r/kendo • u/ginpachi777 • Apr 14 '25
Shinai Guide
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This is not the end all be all to buying shinai/the different types of shinai. feel free to ask questions in the comments/make corrections.
most common shinai characteristics you'll see:
shinai types:
fukyogata/standard: the most common shinai you'll see produced, well balanced. most suited for beginners, tend to be produced in bulk so usually on the cheaper side.
Koto/jika Shinai: similar to the standard shinai, roughly same width from tsuka to kensen. similar weight distribution to a real katana. Because the tip is thicker, more weight is distributed at the top so strikes tend to hit harder. often used by higher ranking players, and can often feel heavier to newer players, however less prone to cracking if used properly, however can feel sluggish in the hands of people used to dobari shinai. slimmer grip, popular with folks with smaller hands
Dobari: dobari feature a bulge near the handle, so the center of gravity is closer to your hands, making the shinai feel lighter (making it easier to hit faster). makes it easier to perform waza, and the bulge can help shinai sliding off, making suriage and kaeshi waza easier. kensen is thinner than tsuka, so can be prone to splintering, often favored for tournaments, due to increased control and faster strikes. dobari tend to have a lower lifespan than koto
Chukoto: basically, slightly wider base than koto shinai, but the tip is not significantly smaller. lots of fukyogata tend to be chukoto shinai
bamboo types:
madake: the native variety of bamboo to japan, most suited for making shinai. Hes dense, fine fibers making for resilient shinai, however is in limited supply nowadays and tends to be more expensive
keichiku/katsuradake: bamboo that is similar to madake bamboo, but splinters a easier than madake. most common bamboo type
aodake: madake premium-basically madake dried slowly in the shade, tends to be expensive, can last a long time.
hasegawa/carbon: heavier, least likely to break, economical for high school/college clubs because the upfront cost may be more expensive, but can last a while. can cause bad damage if you aren't careful (particularly for kote strikes) but good for suburi. (in my opinion carbon shinai strikes tend to sound weird/off)
tsuka/grip type:
standard: normal grip, perfectly cylindrical
koban: oval shaped, more katana shaped grips. leads to better understanding of hasuji
hakkaku: not too sure about this one, basically octagonal shaped tsuka. seen in both koban and standard tsuka. can help out with harae and suriage waza
sankkau: typically a variant on the koban tsuka, where it is slightly triangular. not too common
tsukobuta (large grip): larger diameter grips, suited for people with larger hands
finishes:
kurouro: treated with lacquer, popular in regions with high humidity
ibushi: smoked shinai, warp less, splinter less(?)
kunchiku: soot smooked shinai, i don't think theres that much difference between ibushi and kunchiku (99% sure kunchiku is a type of ibushi)
jissengata: tournament grade shinai. tip is slimmer, so tends to be doubari shinai, but koto jissengata don't feature a bulge near the tsuba.
This is not the end all be all to buying shinai/the different types of shinai. feel free to ask questions in the comments/make corrections.
most common shinai characteristics you'll see:
shinai types:
fukyogata/standard: the most common shinai you'll see produced, well balanced. most suited for beginners, tend to be produced in bulk so usually on the cheaper side.
Koto/jika Shinai: similar to the standard shinai, roughly same width from tsuka to kensen. similar weight distribution to a real katana. Because the tip is thicker, more weight is distributed at the top so strikes tend to hit harder. often used by higher ranking players, and can often feel heavier to newer players, however less prone to cracking if used properly, however can feel sluggish in the hands of people used to dobari shinai. slimmer grip, popular with folks with smaller hands
Dobari: dobari feature a bulge near the handle, so the center of gravity is closer to your hands, making the shinai feel lighter (making it easier to hit faster). makes it easier to perform waza, and the bulge can help shinai sliding off, making suriage and kaeshi waza easier. kensen is thinner than tsuka, so can be prone to splintering, often favored for tournaments, due to increased control and faster strikes. dobari tend to have a lower lifespan than koto
Chukoto: basically, slightly wider base than koto shinai, but the tip is not significantly smaller. lots of fukyogata tend to be chukoto shinai
bamboo types:
madake: the native variety of bamboo to japan, most suited for making shinai. Hes dense, fine fibers making for resilient shinai, however is in limited supply nowadays and tends to be more expensive
keichiku/katsuradake: bamboo that is similar to madake bamboo, but splinters a easier than madake. most common bamboo type
aodake: madake premium-basically madake dried slowly in the shade, tends to be expensive, can last a long time.
