Im going to be starting kendo as soon as I finish up in collage (4 weeks ish) and can hardly contain my excitement. So I was just wondering if height is of any advantage or disadvantage. As I am only a mere 5 foot 4”, I was just curious? Any opinions! ( im sorry if this has been covered in the forum before)
I'm 5' 3" - you just have to adapt. Forget men against tall opponents, use your speed, and beat the proverbial out of their do at every opportunity
Hmm, did you skip English classes because it's spelled college.Originally Posted by opentarget
No, being 5'4" is not a problem in kendo. Kendo bogu will normal on you compared to very tall kendoka who look like a large man wearing a child's bogu.
no no no. NEVER give up hitting men. doesn't matter if you're opponent is the size of a wookie. you must maintain the pressure on their men. otherwise, they will soon be able to tell that you are only going to attack their kote or do. yes, it's a little but harder to hit a tall opponent's men, but the considerable length of the shinai is the great equalizer.I'm 5' 3" - you just have to adapt. Forget men against tall opponents, use your speed, and beat the proverbial out of their do at every opportunity
by the way, i'm 5' 5".
I am 5ft 10 not really small but maybe not tall either. Put I actually think that being small is a benefit in Kendo. In a book about Zen meditation it said you have to be like Daruma. I don’t know how many people know who this is but the doll is like a ball. I think this is good in Kendo and seems much easier for short people.
5'4" isn't so short that you have to worry about it at all. I'm only 4'6" tall and practicing kendo against the big guys.
Tatsuko
When I was in Japan, one of the girls who I practiced with was 4'10". She didn't have the sheer force that some of the bigger guys could pack (of course), but she was 2nd dan, and still pretty good (she was also the sub-captain of the team).
I was just in Japan too. I am 5-11 and had the opportunity to practice with a number of high-ranking sensei. One of these guys was a lot shorter than I am but had no trouble hitting my men. One of the things I have learned was that as people advance, they tend to refine particular waza that work well for their personal style. While all of these men were light years above me in skill, height was not a problem for this guy.
Hi! I'm like 5'8"; definitely NOT tall. I find that being shorter requires you to pay A LOT more attention to maai (and relatedly, seme). When I practise with shorter people (and this does not occur all that often!) I simply don't have to pay as much attention as I normally do to maai and it is a lot easier to put pressure on them. As a shorter person, I think the technique that you want totally pinned down is debana kote. That keeps your opponent on the defensive since he is going to think twice about going for *his* easiest target, men. I'm also told that one should focus on developing good oji waza but not be "passive" while doing so. Personally, from a regular practice point of view, I think the best thing to do is to develop a quicker response after a good strong (typically deep) seme (right after you break maai) on your terms, or, respond instantly once the opponent breaks maai***. The latter can open you up to debana waza or other counterattacks, but I think from a taller opponent, the risk is slightly lower since you need to "close in" more on him to get the strike anyway. You just have to be a lot more active on your feet to maintain maai and make sure that he doesn't close in on you, and that *you* are closing the distance on your terms; i.e., when you are prepared to hit.
My 0.02 cents anyway. I'd love to hear the strategies of other "short" kendoists.
*** I do agree with the earlier post about how when practising, we should still focus on striking men, btw. I think if you're confident about your ability to strike men even against a really tall person, it'll help your other strikes because achieving a good men strike off a tall opponent *requires* speed and correct understanding of maai and seme.
There's this guy who told me after yesterday's training that being tall is certainly a disadvantage!
I'm 5'5'' myself. I personally feel that, as long as you're in issoku itto no maai, instead of being at toma (i.e. toma for you but not for him coz he's taller) just because you're afraid of being cut by the taller kenshi, then you're in a better position to apply seme and to cut. When you're in toma, you can't cut anything, while the other guy get to pick your men so easily. Besides, at a closer maai, the guy's cut may not be proper datotsu if he didn't judge the distance correctly.
A twist: I've seen Sano sensei "sucking" a taller kenshi in by purposely enticing that kenshi with his men, then apply oji waza when the other guy got "sucked" in and went for sensei's men.
Key point I've learnt:play to your advantage.
in Norcal there are sensei that are REALLY tall. Over 6ft ! When you are hitting kote, it is as if you are hitting men!
Tim
when you are confident it is okay, you can work around your height, but in the beginning, when u first go into bogu, or first jigeiko, you're scared, less able than everyone else, and short... all i can say is, chin up, dont cower and lower your head...
Thanks for all the replies to my post!
One more thing I think tall peoples Do is much more open for Smaller people.
i am 6'3" im just beginning kendo...i hope it is not a disadvantage but on the other hand if im fighting someone who is 5'2" i should have no problem hitting their men
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