Kendo and Sword Skill

[Maro]

Typically iaito and bokken are lighter than a shinken as well.

Unlikely. What is the weight of a Shinai?

My Iaito is 1250g and my Shinken is 1400g.

[hyuna]

Unlikely. What is the weight of a Shinai?

Article 4. The following table establishes shinai weight and length.

USER JR. HIGH SR. HIGH COLLEGE - ADULT

Length Male/Female 114 cm max 117 cm max 120 cm max

Shinai Male 425 gr. min 470 gr. min 500 gr. min
Wt. Female 400 gr. min 410 gr. min 420 gr. min

edit: sorry, can't figure out a way to make the thing respect the whitespace.

[AndreiB]

Well, its not really that difficult to get some idea, but I don't think many people have that much of an interest in working out with people from various backgrounds outside of JSA because it isn't immediately applicable to kendo. If someone was motivated enough they could go strap on a redman suit and get some untrained friends to pick up a shinai and have at it. They could go work out with some SCA/ARMA types and have some matches with complete beginners.

Good point. I wonder if there's a research body who work with security/police forces who've done a quantitative study looking at success of kendo training in subduing melee armed opponents under test conditions? Or even looking at case reports. Maybe someone managed to test the effectiveness of training on the beat with Japanese police? Australia has a National Police Research Unit that publishes reports about safety of the police - perhaps Japan has an equivalent organisation or university institution dedicated to the same goals?

[Fuzzy]

I know of a case in the UK where a Police Officer came up against a guy with a chain saw who was intent on using it ( against the police not a tree) . The officer was armed with an asp and is what youd describe as "a bit tasty".
No matter how much training he had done the officer had no intension of closing the gap between them to see who would win.
He used his primary weapon, his voice.
"put that down or youll regret it" i think was the way the conversation went.

I think your ego would have to be completed inflated to be confident enough to "take on" someone with a weapon regardless of training.

Ego gonna get you killed


Fuzzy

[ScottUK]

I have to agree with Fuzzy. Having done a fair bit of knife defence work in my youth, if you go up against an armed attacker (even one with absolutely zero ability), you are in trouble. If you walk away with a minor laceration, consider yourself charmed by the Gods of Stupidity 'cos you got off light.

[rfoxmich]

If you are interested in practicing kendo so that you know you can use a real sword effectively in combat you might want a look at:
http://www.kendo-fik.org/english-pag...t-of-Kendo.htm

[Neil Gendzwill]

I'd feel comfortable with a rolled up magazine against a guy with a knife who had no training.

You'd feel cut up by the guy with no training. When the blades are live, people get cut.

Unlikely. What is the weight of a Shinai?

My Iaito is 1250g and my Shinken is 1400g.

Thus proving his point - iaito and bokken are usually lighter than shinken. 1250 is a pretty heavy iaito, too. Or did you read "shinai" rather than "shinken" in his post?

[Kazekoru]

Kendo should not be mixed up with real sword fighting, however, someone who does kendo will be far more physically superior in terms of reaction timing, muscle memory, and just plain old accuracy.

Sure you'd have an advantage, but the best advantage is to avoid conflict all together.

[Maro]

You'd feel cut up by the guy with no training. When the blades are live, people get cut.

Thus proving his point - iaito and bokken are usually lighter than shinken. 1250 is a pretty heavy iaito, too. Or did you read "shinai" rather than "shinken" in his post?

Oops!

[Shinsengumi77]

I second everyone's thoughts about weapons in unskilled hands. When we were working on knife work in kung fu a few years ago, most of the forms concentrated on grabbing and slicing the attacker's wrists and the inside of the upper arm (because that's what's closest, usually, and also very vulnerable -otherwise various targets to the neck, body and face were taught as well). The first thing sifu and the assistant instructors said was this: In the unlikely event you ever find yourself engaged in a knife fight, or in any fight where the opponent has a knife, EXPECT to bleed. You will get cut. The training we were expected to undergo was merely a means to end the fight with minimal damage to yourself, but by no means were we expected to become somehow so skilled as to make us invulnerable. Two of the instructors (one was a security guard) spoke from experience, and had the scars to prove it.

[Manuka]

But, but, but ...I saw Crocodile Dundee

"This is a knife"

[hl1978]

Grab a friend with a marker. Have them try and stab or cut you.

See how much ink you get on your body and clothes. It will surprise you if you have no experience with knife defense. You have to be willing to be cut if you are going to defend yourself against a knife.

[ScottUK]

Grab a friend with a marker. Have them try and stab or cut you.

See how much ink you get on your body and clothes. It will surprise you if you have no experience with knife defense. You have to be willing to be cut if you are going to defend yourself against a knife.

Seonded. This is a lot of fun to have a go at.

I thought I did well (very minor marks on my arms etc) until I saw the 'cut' which went from my left hipbone diagonally up to under my right pec. That was a scary moment...

[ender84567]

you could always get a g gordon liddy fight ring.

[EndureForte]

you could always get a g gordon liddy fight ring.

Agreed. I thought we were all supposed to carry those in our zekken anyway?

And WTF? All these years of troublesome practice have not rendered me a bad-ass anime hero that can cut through a stone pillar and the zombies behind it with the Kusanagi no Tsurugi I bought online? Man, I signed up for the wrong martial art.


Pfft.