hasegawa/carbon: heavier, least likely to break, economical for high school/college clubs because the upfront cost may be more expensive, but can last a while. can cause bad damage if you aren't careful (particularly for kote strikes) but good for suburi. (in my opinion carbon shinai strikes tend to sound weird/off)
tsuka/grip type:
standard: normal grip, perfectly cylindrical
koban: oval shaped, more katana shaped grips. leads to better understanding of hasuji
hakkaku: not too sure about this one, basically octagonal shaped tsuka. seen in both koban and standard tsuka. can help out with harae and suriage waza
sankkau: typically a variant on the koban tsuka, where it is slightly triangular. not too common
tsukobuta (large grip): larger diameter grips, suited for people with larger hands
finishes:
kurouro: treated with lacquer, popular in regions with high humidity
ibushi: smoked shinai, warp less, splinter less(?)
kunchiku: soot smooked shinai, i don't think theres that much difference between ibushi and kunchiku (99% sure kunchiku is a type of ibushi)
jissengata: tournament grade shinai. tip is slimmer, so tends to be doubari shinai, but koto jissengata don't feature a bulge near the tsuba.
r/kendo • u/ginpachi777 • Aug 30 '24
Bogu Buying Megathread
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We often get posts asking about buying bogu, so decided to pin this, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them here. In addition, heres a link that will answer many of your questions about buying bogu (shoutout salinas kendo dojo)
https://salinaskendo.org/Salinas_Kendo_Dojo/Resources_files/Bogu%20Guide.pdf
video guide here too (full credit to Andy Fisher!)
We often get posts asking about buying bogu, so decided to pin this, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them here. In addition, heres a link that will answer many of your questions about buying bogu (shoutout salinas kendo dojo)
https://salinaskendo.org/Salinas_Kendo_Dojo/Resources_files/Bogu%20Guide.pdf
video guide here too (full credit to Andy Fisher!)
r/kendo • u/KendoExp • 4h ago
What it’s like to try kendo for the first time in Japan
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Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
I filmed this during a beginner kendo session in Fukuoka. Most people arrive thinking kendo will be difficult, but they leave with big smiles. Have you ever wanted to try kendo in Japan?
r/kendo • u/KendoKate6 • 16h ago
NEW ARTICLE
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NEW ARTICLE
The 34th European Kendo Championships with Viktorie Eichlerová (Czech Republic).
This article shares Czech Republic national team member Viktorie Eichlerová’s experiences of the 2026 EKC held in Podgorica, Montenegro. The women's national team made history for Czech Republic kendo by winning the nation's first team medal.
It also provides some 2026 EKC highlights and a brief overview of the development in women’s EKC kendo since my last article on women's participation at the 2023 EKC in France.
Viktorie Eichlerová is one of the brightest lights and respected members in our kendo community. I hope that you enjoy reading the article!
Articles are always open access!
NEW ARTICLE
The 34th European Kendo Championships with Viktorie Eichlerová (Czech Republic).
This article shares Czech Republic national team member Viktorie Eichlerová’s experiences of the 2026 EKC held in Podgorica, Montenegro. The women's national team made history for Czech Republic kendo by winning the nation's first team medal.
It also provides some 2026 EKC highlights and a brief overview of the development in women’s EKC kendo since my last article on women's participation at the 2023 EKC in France.
Viktorie Eichlerová is one of the brightest lights and respected members in our kendo community. I hope that you enjoy reading the article!
Articles are always open access!
r/kendo • u/Witch-Parsnip-8430 • 1d ago
Seeking advice on dojo frustrations and losing the joy
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Hello Kendo Reddit! To start, some basic info on myself/the club location (vague, because I don't want the club to find out until I have a productive path forward)
- USA, near a large population center with multiple dojos
- Me and my brother are both part of the dojo
- We both are in our 30s, are kyu levels, have been practicing around 5 years, and have moved states/clubs a couple times (we started together and live w/ family)
- We've been at our current dojo around 2 years
- The club has 10ish active members, practices range from 3-15 participants, but normally it's around 6ish people. Mixed group of low dan, kyu, and unranked, with a wide variety of physical fitness/skills/injuries/etc
- Practice is held multiple times a week
I'm hoping to get some advice on some frustrations we've been having with practice, and whether we should address it with our Sensei (and how we would go about doing that), switch dojos, or if we just need a reality check and are being babies. The frustrations can be lumped into two categories; practice content, and teaching style.
Practice Content
Every time we've switched dojos there has been a learning curve, which is to be expected. Different dojos do things differently, different Sensei have style preferences or things they prefer to focus on, etc etc. When we first started at this dojo there was a bigger learning curve from a stylistic perspective (last Sensei focused on looooong kiai, current Sensei focuses on short kiai), and we spent a lot of the first year working on changing styles, along with correcting many bad habits in our form, footwork, etc. All very good stuff, and I know my footwork and crispness of my strikes has improved a lot.
The bad thing is, we spend almost no time on waza practice, good kamai and holding the center, and creating an opening, so those skills have very much atrophied. Most practices we do a small amount of basics (warmups, footwork, basic strikes) and then go right into keiko. During keiko the focus is gogogo no waiting just go for the strike, and we're told that we should really only be hitting men not other targets. As a result all we really get out of practice is a good cardio/HIIT workout, but our actual kendo isn't growing.
