like arrangement with the right hand, even more than your left. The right hand must finish at the same time as your left, so it's not a true fulcrum arrangement.

Here's a nice page (http://www.geocities.com/covinakendo/grip.html) to check your grip. "Fisting" is clearly shown in the first picture of the Incorrect Grip section.

If you're experiencing pain (not tired muscles, but pain) during katate-suburi, please get your technique checked out. Either incorrect technique or a handle that's too big/small for you can cause that.

Hope this helps.
I thought correct gripping was taught and frequently corrected once u started to handle shinai?

Well...........i m glad that i only have few tiny callous on right and a lot on my left hand,curiously non on the end of the little finger~~~~In fact got a blister,torn it off and continue training and ended up bleeding a little~~~~~

[Raiza]

I thought correct gripping was taught and frequently corrected once u started to handle shinai?

Ideally, certainly. In large classes it may be difficult for the teacher to thoroughly evaluate each new person's grip frequently. Not every beginner class is taught by the sensei so inexperience may play a role. Notwithstanding, it's the student's responsiblility to be as attentive to instruction as possible. Prior injury or extensive muscle use for an entirely different activity (e.g. volleyball) may affect how someone initially grips the shinai. I started off with an incorrect grip due to prior injury and it took a while for my arms to adapt to the new configuration. But they did and that's the important thing. Same goes for the guy who played volleyball. :)

[liuzg]

Ideally, certainly. In large classes it may be difficult for the teacher to thoroughly evaluate each new person's grip frequently. Not every beginner class is taught by the sensei so inexperience may play a role. Notwithstanding, it's the student's responsiblility to be as attentive to instruction as possible. Prior injury or extensive muscle use for an entirely different activity (e.g. volleyball) may affect how someone initially grips the shinai. I started off with an incorrect grip due to prior injury and it took a while for my arms to adapt to the new configuration. But they did and that's the important thing. Same goes for the guy who played volleyball. :)
Seems like a blessing in disguise for me as there r very few who took kendo in singapore...............Only 100+ if Japanese residents included~~~~

[hayabusa24]

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome and the info. I had a feeling that would be the case as to using the left hand, but I will take you other lefty's advice and not worry about it. Thanks again!