Considering Kendo-japanese fencing class - Page 2

rantingredneck · January 22, 2007, 08:37 AM

I've never studied Kendo so can't be of any real help there, but I will say that any form of martial arts training will help you with your conditioning and overall health and I commend you for pursuing this. I'll also suggest (along with others previously posted) that you also look into martial systems that are more practical for the realities of modern life. Also it doesn't hurt to cross train with friends who study other systems. When we get too deeply into one particular art we tend to expect that everyone we encounter will fight exactly as we do. Not true I tell you, not true. Getting a broader experience with multiple systems that combines striking, grappling, and edged and impact weapons can be helpful.

Samurai · January 22, 2007, 10:24 AM

Quote:

If you want something full contact, try Aikido, which is MUCH MUCH softer and may be more useful on the street.

I don't know where you take your Aikido classes, but I'd like to try it! Each and every Aikido class I've attended has KICKED MY BUTT, and I've been sore for days afterward. (Perhaps I should work on my rolls and break falls, no?) In any case, I wouldn't discredit the harshness of an Aikido class. Those guys take a beating just as much as the others.

... except Jujitsu people. Those guys are crazy. Too much some self-abuse for my taste!

npcolin · January 22, 2007, 05:29 PM

It is good training. I try it myself and who knows one day you will have to face off with a guy swinging sword at you on the street. What can you do in that case? If you don't have the training before hand, you don't know for sure. And most important of all, it's fun.

O6nop · January 22, 2007, 07:50 PM

I think I've decided to go with Aikido after checking out all the posts. I'll put Kendo on hold depending on how I take to Aikido.

I really appreciate everybody's feedback on this and I'll let you know how classes go.

faraway · January 22, 2007, 08:02 PM

Carlo,
Looks interesting. HEMAC appears to be somewhat equivalent in manner to the ARMA contingent here in the US.
Now...if I can figure out a way for my institution to pay the airfare to France.....

Carlo · January 22, 2007, 08:34 PM

Hello,
faraway, some hemac members are also arma members (in Polland). Hemac is more an association of reserachers and study groups, we have no common syllabus or field of study. Our individual interests range from the early middle ages German sword and buckler to smallsword fencing.
I hope to see you there.

Carlo

markj · January 24, 2007, 04:58 PM

Quote:

I also competed at collegiate level.

I mentioned Judo cause I belive it is a first step into martial arts. Judo does have "kill moves" as you may know if not drop by and I can show you a few taught to me years ago. I never used it for anything other than knowing how to be knoked down and get up fast type of moves. It also helped me in wresteling in high school in the 70s.

I once saw an 80something guy break a bunch of solid oak doors, shin duk soon I think his name was a 9th degree black belt in tae kwon do. He stomped his foot in the auditorium and it could be felt in every chair, impressive to say the least.

Martial arts is all technique, learn it practise it you may be OK at it.

My martial arts instructor once told me a good street fighter is hard to beat, seeing my brother in action, I agree

Don Gwinn · January 24, 2007, 08:17 PM

Wow. . . . what a thread. Aikido? Full contact?

I may get into some trouble for this, but I would say that if you just want to have some fun, learn to breakfall, and basically mess around while doing something athletic (such as Kendo) then Aikido might be for you. If you want to do something "full contact," then what you're really looking for might be what's called "aliveness." Aliveness means training in such a manner that you eventually apply as many of your techniques against a fully resisting opponent as possible. Aikido dojos generally do not do this. Ironically, Kendo, while it might not hurt as much as Aikido, would probably be much more satisfying for a lot of people since, within its ruleset, it's trained "alive." You will certainly drill and practice a lot in Kendo, but sooner or later, two Kendoka will square off to use their techniques without a predetermined winner and loser who have to play their assigned roles.
Aikido almost never does this, aside from the Tomiki competitions.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai are wonderful arts, but it doesn't sound like the original poster is really very interested in either, so I won't spend much time advocating either. I will say that if Judo (a very "alive" and effective art) is too rough, then Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a good choice simply because Judo has actually gotten "rougher" in some ways since WWII. Before WWII, Judo was a fairly equal mix of throws and submissions, and some schools relied heavily on ground fighting. That's the Judo that Maeda taught to the Gracies in Brazil, and they further specialized in the ground submissions. In Japan, meanwhile, WWII happened, and afterward martial arts were forbidden. Judo passed muster because the Kodokan made the decision to sell it as a sport, which in their case meant going after the Olympics in a big way. That led directly to emphasizing spectacular takedowns more and more, while minimizing groundfighting and submissions. Today most Judo schools and most BJJ schools have similar curricula, but they emphasis is opposite. Judo teaches people to be experts in throwing and being thrown who can also grapple. BJJ generally teaches people to be expert grapplers who can perform takedowns. . . . but aren't on the level of a Judoka or a wrestler. Basically, BJJ is just old Judo, while most Judo is "new Judo." BJJ is actually pretty gentle stuff.