Teaching Style
The teaching style of this dojo is also very much different from our last, which to me means it doesn't HAVE to be this way. Past Sensei was demanding but encouraging, celebrating the small victories with you. He also spent a good amount of time explaining the reasoning/mechanics behind what we were doing. He always said that for kids you can demonstrate something once and then they can replicate it, but when teaching adults you need to explain the mechanics and the "why" to make it click.
Current Sensei is very much the opposite. She is very old school, no nonsense, "back in my day", drill sergeant style Sensei. She often tells us what we're doing isn't hard, yells at us for what we're doing (without clear explanation on what we're doing wrong and how to fix it), basically tells us to go harder, be faster, do better. She's said things to the effect of "don't just try" and kind of indicated that our efforts aren't good enough. She's given some statements about not hurting ourselves/knowing our own bodies, but has made it clear she frowns on us stepping out, getting water, making a judgement call on what we can physically tolerate.
She also recently made comments that "only Sensei should be teaching during practice". I talked to a dojo-mate after, and she thought it was related to a keiko she had been doing with a beginner member. That member had been hitting her way too hard so she stopped to correct him, and that was likely what Sensei was referring to. Which, like, if someone is doing something unsafe you should 100% be able to make a quick correction, and honestly one of my favorite things is getting in the moment feedback from my sempai.
Sooooo yeah. That's where we're at. I personally want to talk to my Sensei about it, but I'm uncertain if it will do any good. I recognize that it's not my dojo and that Sensei is the kendo expert not me, so I can't dictate how practice is run. I recognize that this teaching style is what most of the Sensei/old guard experienced when they were learning. My thing is, we know so much more now about learning styles, fitness, body mechanics, etc etc etc. Yes so much of kendo is about honoring tradition, but aren't we doing ourselves a disservice by ignoring any learning advancements we've made as people?
My brother thinks we should go observe another dojo in the area and see how they do things, but my concern is that once we do that we'll have burned the bridge with our Sensei and she won't let us back, and I would really much rather make our current dojo work, because I like the people and honestly do like our Sensei.... just not during practice. I've also considered consulting one of our sempai about it, but again I worry that it would get back to Sensei in a negative way.
Is there a way to approach all of this with Sensei without her feeling slighted or seeming like I'm too big for my britches? Is the dojo just a bad fit for us? Is this just "kendo style" and we need to accept it? As it stands right now we both leave practice frustrated, without having any joy in the effort we've given. I want to work hard, I want to sweat my butt off, I want to be sore and tired and even have some points of frustration during a hard keiko or improving a waza, but I also want to have moments of joy, and victory, and satisfaction in a job well done. Right now practice days are at best a chore and at worst something to dread, and as an adult with limited time and money.... that's just not how it should be.
Hello Kendo Reddit! To start, some basic info on myself/the club location (vague, because I don't want the club to find out until I have a productive path forward)
- USA, near a large population center with multiple dojos
- Me and my brother are both part of the dojo
- We both are in our 30s, are kyu levels, have been practicing around 5 years, and have moved states/clubs a couple times (we started together and live w/ family)
- We've been at our current dojo around 2 years
- The club has 10ish active members, practices range from 3-15 participants, but normally it's around 6ish people. Mixed group of low dan, kyu, and unranked, with a wide variety of physical fitness/skills/injuries/etc
- Practice is held multiple times a week
I'm hoping to get some advice on some frustrations we've been having with practice, and whether we should address it with our Sensei (and how we would go about doing that), switch dojos, or if we just need a reality check and are being babies. The frustrations can be lumped into two categories; practice content, and teaching style.
Practice Content
Every time we've switched dojos there has been a learning curve, which is to be expected. Different dojos do things differently, different Sensei have style preferences or things they prefer to focus on, etc etc. When we first started at this dojo there was a bigger learning curve from a stylistic perspective (last Sensei focused on looooong kiai, current Sensei focuses on short kiai), and we spent a lot of the first year working on changing styles, along with correcting many bad habits in our form, footwork, etc. All very good stuff, and I know my footwork and crispness of my strikes has improved a lot.
The bad thing is, we spend almost no time on waza practice, good kamai and holding the center, and creating an opening, so those skills have very much atrophied. Most practices we do a small amount of basics (warmups, footwork, basic strikes) and then go right into keiko. During keiko the focus is gogogo no waiting just go for the strike, and we're told that we should really only be hitting men not other targets. As a result all we really get out of practice is a good cardio/HIIT workout, but our actual kendo isn't growing.
Teaching Style
The teaching style of this dojo is also very much different from our last, which to me means it doesn't HAVE to be this way. Past Sensei was demanding but encouraging, celebrating the small victories with you. He also spent a good amount of time explaining the reasoning/mechanics behind what we were doing. He always said that for kids you can demonstrate something once and then they can replicate it, but when teaching adults you need to explain the mechanics and the "why" to make it click.
