Is Kendo Realistic?

[J. Schitt]

[QUOTE=Shu2jack]
I am looking into learning how to properly use a japanese sword and have been looking into Kendo.

here is my question. How realistic is Kendo in terms of how one would actually use the weapon in war or single combat?

How realistic is the "sparring"?
QUOTE]

Kendo is realistic, because if done correctly you will need to put EVERYTHING into a cut. Research "yuko-datotsu".

To learn swordsmanship, you (IMHO) need to also learn iaido and batto (Cutting).

Study diligently, train hard and regularly, put all that together and in some years you will be on your way toward an understanding of how to use the Japanees sword.

[Nanbanjin]

I have trouble understanding this argument.
I play kendo because I like playing kendo. It feels real enough to me.
I don't think about using real swords that much because it scares me.

[mystic_kendoka]

hehe, i kno wat u mean, last wednesday, the teacher brought her katana, and some of us were alllowed to pull the sword out, do some kirikaeshi with it, then sheathe it again...

i dont ever remember sweating so much in my whole life...

[mystic_kendoka]

o ya, and i also felt that kendo didnt properly prepare me for a sword, the technique and all were good, but the whole problem was the weight difference, when i pulled the katana out, it was like holding up 5 bokutos... but still i think kendo is the best compared to iaido/jodo...

[Yowai]

o and i almost cut my finger off, resheathein the sword.. the sensei got angry by my carelessnes...

[edit] o no i posted under yowai account by accident... argggg..

[Nanbanjin]

o and i almost cut my finger off, resheathein the sword.. the sensei got angry by my carelessnes...

[edit] o no i posted under yowai account by accident... argggg..

Glad I have found something I can agree with you about.

I love playing kendo but don't have a compulsion to do Iaido just because it is a chance to put my hands on a katana.
I have been told by some high level instructors that Iaido can lead to bad habits in kendo. Some people do argue that they compliment each other though.

Sorry about calling you a wanker over the zekken thing.
Also please don't laugh at my zekken if you ever meet me.

[mystic_kendoka]

o and i almost cut my finger off, resheathein the sword.. the sensei got angry by my carelessnes...

[edit] o no i posted under yowai account by accident... argggg..

hmmm... impersonation...

[Alex]

Maybe you could aim for your tongue next time.

[Yowai]

hmmm... impersonation...

Hey, just poking fun. You shoudn't awateru so easily.

[mystic_kendoka]

wat is awateru?

[Nanbanjin]

wat is awateru?

http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.p...kind=ej&mode=0

あわてる　慌てる

《狼狽( ろうばい )する》be confused; be upset; be flurried; be flustered; 《 平静を失う 》lose one's composure; 《急ぐ》be hurried; be in a hurry.
・～乞食は貰( もら )いが少ない　The impatient beggar receives little.
・～な　《 落ち着け 》Cool it!
・慌てて　in confusion [ bewilderment ]; hurriedly.
・慌てて家に帰る　hurry home.
・慌てて結婚するな　Don't rush into marriage.
・慌てない　keep quiet; remain calm.
・慌てさせる　throw a person into confusion.

[mystic_kendoka]

thank you...

[Ren Blade]

In regards to Kendo and real fighting, I have a friend who told me of a girl he knew that trains Kendo alot. This girl was young around her 20's and is short, around 5 feet. Her family ran a restaurant and she worked in it with them. One night a group of 4 or so young guys came in and got a table. They were being loud and rude to everyone. Her brother ask them to leave and they started pushing him around. She immediately grabbed a broom stick and attacked those guys. Beating them all fast and hard with Kendo techniques. And she didn't stop hitting til they all ran outta the restaurant. That must have been quite a sight.

Another incident with the same girl is that she and her boyfriend, who was bigger than her, got into an argument. It got a little physical and she retaliated by grabbing a magazine, rolling it up tight and attacked her boyfriend fast and hard. He was getting smacked around left and right and she rendered him helpless that he gave up. That must have been an even more interesting sight than the restaurant incident though I would've loved to have been there to see both.

So those are 2 examples where it shows Kendo to be usefull to train aside for the art and love of it. Though you're not carrying a sword around with you, you can always grab something similar to the weapon you train with and execute the techniques that are ingrained into your muscle memory.

The only thing my friend said about Kendo in regards to real, he trained Kendo for a few years so he's familiar with it, is that one of the Kendo techniques where you hit your opponent on their head, that with a real sword, the blade would get stuck in their skull. And on the battlefield as you're trying to remove your sword, someone or people are coming up to attack you and you may get killed while trying to get your blade out of someone's skull. But how many of us are in the battlefield anyway with a Katana let alone carrying one around with us in everyday life?

All Martial Arts are good if learned from a good teacher. In a real fight, you don't have to perform and do things exactly the way you do in the training hall. Your training gives you some advantages in a fight. And when you fight, you do what you can do to survive regardless if you're in a proper stance or executing a perfect technique or not. Strive for perfection in your art in training, do what you can to survive when you are engaged in a real fight.

[bob138]

I have studied martial arts for about 5 years now and have been studying sword fighting for about 10. What I've learned is that for the most part, what you learn in schools is discipline and strength. Most of the forms are either void of actual techniques or antiquatied. Beyond that there is no perfect anything. I have yet to see a perfect stance, strike, swing or style. This is due largely to the fact that combat is completely situational, katas all line up imaginary foes to get their butts kicked by your dance. Every move in a kata is practiced to function in one sepecific situation. Bridging the gap with sparring helps, but for me the true understanding comes from the disection of every moment of a simple punch. Where my feet start and finish. How the weight is distribuited and transferred. How to get the energy from the ground to your fist smoothly. Applying this exercise has helped me in every endevour. For me it seems the more I do it the less I have to do. Eventually you find your groove with footing transitions and they become automatic letting you then start to concentrate on disecting your sword or hand work while moving. Eventually in sparring you see how you can get to a point of true adaptive fighting. Not just reacting to your opponents swings but reacting to your opponents slightest movements or eye movements or breath. This is my take on it, works for me.


Bob

[Reikon]

In regards to Kendo and real fighting, I have a friend who told me of a girl he knew that trains Kendo alot. This girl was young around her 20's and is short, around 5 feet. Her family ran a restaurant and she worked in it with them. One night a group of 4 or so young guys came in and got a table. They were being loud and rude to everyone. Her brother ask them to leave and they started pushing him around. She immediately grabbed a broom stick and attacked those guys. Beating them all fast and hard with Kendo techniques. And she didn't stop hitting til they all ran outta the restaurant. That must have been quite a sight.

This is stupid.

1) It's assault, and depending on the size of the stick, assault with a deadly weapon.

2) If any of those guys wanted to hurt her all they had to do was pick up a chair or pull out a gun

3) Any person with common sense would call the police before they resorted to violence...

Another incident with the same girl is that she and her boyfriend, who was bigger than her, got into an argument. It got a little physical and she retaliated by grabbing a magazine, rolling it up tight and attacked her boyfriend fast and hard. He was getting smacked around left and right and she rendered him helpless that he gave up. That must have been an even more interesting sight than the restaurant incident though I would've loved to have been there to see both.

Once again, if he wanted to hurt her, a rolled up piece of paper wouldn't have stopped him.

So those are 2 examples where it shows Kendo to be usefull to train aside for the art and love of it. Though you're not carrying a sword around with you, you can always grab something similar to the weapon you train with and execute the techniques that are ingrained into your muscle memory.

No, if Kendo is about self growth and enlightenment, there is two examples where she didn't use Kendo.

The rest of your post was good.