Height and Weight in Kendo.

[Omnis]

Greetings folks. I'm 16 and am pretty determined to take part in Kendo. Though I know next to no details, I found a kendo class in Tree Tops Park, Davie, FL. I believe the sensei posts on this forum as well, but I have no idea how active he is since the initial post of his that led me to find the dojo in the first place.

Anyway, I have a question about height and weight. As stated, I am 16, but I am also 6'4ish (without shoes.) and weigh around 300 pounds. I'm not obese or anything (haha), but I am certainly overweight. I'm starting to work towards some weightloss, but I'm sure i'll still be significantly heavy when compared to others.

What are some common advantages and disadvantages in the aspects of both height and weight? I scoured the board, and so I know a little more about weight, but haven't really found anything regarding height. How does one usually have to adapt when facing shorter or significantly shorter opponents, and vice-versa for taller people?

Thanks in advance, guys.

[nodachi]

Height effects two major things that I can think of off the top of my head. It greatly effects your choice of targets. For example, a tall person may have difficulty hitting doh on a shorter person. You may be so tall that to hit men against a really short opponent will feel more like you are hitting kote. The short person may have real difficulty getting your men, so they will opt for more kote and doh attacks.

Another thing it effects is your maai, or distance. A taller person can strike from farther out. A shorter person will have to adapt to entering into the taller person's space so that they can get into hitting range. Maai is a big, important thing that people need to learn to feel out and adjust depending on who they are fighting and what stance people are using. With experience, people learn an instinct for when they are within their opponent's range and when they are not. In the beginning it takes some experience to learn what that distance is and it is different for everyone.

[Mark.T]

HI, I have similar problem as you..... but I am 44 and not 16. My correct weight for my height is about 80 Kg, but its more like 110 Kg. I have been doing contact sports all my life, mostly Rugby and Ice hockey, so being a little over weight was a little advantages. But now, in tweilight of my sportslife, these extra pounds are killing me and my Kendo.

It is good that I have been doing sports all my life, so my body is used to the riggers of Kendo. But with a little too much weight I tend to notice that leg joints, especialy the achilies (?) some times gives me problems. One of the biggest problems for me is to suddenly move all this weight on one leg to cut at a sudden target.

All in all, I would say its better (for Kendo) to drop some weight, especially if your 16 (easier). It will take a while, but you will notice the difference later.

[Bear of Doom]

Nodachi has it well put right there ... but all in all I wouldn't really say size post that much of a big advantage per se, in the end it's all up to how you use it. But! a little warning is that if you're really heavy, your foot will have some nice blisters on them sooner or later.

[Kendo ISB]

Everyone is different, the key is the ability to find and maintain the balance required for your weight class. Good luck with Kendo.

[Neil Gendzwill]

As stated, I am 16, but I am also 6'4ish (without shoes.) and weigh around 300 pounds. I'm not obese or anything (haha), but I am certainly overweight.You're certainly significantly overweight and that is a big health concern for you. I'm glad to hear you're taking action. Might I suggest starting an account at fitday (www.fitday.com) to help out with planning diet and activity?

What are some common advantages and disadvantages in the aspects of both height and weight?Taller means you are hard to hit for men but an easier target for kote and doh, similarily for you men will be your main target whereas kote and doh will be less accessible. As a tall person you also have the advantages of reach, both with your arms and your step. Your weight is going to slow you down, but your overall size will serve you with body crashes (taiatari) so long as you don't abuse it.

[Sprenger]

I can't speak to the weight issue, but I do think being tall is a mixed bag, from my perspective (6'4" myself). On the plus side, the reach is good, but on the bad side it causes me serious problems for maai. This is something I struggle with a lot as an early beginner when I practice with shorter people.

Short people don't conveniently hang out waay out in space, where you can hit them and they can't retaliate. They will have a shorter maai that they are able to strike from, and since you are tall, they will naturally want to get closer to you (so they can hit you) than you will want to be to them. This means that they will be constantly closing that distance to bring themselves into range, and simply by doing that, they will be putting themselves inside your range, possibly so close that you won't be able to hit them at all. Of course, you are doing the same thing to them (in reverse) when they are farther away, but the difference is that they will be moving forward to adjust, at which point you will want to move backwards to adjust, and I think for beginners it's better to be the one who is able to push forward more easily.

Some people I practice with know very well how to use this against me, closing enough distance in an attempt to get me to either back up or strike too close. This is all a mental game though, just something that I have to overcome in my mind.

That's not to say this is any worse than the problems shorter individuals have, but I think being tall does not really bring any distinct advantages or disadvantages to the table. For every unique advantage I think there's going to be a disadvantage to go with it.

[Omnis]

You're certainly significantly overweight and that is a big health concern for you. I'm glad to hear you're taking action. Might I suggest starting an account at fitday (www.fitday.com) to help out with planning diet and activity?