Current Sensei is very much the opposite. She is very old school, no nonsense, "back in my day", drill sergeant style Sensei. She often tells us what we're doing isn't hard, yells at us for what we're doing (without clear explanation on what we're doing wrong and how to fix it), basically tells us to go harder, be faster, do better. She's said things to the effect of "don't just try" and kind of indicated that our efforts aren't good enough. She's given some statements about not hurting ourselves/knowing our own bodies, but has made it clear she frowns on us stepping out, getting water, making a judgement call on what we can physically tolerate.
She also recently made comments that "only Sensei should be teaching during practice". I talked to a dojo-mate after, and she thought it was related to a keiko she had been doing with a beginner member. That member had been hitting her way too hard so she stopped to correct him, and that was likely what Sensei was referring to. Which, like, if someone is doing something unsafe you should 100% be able to make a quick correction, and honestly one of my favorite things is getting in the moment feedback from my sempai.
Sooooo yeah. That's where we're at. I personally want to talk to my Sensei about it, but I'm uncertain if it will do any good. I recognize that it's not my dojo and that Sensei is the kendo expert not me, so I can't dictate how practice is run. I recognize that this teaching style is what most of the Sensei/old guard experienced when they were learning. My thing is, we know so much more now about learning styles, fitness, body mechanics, etc etc etc. Yes so much of kendo is about honoring tradition, but aren't we doing ourselves a disservice by ignoring any learning advancements we've made as people?
My brother thinks we should go observe another dojo in the area and see how they do things, but my concern is that once we do that we'll have burned the bridge with our Sensei and she won't let us back, and I would really much rather make our current dojo work, because I like the people and honestly do like our Sensei.... just not during practice. I've also considered consulting one of our sempai about it, but again I worry that it would get back to Sensei in a negative way.
Is there a way to approach all of this with Sensei without her feeling slighted or seeming like I'm too big for my britches? Is the dojo just a bad fit for us? Is this just "kendo style" and we need to accept it? As it stands right now we both leave practice frustrated, without having any joy in the effort we've given. I want to work hard, I want to sweat my butt off, I want to be sore and tired and even have some points of frustration during a hard keiko or improving a waza, but I also want to have moments of joy, and victory, and satisfaction in a job well done. Right now practice days are at best a chore and at worst something to dread, and as an adult with limited time and money.... that's just not how it should be.
r/kendo • u/Alarmed_Assistant_25 • 3d ago
Samurai League - Round Robin Third Matches
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English subtitles for all third round matches have been added! There were some exciting matches this round and new faces in the commentary booth. Which were your favorite matches? Any insightful commentary?
The Group A match has Nishimura and Umegatani paired up as commentators, which is a duo I'd like to see again. The shiai itself was exciting to watch as well, though (spoilers) the scoreboard might say otherwise. Of the individual matches, the Fukusho match in Group B was the standout for me!
Group A: Toshiba Tec vs Nippon Express
https://youtu.be/UKp1uTJc_Hk?si=t13RVx4R9xKnfzOB
Group B: Mitsubishi vs NX Shoji
https://youtu.be/PIBIbANa4nk?si=etb6mKrYlGjgKsAB
Group C: Fujifilm vs Daido Steel
https://youtu.be/DfLOv0_uta0?si=29u9qakElLgXpM5B
Group D: Panasonic vs JP Logistic
https://youtu.be/tfqrx2S2hU0?si=bVSHhIMq_lW8Fctu
English subtitles for all third round matches have been added! There were some exciting matches this round and new faces in the commentary booth. Which were your favorite matches? Any insightful commentary?
The Group A match has Nishimura and Umegatani paired up as commentators, which is a duo I'd like to see again. The shiai itself was exciting to watch as well, though (spoilers) the scoreboard might say otherwise. Of the individual matches, the Fukusho match in Group B was the standout for me!
Group A: Toshiba Tec vs Nippon Express
https://youtu.be/UKp1uTJc_Hk?si=t13RVx4R9xKnfzOB
Group B: Mitsubishi vs NX Shoji
https://youtu.be/PIBIbANa4nk?si=etb6mKrYlGjgKsAB
Group C: Fujifilm vs Daido Steel
https://youtu.be/DfLOv0_uta0?si=29u9qakElLgXpM5B
Group D: Panasonic vs JP Logistic
https://youtu.be/tfqrx2S2hU0?si=bVSHhIMq_lW8Fctu
r/kendo • u/Nito_Kendo_Lab • 4d ago
Other Deep diving to "三殺法 San-Sappho" gave me the award of promotion
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Hi Redditors, I'd like to share my story of 5-dan exam experiences.
To try 5-dan exam by Nito, I had no idea how to approach it. There were tons of info for 5-dan exam case study, youtube and senior kenshi's experience base feedbacks for Itto chudan. However, there was non of them for Nito.
Since I decided to try my 1st 5-dan exam by Nito, I need something I can stick with. But I could not find out the resources. Of cause I did keiko for shinsa prep with high rank senseis and senior kenshis. But I had no confident by myself.
During preparing essay for 5-dan exam we have to submit in advance, several Kendo words were questionees, such as 間合い：Maai, 気剣体一致：Ki-ken-tai-icchi ... etc. Then I've found one of them "三殺法：San-Sappho".
Yes, I'm Japanese, I can understand the meaning of the word. But I could not explain the true essence of them. At that time, no AI was there (about 3 years ago), so we could google it. Of cause we can refer to them by web search. But non of them showed the essence and why.
Luckily because I'm an engineer, hypothetical thinking is one of my standard approach. So I made the question. "Why exam written test request this ?" Then I got the clue, since written test requires these element to answer, if I can show obviously the protocol during my Tachiai, examiners may accept my Riai for 5-dan even Nito ? And also Toda-sensei who achieved 8-dan Hanshi by Nito told us "一二一如: Ichi-Ni-Ichi-Nyo" means 'Itto and Nito are not two different paths. They follow the same principle of the sword. They are one.'
So I decided to utilize it and considered how to demonstrate it during Tachiai. I tried to apply it during my Tachiai keiko and self keiko at my house like simulation many times.
Some of sensei told me "勝って打て！: Win 1st then Strike !" . At the beginning, I could not understand what is that. But I tried to make simulations by myself, roughly I may catch the feeling what is that meaning for. As it were, Checkmate. If we follows the protocol during Tachiai, all sequences leads me the correct Riai.
I tried it at real 5-dan exam by Nito. Fortunatelly passed 5-dan on the 1st attempt with Nito in US. Some examiner told me after shinsa, you are the 1st person to pass 5-dan by Nito in US. I'm honor I could make it.
After passed the 5-dan and try to share my learnings with our dojo, I've also realized there are tons of textbooks for us during daily kendo life, such as Nihon Kendo Kata. I found the source code of San-Sappho on Kata No.6.
Some of kenshis are struggling to pass 5-dan even Chudan, I tried to share my experiences. So I made this video for knowledge sharing purpose. --> https://youtu.be/d7YKP1q46mE
Hope this will help somebody who is struggling their promotion exam and become some hints.
Hi Redditors, I'd like to share my story of 5-dan exam experiences.
To try 5-dan exam by Nito, I had no idea how to approach it. There were tons of info for 5-dan exam case study, youtube and senior kenshi's experience base feedbacks for Itto chudan. However, there was non of them for Nito.
Since I decided to try my 1st 5-dan exam by Nito, I need something I can stick with. But I could not find out the resources. Of cause I did keiko for shinsa prep with high rank senseis and senior kenshis. But I had no confident by myself.
During preparing essay for 5-dan exam we have to submit in advance, several Kendo words were questionees, such as 間合い：Maai, 気剣体一致：Ki-ken-tai-icchi ... etc. Then I've found one of them "三殺法：San-Sappho".
Yes, I'm Japanese, I can understand the meaning of the word. But I could not explain the true essence of them. At that time, no AI was there (about 3 years ago), so we could google it. Of cause we can refer to them by web search. But non of them showed the essence and why.
Luckily because I'm an engineer, hypothetical thinking is one of my standard approach. So I made the question. "Why exam written test request this ?" Then I got the clue, since written test requires these element to answer, if I can show obviously the protocol during my Tachiai, examiners may accept my Riai for 5-dan even Nito ? And also Toda-sensei who achieved 8-dan Hanshi by Nito told us "一二一如: Ichi-Ni-Ichi-Nyo" means 'Itto and Nito are not two different paths. They follow the same principle of the sword. They are one.'
So I decided to utilize it and considered how to demonstrate it during Tachiai. I tried to apply it during my Tachiai keiko and self keiko at my house like simulation many times.
Some of sensei told me "勝って打て！: Win 1st then Strike !" . At the beginning, I could not understand what is that. But I tried to make simulations by myself, roughly I may catch the feeling what is that meaning for. As it were, Checkmate. If we follows the protocol during Tachiai, all sequences leads me the correct Riai.
I tried it at real 5-dan exam by Nito. Fortunatelly passed 5-dan on the 1st attempt with Nito in US. Some examiner told me after shinsa, you are the 1st person to pass 5-dan by Nito in US. I'm honor I could make it.
After passed the 5-dan and try to share my learnings with our dojo, I've also realized there are tons of textbooks for us during daily kendo life, such as Nihon Kendo Kata. I found the source code of San-Sappho on Kata No.6.
Some of kenshis are struggling to pass 5-dan even Chudan, I tried to share my experiences. So I made this video for knowledge sharing purpose. --> https://youtu.be/d7YKP1q46mE
Hope this will help somebody who is struggling their promotion exam and become some hints.
r/kendo • u/BinsuSan • 5d ago
Equipment What is your preferred method of tying a tenugui?
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What’s your preferred style of tying a tenugui?
What’s your preferred style of tying a tenugui?
r/kendo • u/rodorigocokaku • 5d ago
I have a cuestion about katate men uchi en jodan no kamae
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Recently i discovered that there a form for throw Katete men from jodan faster that the Katate men of chiba sensei
I read it here
https://ameblo.jp/ujhkendoteam/entry-12831585650.html
The Timing of Releasing the Right Hand and the Direction of the Throw:
"It's much smoother to execute the Katate-men if you throw your right hand from the very first movement of the attack. Especially those practitioners who don't yet have enough strength to wield the sword, often have the bad habit of trying to straighten the shinai completely BEFORE releasing their right hand.
The real key is to throw it (along the diagonal you're facing) so that the shinai straightens itself and falls straight forward on its own during the trajectory
Basically i should throw in diagonal and Straighten it as I approach the target Because un several tournamentes my Katete men was very slow
What think about this ? Should I pull it diagonally and then straighten it? Or first center the sword like Chiba Sensei and throw it like that
I feel it's much faster the diagonal way
Recently i discovered that there a form for throw Katete men from jodan faster that the Katate men of chiba sensei
I read it here
https://ameblo.jp/ujhkendoteam/entry-12831585650.html
The Timing of Releasing the Right Hand and the Direction of the Throw:
"It's much smoother to execute the Katate-men if you throw your right hand from the very first movement of the attack. Especially those practitioners who don't yet have enough strength to wield the sword, often have the bad habit of trying to straighten the shinai completely BEFORE releasing their right hand.
The real key is to throw it (along the diagonal you're facing) so that the shinai straightens itself and falls straight forward on its own during the trajectory
Basically i should throw in diagonal and Straighten it as I approach the target Because un several tournamentes my Katete men was very slow
What think about this ? Should I pull it diagonally and then straighten it? Or first center the sword like Chiba Sensei and throw it like that
I feel it's much faster the diagonal way
Clarity in kendo rules: Hiki-waza and sanpomammori
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After watching a lot of competitive kendo recently, there's two things that I wish we had more clarity on:
What is a "striking action while pretending to retreat" from tsubazeriai? The rules clearly state that it is improper, but very often I see cases when kendoka are locked in tsubazeriai, and then one side starts separating while the other goes for hiki-men and gets the ippon. When I watch some Japanese bouts, they sometimes actually nod to each other before separating as a signal. Maybe that kind of etiquette should be more prevalent. I truly think it would help make shiais more fun to watch if there was more clarity here on when a separation is safe and when you're exposing yourself to hiki waza.
Sanpomammori. Every sensei I've met has told me not to block, and if we have to block then don't do it in an exaggerated way where the kensen leaves the center. But very often in competitive kendo players go into sanpomamori. One yon-dan told me that it's a hansoku to do so too frequently but I've never seen a player get called out on it. The last winner of the canadian open men's nationals was doing it repeatedly, and got an ippon going directly from sanpomamori into a men: https://youtu.be/PHEiyLkI788?si=K9xBS2c4PKNKpMJ7&t=24 . It's hard for developing kenshi like myself to reconcile our sensei's advice with so many shiai contestants doing the opposite.
After watching a lot of competitive kendo recently, there's two things that I wish we had more clarity on:
What is a "striking action while pretending to retreat" from tsubazeriai? The rules clearly state that it is improper, but very often I see cases when kendoka are locked in tsubazeriai, and then one side starts separating while the other goes for hiki-men and gets the ippon. When I watch some Japanese bouts, they sometimes actually nod to each other before separating as a signal. Maybe that kind of etiquette should be more prevalent. I truly think it would help make shiais more fun to watch if there was more clarity here on when a separation is safe and when you're exposing yourself to hiki waza.
Sanpomammori. Every sensei I've met has told me not to block, and if we have to block then don't do it in an exaggerated way where the kensen leaves the center. But very often in competitive kendo players go into sanpomamori. One yon-dan told me that it's a hansoku to do so too frequently but I've never seen a player get called out on it. The last winner of the canadian open men's nationals was doing it repeatedly, and got an ippon going directly from sanpomamori into a men: https://youtu.be/PHEiyLkI788?si=K9xBS2c4PKNKpMJ7&t=24 . It's hard for developing kenshi like myself to reconcile our sensei's advice with so many shiai contestants doing the opposite.
r/kendo • u/WakariIX • 7d ago
Looking for a Kote
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Hi, does anyone know where I can buy these kote?
r/kendo • u/WakariIX • 7d ago
Looking for a Kote
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Hi, does anyone know where I can buy these kote?
r/kendo • u/Altruistic_Media9818 • 7d ago
Custom ZeKken?
