bokken insted of shinai

[Zaphiel]

a friend of myself is just like me training kendo
.....however in a different dojo...and she told me that they wren't training with shinais but with bokkens wraped in clothes.......
what do you think of that.......
thanks<rei>

[not-I]

It sounds like you're referring to the Takeda-ryu schools. There was a thread about this a few months ago:

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2200
http://www.takedaryu.com/

Whatever they're doing there is not kendo as we know it and is not recognized by the IKF. From what i've heard, aside sparring with fukuru shinai and without bogu, there is a lot of blocking and some grappling involved as well.
They also offer "iaido," but again it seems to have little to do with what is normally practiced under that name, especially as they appear to practice it with partners. Additionally, they claim to be the "source of all Aikido styles."
Apparently there were also some schisms between some of the main instructors, leading to another school: http://www.takeda-kampfkunst.at/index.htm

All this, along with some highly dubious historical claims, would make me a bit wary of training at either of these places. This is not to say their practice is bogus, but they way they portray it certainly rings some alarm bells.

[not-I]

Apparently there were also some schisms between some of the main instructors, leading to another school: http://www.takeda-kampfkunst.at/index.htm
Correction: After looking closer at the above website, it appears they still recognize Siegfried Kobilza as "Shihan." I recall reading about a major schism some years ago, on e-budo, but since that site is down, and i can't back this up, i retract the statement.

In any case, Mr. Kobilza appears to be running a major franchise operation in Europe. http://www.takedaryu.info/english/indexenglish.htm

And here are some pix of what they refer to as "kendo." http://www.takeda-kampfkunst.at/kendo_fotos.htm There were of course old forms of kendo that used fukuro-shinai, but these days calling anything "kendo" that is not IKF kendo is inherently likely to cause misunderstanding, regardless of its possible merits.

Hmm, also a lot of "sensei" and "shihan" running around there, including a 32-year-old with the following credentials: 6.Dan Aikido, 5.Dan Jodo, 5.Dan Iaido, 4.Dan Jukempo, 4.Dan Kendo, all awarded by Takeda-ryu of course.

Like i said, perhaps their practice is drawn from legitimate techniques, but it seems to be a "new school" rather than a koryu, which uses a very dubious history to legitimize itself. And all the rhetoric about being the "real thing" in terms of kendo, iaido, aikido etc (thereby discrediting recognized versions of these arts) just sounds very wrong to me.

[Hotei]

Hmmm. . . Doesn't seem, how you say "safe"

[bginop]

well, i just sawed my down and made a personal scratcher, to scratch my face when i have my "men" on. It works pretty well.:old_man: