Question - Any Studies on the Effects of Anabolic Steroids and Kendo?

[amatsuda]

I have a question in which maybe Hamish, Alex, or Komoto Senseis can answer because this issue was addressed in "Kendo World, Issue 1".

Have there been any studies or white papers, conclusive or otherwise that have been performed on degree of usage (demographics, sex, level of competition, etc.) and the [for lack of a better word] Positive (performance ehancement) and Negative effects of anabolic steroids or agents in Kendo?

I ask this because in recent news a steroid scandal has emerged in which many top athletes, including Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Shane Mosley have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating the nutritional supplement company at the center of the unfolding case.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031023/ap_on_he_me/detecting_steroids_2

amatsuda
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo

[Raiza]

Hi Matsuda-sensei,

No studies regarding your query were available on PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed), a fantastic database concerning life science research of all sorts, including sports medicine. There's more information regarding general supplement use and effects in athletes, but nothing specific to kendo. If you want some help searching through PubMed, just send me a PM.

Cheers,
Raiza

[Neil Gendzwill]

Arnold, do you think there would be a benefit to steroid (ab)use? Sprinters definitely benefit from it, and if kendo were just a contest to see who could get from kamae to point first I could see some of the same training/cheating methods being used. But as it's so much more than that, who would see enough benefit to warrant the risk?

As a related question: I see a benefit in my own recreational kendo from gym time. Do a lot of competitive kendoka hit the weights? How about the US team guys? I know it varies on the Canadian team side - some do and some don't.

[amatsuda]

Hi Matsuda-sensei,

No studies regarding your query were available on PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed), a fantastic database concerning life science research of all sorts, including sports medicine. There's more information regarding general supplement use and effects in athletes, but nothing specific to kendo. If you want some help searching through PubMed, just send me a PM.

Cheers,
Raiza

Thanks!!! I'll take a look at site


Arnold, do you think there would be a benefit to steroid (ab)use? Sprinters definitely benefit from it, and if kendo were just a contest to see who could get from kamae to point first I could see some of the same training/cheating methods being used. But as it's so much more than that, who would see enough benefit to warrant the risk?

As a related question: I see a benefit in my own recreational kendo from gym time. Do a lot of competitive kendoka hit the weights? How about the US team guys? I know it varies on the Canadian team side - some do and some don't.

Neil, actually that is my question as well...Is there really a benefit?

I recently heard a rumor that since the competition and the pressure to win so great that some highschoolers in Japan have taken steroids to succeed...of course that is just a rumor I heard...

The only benefit that I could speculate is that they may allow a person to become stronger and reach competition condition more quickly, thus being able to train for longer intervals and continue to maintain peak performance without fatigue...I have also heard that the muscle recovers faster so the duration between training can be shorter...

Regarding gym time, I think it was the same for the U.S. Team..some lifted weights...some didn't...I know that Moocow (Itokazu), Mikuni, and myself lifted...and others such as Danny Yang, didn't but he was probably the strongest out of everyone on the team.....

I was introduced to lifting weights when I was a freshman in HS and have continued to lift ever since... I think I will continue with it the rest of my life......When I retire, I want to move to Hawaii and lift weights in the morning, snorkel in the afternoon, and practice Kendo at night....my goal is to be the buffed old Kendo Sensei that looks like "Groundskeeper Willie"

amatsuda
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo

[Hongsermeier]

Matsuda sensei....when you retire?? Your way to young to think about that.

I'll be coming up your way this weekend to go to the 49's game. Won't have much time to visit. Is this godo keiko weekend? :cross_eye

[amatsuda]

Matsuda sensei....when you retire?? Your way to young to think about that.

I'll be coming up your way this weekend to go to the 49's game. Won't have much time to visit. Is this godo keiko weekend? :cross_eye

Geez...I still got 30+ years to go...We all have to have a dream right?

No godo keiko this weekend..it's promotions...sorry...

Have a good time at the game...hopefully the 49rs won't need to kick any field goals...

[JSchmidt]

I think doping is impossible to control and will become even more so in the future. (Genetic engineering and all). I also think that the term 'perfomance enhancing' is rather invalid. Hard training is performance-enhancing..so is a proper diet and the various (legal) supplements.
There is, though, the moral issue of people ruining their bodies by using steroids, etc..but you could argue that it would be easier to control if it was legal.

Jakob

[Alex]

I think doping is impossible to control and will become even more so in the future. (Genetic engineering and all). I also think that the term 'perfomance enhancing' is rather invalid. Hard training is performance-enhancing..so is a proper diet and the various (legal) supplements.
There is, though, the moral issue of people ruining their bodies by using steroids, etc..but you could argue that it would be easier to control if it was legal.

Jakob

The issue of steroids is virtually untouched/ignored in Japan. The old argument that performance enhancing drugs could never make a difference in Kendo. (The implication being that kendo is not a sport after all.) However, drugs which enable one to train longer, and recover quicker would certainly be of benefit. Creatine may come under this category, but that is not considered in the same sinister category as anabolic steroids.

[amatsuda]

It's been almost 4 years since this original post but I thought I would pose this question again since it appears that the subject of Vitamin S is in the media quite often these days.

Has anyone come across any new articles, studies or a first hand account of witnessing the effects of anabolic agents in Kendo?

I'm asking again because it seems like every week after an event, there is news that some MMA fighters who test positive for banned substances such as anabolic agents, methamphetamine, or narcotics such as Marijuana or Cocaine.

Funny thing is that of the people who tested positive, I think the majority of them lost their matches.

amatsuda