Cool. Thanks. I am "significantly" overweight, but I think fat doesn't play that big of a role in my overall index. I could drop all of my fat and still be significantly overweight.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Cool. Thanks. I am "significantly" overweight, but I think fat doesn't play that big of a role in my overall index. I could drop all of my fat and still be significantly overweight.
The BMI index doesn't work very well for athletes. I know that if you come from some sort of strength sports background (football, wrestling, lifting, etc), you can pretty push your BMI into the 30s and be healthy. At a BMI of 37 I was assuming you were carrying quite a bit of excess even if you are the star on your high school football team. A standard couch-potato with your numbers would be obese.

[Omnis]

Yeah. I need to start going back to the gym before I get to that point, though. Haha.

Thanks, Neil.

[sakanasama]

same prob ,Omnis, Im 18 yrs, 6'2'', and 250lbs. Im just starting out too. maby well see eachother at a match one day (in better shape :)) i'll be rooting for you

good luck

[PatientDaruma]

Right there with you. I'm 25, stand about 6'4" and weight a solid 285lbs. However, when I started kendo about 8 months ago, I weighed over 300 lbs. I started dropping weight in a hurry, and by the time I got into bogu, I was much lighter and much quicker, and my wind had improved dramatically. Stick out the rough part, and you'll reap the benefits.
You'll be a bigger target, which will help you work on footwork and reflex. You may have a reach advantage, once you learn how to swing and reach properly. You'll be harder to move around, and find it easier to unbalance an opponent when you get in close.
The downside, of course, is that you won't be as quick or as maneuverable, most likely, and you'll run out of gas quicker.
Like i said, get at it, keep at it, and things will work themselves out. You'll come out better than when you started.

[Commander]

Hey there, i myself am 19 years old. 5ft 2' and 9 stone. Sometimes i have problems but theres not much you can do

Best of luck

[Ignatz]

Hey there, i myself am 19 years old. 5ft 2' and 9 stone. Sometimes i have problems but theres not much you can do

Best of luck

Is that 9 stone on the button or plus or minus a rock or two?

[Commander]

lol i am not used to using Ibs here.

9 stone on the button

[taganahan]

Hey there, i myself am 19 years old. 5ft 2' and 9 stone. Sometimes i have problems but theres not much you can do

Best of luck

and i thought i was short.

i'm having the opposite problem here. i am 18, 5'3" and 125lbs. i have lots of problem with taller and bigger people. the long reach and strenght are quite true.

i'm still trying to work out those problems and have no clue what to do.

~taganahan

[RamenMan]

Wow, It feels weird hearing the opposite end of the spectrum Lol. I'm 17, 5'5, and 110 lbs. My weight lets me move a lot faster than most of my opponents during kumite (Karateka, soon to be kendoka). I'm used to fighting people who are around 5'8ish and 180 lbs, but there were some people in our dojo who were a lot smaller than me. It just depends on your opponents size, whether or not you have the advantage. Not sure if it works the same for Kendo though. Dunno if I helped or made it worse. ^^;; sorry.

[pepo]

last week we took practice with a major sensei from japan he is huge and i mean big in every way, quick as wind and dry as a bone

[Klasnikov]

Interesting. How does one work out BMI? I'm 6'3 myself and around 94Kg/ 208lbs.

[ghostdancer]

Interesting. How does one work out BMI? I'm 6'3 myself and around 94Kg/ 208lbs.

google for BMI calculator and feed in the numbers, this as with anything that generic is only a guide
seek the advice of a health professional if in doubt

[kim]

All you tall guys out there I am 4'11" and most of my aites are well over five and a half feet tall some over six possitivly giants. They may have a problem but given half a chance their kotes are mine. Hight has never been an issue with me although when practicing kata-geiko Yohonme my partner tends to look like they are tusking around their navels,or am tusking at shoulder hight.

[LittlePaul]

It's interesting looking these over actually, I've been considering resuming Kendo after giving it up and I always found my height (or thereby lack of) to be a problem in previous times, getting into reach of someone was always like the proverbial double-edged sword because i'd be into their reach long before they were into mine. If that makes sense.

Weight wise, I've always been pretty small, little over 10st and found that my strength came in my movement rather than my height, still it has it's mental aspects such as confidence which despite my previous training in Kendo I never really overcame.

It's interesting at least to see the variance of height of those involved and how it works differently to what I was previously used to in Kendo.

[ratdeau]

I can't speak to the weight issue, but I do think being tall is a mixed bag, from my perspective (6'4" myself). On the plus side, the reach is good, but on the bad side it causes me serious problems for maai. This is something I struggle with a lot as an early beginner when I practice with shorter people.

Short people don't conveniently hang out waay out in space, where you can hit them and they can't retaliate. They will have a shorter maai that they are able to strike from, and since you are tall, they will naturally want to get closer to you (so they can hit you) than you will want to be to them. This means that they will be constantly closing that distance to bring themselves into range, and simply by doing that, they will be putting themselves inside your range, possibly so close that you won't be able to hit them at all. Of course, you are doing the same thing to them (in reverse) when they are farther away, but the difference is that they will be moving forward to adjust, at which point you will want to move backwards to adjust, and I think for beginners it's better to be the one who is able to push forward more easily.

Some people I practice with know very well how to use this against me, closing enough distance in an attempt to get me to either back up or strike too close. This is all a mental game though, just something that I have to overcome in my mind.

That's not to say this is any worse than the problems shorter individuals have, but I think being tall does not really bring any distinct advantages or disadvantages to the table. For every unique advantage I think there's going to be a disadvantage to go with it.

I'm 196cm and 96kg. For me the thing is to lower a little bit my kensen, not to my kamae but to a kamae putting pressure on my opponent, directly toward his mune. Then my kote is more diffficult to reach, and if my opponent want to attack men I can stop him on mune or do any attack, debana kote, suriage men, nuki do or kaeshi do.

[Pugtm]

weight means you will be slower and less agile which may be a problem for more experienced level of kendo but it will be a while before you even get Keikogi so don't worry too much and just practice. I'm 16 and started 5 months ago and i lost tons of fat and gained muscle like nobodies business. So don't worry too much. Just do a lot of suburi and it will all resolve itself. Also be sure to exercise lower and upper back and stomach since extra weight will put a strain on those beyond what kendo normally does.

[Seo]

All you tall guys out there I am 4'11" and most of my aites are well over five and a half feet tall some over six possitivly giants. They may have a problem but given half a chance their kotes are mine. Hight has never been an issue with me although when practicing kata-geiko Yohonme my partner tends to look like they are tusking around their navels,or am tusking at shoulder hight.
You're an inspiration. :D

[Badtz-Maru]

Don't let your size encourage or discourage you too much when doing Kendo. There's a reason that there are no weight classes. We are unique in a way that we are often classified by ability or experience. At least in tournaments.

I've always been heavy. I am 5'9" and 225lbs (172cm 102kg) and am considered a finesse tournament player. It all depends on how you carry it and how hard you work to not carry fat.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CWeJw3BAu10

Here's a video of me taking on (and losing controversially) to the dangerous Narumoto-San in the court finals of the Midwest Tournament. Needless to say, I'm the bigger one.

I just don't want anyone to get discouraged because of size. For all those smaller guys out there, watch Narumoto-San in this video. It's a good video for both sides of the spectrum.

I know that I have mainly addressed weight as an issue in this post, but height isn't something that I have given much thought to since I lack it and have never had problems going against taller players.

[Bokushingu]

wow, thanks for sharing your match sensei. Im a big guy. a few centimeters under 6' 2" i weigh 210 (been fluctuating between 206 to 210) started kendo at 265. My hardest opponents are shorter than me. as a matter of fact, theres a 4' something girl that always seems to get kote on me & the only one to actually knock the wind out of me once doing a taitari.

Sensei Matsuura you dont look over 200 pounds you look extremely agile.

[Badtz-Maru]

haha thank you sir. I think I look like Free Willy when I see myself on video. I need to stay away from Canton Buffet.

I just thought that I could inspire a few of us meat and tater guys on here with that video. Would have been cooler if that was a video of me defeating Narumoto-San, but such is life.

Those 4' something girls give me fits too.

[Kenzan]

I recently spoke to my doctor about the significance of BMI.
He told me that BMI should not be used as the Gospel for calculating your ideal weight.
For example, I'm 6 ft 3 inches, and weigh 260 lbs.
No one can argue that I'm not overweight, but according to my BMI, I should weigh 180-190!
I have a mesomorphic body type, and both I and my Doctor agreed that If I wieghed 190 lbs, - I just wouldn't look right.
According to him, I should be around 230 lbs, which is the weight I was for years, before I got married, that is..LOL
:D

For me, as was mentioned previously, it affects my movement significantly.
Especially with Men. Kote does not seem to be an issue at all, in fact, it's my fastest strike at this point.
Now only if it were correct.......

[ratdeau]

as a matter of fact, theres a 4' something girl that always seems to get kote on me
It's certainly because of your kamae. Try to aim your shinai to her mune.

[JoonShik]

dependin on your body fat percentage, it really doesnt matter. I'm 16, 5'8", 210-220 lbs, pretty big. More fat than muscle, I believe. But the thing is, I'm pretty fast for someone that big. you're 6'4" and 300, when you get in bogu, you can use that as intimdation against your opponent. It's all in the had man.

[Bokushingu]

It's certainly because of your kamae. Try to aim your shinai to her mune.

thanks, ratgeau, i'll try that tonight at practice :)

[JoDuncan]

Hope it works out for you Omnis!

I'm about the same height and weight (A little lighter ~260lbs). Always funny when someone tries to push me in tsuba zeriai.... Not happening!

It is a bit frustrating at times because you have to control yourself physically more than someone lighter. Of course you don't have to bt you will soon run out of people who want to practice with you!

[j.noh]

Weight is sort of secondary to how fast you can move your feet. I've absolutely let myself go over the last couple of years. 6'1" and just tipped the scales at 260. Wake up call!

That said, I can still get the drop on guys that are much faster and more agile than myself. Find your own Kendo and don't get drawn into the faster guy's machine gun strikes. Hold your ground, try to use seme and work on moving that left foot up.

Hope that helps.

[Kenzan]

I'm eating a whole bag of mini-chocolate donuts right now.
:silly:

[JoDuncan]

I'm eating a whole bag of mini-chocolate donuts right now.
:silly:

Nectar... i just ate a seagull's egg omlette