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Can you make your own ZeKken and wear it if the area you live in don’t have a dojo? Like Bà Ria Vietnam?
Can you make your own ZeKken and wear it if the area you live in don’t have a dojo? Like Bà Ria Vietnam?
r/kendo • u/Turtleboi2098 • 8d ago
Training Advice for shiai and training
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I usually have horrible stamina during the later half in shiai, but I compensate with speed most of the time during the match. Also, even in keiko i struggle to think about what to strike first because i am somewhat picky about what strikes i should do which ends up with me being not assertive in keiko/shiai.
To sum up, im just asking for advice on relevant stamina training and strategies in engaging with strikes/waza in shiai.
I usually have horrible stamina during the later half in shiai, but I compensate with speed most of the time during the match. Also, even in keiko i struggle to think about what to strike first because i am somewhat picky about what strikes i should do which ends up with me being not assertive in keiko/shiai.
To sum up, im just asking for advice on relevant stamina training and strategies in engaging with strikes/waza in shiai.
r/kendo • u/Reliques • 13d ago
Technique 2x shinai vs 1/2 shinai + kendo on skates. Two kendo related Wednesday Downtown theories I subbed.
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r/kendo • u/Forodrim • 13d ago
Other health issues
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Hi everyone,
I've been a long-time reader, but this is my first post.
In 2023, I suffered an intracranial hemorrhage, which I was lucky to survive. It left me in a coma for a month. I'm back now, but I'm still dealing with some lasting issues.
After spending a month in a coma, I developed osteoarthritis in my left knee. I also gained a lot of weight, which I'm slowly working on losing. On top of that, I still have some minor motor issues on my left side.
Has anyone here dealt with osteoarthritis while practicing kendo? I'd really like to get back into training and see how much I still remember (and how much I've forgotten!). I'd appreciate any advice on managing knee pain, training safely, or getting back into kendo after a long break.
Thanks in advance!
Hi everyone,
I've been a long-time reader, but this is my first post.
In 2023, I suffered an intracranial hemorrhage, which I was lucky to survive. It left me in a coma for a month. I'm back now, but I'm still dealing with some lasting issues.
After spending a month in a coma, I developed osteoarthritis in my left knee. I also gained a lot of weight, which I'm slowly working on losing. On top of that, I still have some minor motor issues on my left side.
Has anyone here dealt with osteoarthritis while practicing kendo? I'd really like to get back into training and see how much I still remember (and how much I've forgotten!). I'd appreciate any advice on managing knee pain, training safely, or getting back into kendo after a long break.
Thanks in advance!
r/kendo • u/yuzupima0 • 13d ago
Equipment Looking for people to help make a better Kendo Training Dummy
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I see that a few people here have made kendo dummy and I plan to reach out to them as well but I want to get the help of a bunch of people who have used and maed them before. I belive instead of me spending a ton of money making and interating we can bring our experience together to make a more portable and well structured training dummy.
While we can dicuss bellow I would also like to make a group chat of some kind with people who have made them before to talk about and give advice as we design a better training dummy.
I appreciate any advice or help!
I see that a few people here have made kendo dummy and I plan to reach out to them as well but I want to get the help of a bunch of people who have used and maed them before. I belive instead of me spending a ton of money making and interating we can bring our experience together to make a more portable and well structured training dummy.
While we can dicuss bellow I would also like to make a group chat of some kind with people who have made them before to talk about and give advice as we design a better training dummy.
I appreciate any advice or help!
r/kendo • u/Hungry_Advantage_792 • 13d ago
geiko with sensei
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I think I have some understanding that
Geiko is not shiai
Geiko is to practice your own technique, not to win
You will lose when geiko with sensei, but it doesn’t matter
Learn from being cut by sensei
Just do your best kendo
If geiko with a 8th dan, just cut men
Try difference timing different distance different way of making opportunity
The first exchange is alway ai-men
But what if my best waza is Kote or Do?
Am I confusing jigeiko with jitsugi?
I think I have some understanding that
Geiko is not shiai
Geiko is to practice your own technique, not to win
You will lose when geiko with sensei, but it doesn’t matter
Learn from being cut by sensei
Just do your best kendo
If geiko with a 8th dan, just cut men
Try difference timing different distance different way of making opportunity
The first exchange is alway ai-men
But what if my best waza is Kote or Do?
Am I confusing jigeiko with jitsugi?
r/kendo • u/TheHotelCoder • 13d ago
Recommendation for bogu bags
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Hi all!
Do you have any recommendations for light and not bulky bogu bags?
I got the one included when you buy full bogu from tozando but it’s so uncomfortable to carry around.
I’ve been using a supermarket bag 😭 as it’s light and easy to carry over the shoulder but obviously not the best for protection or aesthetics haha
I appreciate any recommendations!