O6nop · January 24, 2007, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Wow. . . . what a thread

I agree, I never thought my post would get this much results. I've read about disciplines I've never heard of, did anyone mention Copoeira? Got some Martial Arts history lessons too! All valuable info, Thanks everyone!

What it gets down to is that there was an offering of some really reasonably priced intro classes and am looking just to have a little fun and increase my ability to defend myself, and maybe improve my conditioning. I ended up taking Aikido. I attended my first class last night and enjoyed it. looks like I'll benefit from it a lot. If I fall a little, get bruised up or sore, well, I expect that. Just looking to pick up a few techniques.

Carlo · February 7, 2007, 01:54 PM

A quick note:

hemac annual event of 2007

I hope to see some of you there

Vince13 · February 7, 2007, 02:16 PM

I'm sorry "Samurai"... I know this doesn't pertain to anything on the subject, but what in the **** is a "reflex-twitch muscle group"? If kinesiology isn't your thing, then please, for the love of all things muscle-related, stay away from it, and try not to make things up to make kendo sound more attractive.

Samurai · February 7, 2007, 02:36 PM

A misnomer of the phrase "fast-twitch muscle fibers." These are the muscle fibers that help you move quickly. Kendo builds these. I was typing in a hurry, and couldn't immediately remember what they were called. Sue me.

Vince13, is this why you've resurrected this thread? To crack on my sports-physiology vocabulary? I notice you haven't posted in this thread before... Do you have anything USEFUL to say?

markj · February 7, 2007, 05:15 PM

Quote:

who knows one day you will have to face off with a guy swinging sword at you on the street.

In the early 1970s at McMillion Jr High a riot broke out a lady flew out of her car with a sword and was trying to cut up some dudes that were on her kid. Only time I ever saw that. Cops got it away from her and arrested her along with the kids that were rioting. Those were bad days to walk alone at night.

Your post made me think of Indiana Jones when the crowd parted and the guy had a sword. He shot him and moved on

I loved that scene

If it happened to me? I think I could out run him. I would try anyways

if not a rock close to hand may deter him

I throw real good.

As a boy, I carried a sling shot and steel ball bearings, it was enough to kill a large dog that tried to bite me once.

Vince13 · February 7, 2007, 06:38 PM

I didn't ressurect it, it was already at the top, that's how I noticed it.

And yes I do have something usefull to say. I studied kendo and iado for 2 years, I know not the longest time, but I had my share of competitions(kendo only), and it is very fun, expecially if you're into that kind of culture. It's good for the body and mind.

January 24, 2007, 08:17 PM	#33
Don Gwinn Staff Emeritus Join Date: March 9, 2000 Location: Virden, IL Posts: 5,917	Wow. . . . what a thread. Aikido? Full contact? I may get into some trouble for this, but I would say that if you just want to have some fun, learn to breakfall, and basically mess around while doing something athletic (such as Kendo) then Aikido might be for you. If you want to do something "full contact," then what you're really looking for might be what's called "aliveness." Aliveness means training in such a manner that you eventually apply as many of your techniques against a fully resisting opponent as possible. Aikido dojos generally do not do this. Ironically, Kendo, while it might not hurt as much as Aikido, would probably be much more satisfying for a lot of people since, within its ruleset, it's trained "alive." You will certainly drill and practice a lot in Kendo, but sooner or later, two Kendoka will square off to use their techniques without a predetermined winner and loser who have to play their assigned roles. Aikido almost never does this, aside from the Tomiki competitions. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai are wonderful arts, but it doesn't sound like the original poster is really very interested in either, so I won't spend much time advocating either. I will say that if Judo (a very "alive" and effective art) is too rough, then Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a good choice simply because Judo has actually gotten "rougher" in some ways since WWII. Before WWII, Judo was a fairly equal mix of throws and submissions, and some schools relied heavily on ground fighting. That's the Judo that Maeda taught to the Gracies in Brazil, and they further specialized in the ground submissions. In Japan, meanwhile, WWII happened, and afterward martial arts were forbidden. Judo passed muster because the Kodokan made the decision to sell it as a sport, which in their case meant going after the Olympics in a big way. That led directly to emphasizing spectacular takedowns more and more, while minimizing groundfighting and submissions. Today most Judo schools and most BJJ schools have similar curricula, but they emphasis is opposite. Judo teaches people to be experts in throwing and being thrown who can also grapple. BJJ generally teaches people to be expert grapplers who can perform takedowns. . . . but aren't on the level of a Judoka or a wrestler. Basically, BJJ is just old Judo, while most Judo is "new Judo." BJJ is actually pretty gentle stuff. __________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Gwinn: Chicago Gun Rights Examiner

