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Jun 09, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		what to do next?
by: ron wall

I reread the comment "what is the point of doing a sport art in relation to a real world art" and thought about another view that may be useful. It is simply to treat it as a sport, it is fun.

One could ask "why should I learn to play tennis, it cannot help me on the street". Well, you play tennis for the same reason some people play kendo, it is fun, it is a good workout, it is social, and it is historical. Would this help some people with such questions as these?

I also had a question. You at times mention other techniques. What other techniques are you referring to in addition to the following. Kendo techniques such as: foot work -suri ashi, okuri ashi, hiraki ashi, tsugi ashi, ayumi ashi. blade work - single cuts, renzoku, hari, hiki, nuki, suriage, debana, kaeshi, uchiotishi, katsugi, maki and katate wazas and timing, distance and seme and guard techniques.

I just feel like I have reached a point where I want to expand my knowledge of kendo and I am not sure what new thing to add next. Help.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for your post. I think you know a lot about techniques.

If you know how to do those, the next step is how you can make them valid whenever you execute them. It may be impossible but it is the most important thing to dig deeply.

Kiri-otoshi is considered to be the most difficult one. It is from Hokushin Itto Ryu, if I recall it correctly. It is indeed difficult.

The ultimate goal is mutō (no weapon) as described in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. In order to do so, we surely train harder and more deeply.

Jun 06, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		fighting and kendo
by: awall

I do kendo and also western Olympic fencing and we do get this question a lot. Like in kendo, we come up with many ways to answer this question.

One way that has been on my mind recently comes from western fencings tactical wheel. They call it attack into preparation. Musashi (and I believe sun tzu) also talked about attack into preparation and call it smothering the attack.

The concept is to end the attack before it starts. "Smoother" is a good word. The attack never gets off the ground. For the regular solder it means to attack your opponent before he attacks you. However, at a higher level it means you can end your opponents attack before it starts and end the battle without breaking a sweat.

For a General this means winning the war without wasting the lives of men on either side and doing it so that most people would not recognize what you did. For example: your opponent prepares to attack, you recognize it and change your position which causes your opponent to doubt and stop his attack. This gives you time to run, breath, attack, reposition etc.

Of all the parts of combat this is one of the hardest to learn and do. I believe the martial arts story goes: the great martial artist whose path is blocked by a stubborn mule will not keep walking, nor will he fight the mule. Instead he will find a new path and still achieve his objective.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for sharing your experience. Yeah, I am familiar with the samurai story. The important thing for people to know is that it is not martial arts that makes them good and strong. How long they train and how deeply they understand is the most important part of martial arts..
Sep 12, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Agree - Avoid Fighting
by: Anonymous

I get this comment occasionally and point out that may other activities that people participate that doesn't entail fighting. For example Western fencers are never asked if their fencing is for actual use. The question never arises, since it's ludicrous. I'm sure if it was asked to a Western fencers, they would laugh.

And don't think other 'budo' arts are meant for actual 'combat'. These arts are for self-cultivation.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for your comment!
Sep 12, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Purpose of kendo
by: Anonymous

International Kendo Federation: Purpose of Kendo
Sep 11, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Interesting question
by: Tanno

It's an interesting question for to fight with anybody. I play Kendo not only to improve myself physically, but also to gain more confidence and improve my mind, while I tend to raise my ability of being more sharp-eyed. I don't use the Kendo solely to fight with other people outside of Kendo world, but to protect not only myself, but also to protect everyone I respect.

Speaking of Miyamoto Musashi, you should read his "Book of the Five Circles" or "Book of the Five Rings"(whichever you find out), because this book has its own philosophy behind his swordsmanship and his life. It's a very interesting book, and with it I learned many things not only of new techniques of my own, but also of how you need to stand out towards your opponent, and many other stuff very useful for kendoka.

Link to Concept of Kendo

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