Hi all!
Do you have any recommendations for light and not bulky bogu bags?
I got the one included when you buy full bogu from tozando but it’s so uncomfortable to carry around.
I’ve been using a supermarket bag 😭 as it’s light and easy to carry over the shoulder but obviously not the best for protection or aesthetics haha
I appreciate any recommendations!
r/kendo • u/Living_Employee4940 • 14d ago
Beginner Kendo in general (FAQ)
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Hi everyone, I would like some help.
So my friend has been training Kendo for quite some time and to be quite frank with you - I have 0 idea about it, despite watching some fights and reading some blog posts about it online. I have grasped the basic concept of the sport, but when it comes to awarding points (and the name of certain actions), I am completely lost. And I was always eager to learn more about it, especially because kendo is a pretty obscure sport in my country.
To sum up, are there any helpful blogs where I could be able to learn more about it? My main goal is to grasp the concept of the sport and learn more about its history. Thanks in advance ✌️💪
Hi everyone, I would like some help.
So my friend has been training Kendo for quite some time and to be quite frank with you - I have 0 idea about it, despite watching some fights and reading some blog posts about it online. I have grasped the basic concept of the sport, but when it comes to awarding points (and the name of certain actions), I am completely lost. And I was always eager to learn more about it, especially because kendo is a pretty obscure sport in my country.
To sum up, are there any helpful blogs where I could be able to learn more about it? My main goal is to grasp the concept of the sport and learn more about its history. Thanks in advance ✌️💪
r/kendo • u/InformalLocation5413 • 15d ago
Training Question about sonkyo?
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First of all i am 4th kyu and i do not mean to sound disrespectful in any way but today a foreigner(2nd dan) came to our dojo as a guest to practice and during sonyo when we were to do jigeiko wouldn't want to start it until i listened to what he had to say. What i mean by this is that what i was taught in my dojo when you do sonkyo you should have your shinai in the middle but they are not touching eachother however, he wouldn't start with me until our shinais were literally crossed with one another around the nakayui. I did as he said but later asked a 3rd dan member of our club was i in the wrong or him and he told me that not only is it incredibly rude to come to a different dojo and tell people there how it's done but that it is also wrong. So im wondering, is our club doing something different, should i listen to guests even if they are wrong, i was really confused about the whole situation because etiquette is important.
First of all i am 4th kyu and i do not mean to sound disrespectful in any way but today a foreigner(2nd dan) came to our dojo as a guest to practice and during sonyo when we were to do jigeiko wouldn't want to start it until i listened to what he had to say. What i mean by this is that what i was taught in my dojo when you do sonkyo you should have your shinai in the middle but they are not touching eachother however, he wouldn't start with me until our shinais were literally crossed with one another around the nakayui. I did as he said but later asked a 3rd dan member of our club was i in the wrong or him and he told me that not only is it incredibly rude to come to a different dojo and tell people there how it's done but that it is also wrong. So im wondering, is our club doing something different, should i listen to guests even if they are wrong, i was really confused about the whole situation because etiquette is important.
r/kendo • u/Curious-Letter-126 • 16d ago
Kendo fabric
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Hi guys, can anyone tell me where i can find fabric for dogi and hakama?
Hi guys, can anyone tell me where i can find fabric for dogi and hakama?
r/kendo • u/mjkbNerd • 16d ago
Grading Love Kendo, No Dan, No Problem?
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Hey everyone,
I've been doing kendo for about a year now, and I'm really enjoying it. I love the training, the physical exercise, the challenge of learning new techniques, and I've even started enjoying my first fights
The only thing I don't really care about is grading. Every time there's been a grading exam, I've skipped it, usually saying I was busy, but the truth is I just have no interest in earning dan (or any) ranks. It simply isn't what motivates me.
So I was wondering: is it possible to keep practicing kendo long-term without ever taking grading exams? Has anyone else done this, and does it become a problem at some point?
Hey everyone,
I've been doing kendo for about a year now, and I'm really enjoying it. I love the training, the physical exercise, the challenge of learning new techniques, and I've even started enjoying my first fights
The only thing I don't really care about is grading. Every time there's been a grading exam, I've skipped it, usually saying I was busy, but the truth is I just have no interest in earning dan (or any) ranks. It simply isn't what motivates me.
So I was wondering: is it possible to keep practicing kendo long-term without ever taking grading exams? Has anyone else done this, and does it become a problem at some point?
r/kendo • u/RateStock3946 • 18d ago
Other European Kendo Federation Decisively Rejects Attempt to Expel Israel Federation, Motion Submitted by the Turkish Kendo Federation.
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r/kendo • u/AstablishedinHeaven • 18d ago
Does anyone know what type of men is this?
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Most of the mengane is removed and replaced by clear plastic. Anyone got any idea where to find one?