February 7, 2007, 02:36 PM	#37
Samurai Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2001 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 901	A misnomer of the phrase "fast-twitch muscle fibers." These are the muscle fibers that help you move quickly. Kendo builds these. I was typing in a hurry, and couldn't immediately remember what they were called. Sue me. Vince13, is this why you've resurrected this thread? To crack on my sports-physiology vocabulary? I notice you haven't posted in this thread before... Do you have anything USEFUL to say? __________________ - Honor is a wonderful and glorious thing... until it gets you killed! - Why is it that we fire 1,000 rounds and know that we need more practice, but yet we punch a bag 10 times and think we know how to fight? - When in doubt, train, train, train...

January 22, 2007, 08:37 AM	#26
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	I've never studied Kendo so can't be of any real help there, but I will say that any form of martial arts training will help you with your conditioning and overall health and I commend you for pursuing this. I'll also suggest (along with others previously posted) that you also look into martial systems that are more practical for the realities of modern life. Also it doesn't hurt to cross train with friends who study other systems. When we get too deeply into one particular art we tend to expect that everyone we encounter will fight exactly as we do. Not true I tell you, not true. Getting a broader experience with multiple systems that combines striking, grappling, and edged and impact weapons can be helpful.

January 22, 2007, 05:29 PM	#28
npcolin Senior Member Join Date: March 27, 2005 Posts: 155	It is good training. I try it myself and who knows one day you will have to face off with a guy swinging sword at you on the street. What can you do in that case? If you don't have the training before hand, you don't know for sure. And most important of all, it's fun.

January 22, 2007, 07:50 PM	#29
O6nop Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2005 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 291	I think I've decided to go with Aikido after checking out all the posts. I'll put Kendo on hold depending on how I take to Aikido. I really appreciate everybody's feedback on this and I'll let you know how classes go.

January 22, 2007, 08:02 PM	#30
faraway Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2001 Location: ne montana Posts: 437	Carlo, Looks interesting. HEMAC appears to be somewhat equivalent in manner to the ARMA contingent here in the US. Now...if I can figure out a way for my institution to pay the airfare to France.....

January 22, 2007, 08:34 PM	#31
Carlo Senior Member Join Date: September 3, 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 505	Hello, faraway, some hemac members are also arma members (in Polland). Hemac is more an association of reserachers and study groups, we have no common syllabus or field of study. Our individual interests range from the early middle ages German sword and buckler to smallsword fencing. I hope to see you there. Carlo

February 7, 2007, 01:54 PM	#35
Carlo Senior Member Join Date: September 3, 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 505	A quick note: hemac annual event of 2007 I hope to see some of you there

February 7, 2007, 02:16 PM	#36
Vince13 Junior member Join Date: January 3, 2007 Posts: 17	I'm sorry "Samurai"... I know this doesn't pertain to anything on the subject, but what in the **** is a "reflex-twitch muscle group"? If kinesiology isn't your thing, then please, for the love of all things muscle-related, stay away from it, and try not to make things up to make kendo sound more attractive.

February 7, 2007, 06:38 PM	#39
Vince13 Junior member Join Date: January 3, 2007 Posts: 17	I didn't ressurect it, it was already at the top, that's how I noticed it. And yes I do have something usefull to say. I studied kendo and iado for 2 years, I know not the longest time, but I had my share of competitions(kendo only), and it is very fun, expecially if you're into that kind of culture. It's good for the body and mind.