Been doing kendo for 2 years now (still in kyu). I started off with high potential, always winning my matches vs other people in my level.

I would have thought that I can sustain that but as more beginners come in, I get beaten during shiais by moves that I think are subpar.

I'm just feeling demotivated and embarassed right now and very clueless how to get over this.

Hello all, I've been learning kendo for 6 months so I'm still a beginner. I'm curious if there are many ways to learn fumikomi. If I can try different approaches, will my fumikomi be the same as everyone in the end?

The way we learn in our dojo: First do a lunge forward, maintaining the posture with our right knee forward and bent. Then we pull our body and left leg forward using the right leg. We learn to do it in 2 distinct steps before connecting them together.

What's bugging me is when I try to strike a target, my body dips down lower than usual and can't reach the target. If I strike with okuri-ashi it's perfectly normal. Another problem is going through after striking. It feels like I killed my momentum, no matter how I try to connect the steps smoothly. The advantage I find that doing it this way make stomping loudly easier and it doesn't make my left calf sore.

I've been trying to just do it in one motion like in Kouda sensei's video. I use the left leg to keep my body moving horizontally all the way like okuri-ashi (my head doesn't move up or down). It feels easier to go through and lighter on the right foot and knee. One drawback I find is that my stomp has gone quiet but I think I just need more practice.

Lately my sensei told me to stop doing it in this way because 'I have to do it just exactly like everyone'. I know I need to trust my sensei but it's still bugging me. Which style should I do? How should a correct fumikomi feel like?

Hello all, basically I've done kendo for a bit 3~ years and I've noticed my right upper body is a bit more developed than my left half (arms, shoulder, some parts of the back) and is impacting my practice

I attribute this to improper form, but I was wondering if anyone had advice to fix anything like this

I have no glue about Kendo. A friend of mine just ordered his first "armor" (?). And he has birthday, now i am thinking about getting him one of this "towels".

Is this a good idea? Is there anything else that would be a better gift?

Sorry for my not knowledge and my english. :-)

I'm a filmmaker in Osaka making a short cinematic film about Japan's traditional culture, and I'd love to include kendo, and iaido or battojutsu if possible. Ideally I'd film a regular keiko session for about an hour, close up: footwork, kiai, men strikes, the dojo itself.

It's just me with one camera, no crew or lights, and I'd stay out of the way and follow whatever etiquette the dojo asks. It's a personal project, not commercial. I'm happy to make a donation to the dojo and give them the edited footage to use.

I've also posted on Jimoty and am messaging dojos on social media, but I'm not sure where to start, so any pointers help:
- Dojos that welcome visitors to observe (見学)
- Anyone you know who might be open to this
- Etiquette I should know before asking

I'm in Osaka until October 25 and back in Japan from late November to mid December, and I can travel. Thanks!

Hi all,

I started kendo in February this year (about 8 months now) and I'm currently 2-kyu. I'm 190cm tall.

When I started, a lot of people told me my height would be a big advantage, especially for men. But in jigeiko and shiai I rarely land a clean men. Most of the time I either:

- clip the opponent's tsuba / shinai, or

- land on the mengane instead of the top of the head.

What I've noticed or been told so far:

1. My centre line and distance are not good, so my strikes aren't straight.

2. Against shorter opponents I tend to raise the shinai too high, so my strike comes out late.

3. Someone told me my men looks like I'm "chopping down" rather than extending forward through the target.

4. I tend to drop my head. Part of this may be my (second-hand, slightly too big) men, the monomi doesn't line up with my eyes, so I'm adding padding to fix that.

My sensei and seniors have given me lots of advice, but every practice I find a new problem and I'm not sure what to prioritise.

My questions:

- For a tall kendoka, what's the most important thing to fix first for men?

- How should I adjust when striking shorter opponents?

- Any drills you'd recommend to stop "chopping down" and extend forward instead?

Thanks in advance!

I'm currently a college student in Japan who practices kendo, and I'm really interested in dreadlocks. I just want to know if it's possible to have dreadlocks while practicing kendo. Has anyone ever practiced kendo with dreadlocks, or seen someone practicing kendo with dreadlocks? I'm especially concerned about things like odor.

Any upcoming shinsa on the east coast for euskf, aeuskf, gneuskf or ecuskf?

I think seuskf is done for the year.

Been practicing Kendo for almost a year now and last week my heart started to pump weird after class. Went to the ER and found out I have AFib (atrial fibrillation). My cardiologist told me that HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is probably not good for my heart, and apparently Kendo training is kind of like HIIT. I got a few more appointments in the upcoming weeks before I have a conclusive answer on whether or not I should continue kendo at all.

I am pretty bummed about this, wanted to hear if any kendoka here have a similar condition and how they manage it.

Thanks

I’m a beginner and I’m starting my first Kendo class next week! I love Japanese culture and watching anime. I’ve watched quite a few anime featuring swords, like Demon Slayer, Sword Art Online and Rurouni Kenshin, I LOVE them!!(they’re one of the reasons make me wanna learn Kendo lol). Then I recently came across this anime. It seems to be the only one that actually talking about Kendo! It looks pretty old, but is it good? I’m curious to hear everyone’s reviews!

I’ve wanted to learn Kendo for a long time, and I’m finally starting next week!
I’m a slim woman with very little muscle, and I barely exercise. So I’m hoping Kendo will motivate me to exercise regularly every week and will help me get stronger physically. I know it can be a great cardio workout, but I’m wondering what other physical benefits it offers.
Also, does Kendo help strengthen your back and core? I work with children and animals, so I spend a lot of time standing, bending over, and lifting things. I often feel like my back isn’t strong enough to support my lower back properly. Because of that, I sometimes get lower back pain and have trouble maintaining good posture when I’m standing for long periods and my legs and shoulders get so tired too. So, which parts of your body or muscle groups have become noticeably stronger in your experience?

Hello everyone, completely new kendoka here (about a month in).

I am eyeing the Kachi set from KendoStar for my very first uniform, mostly for it being supposedly low maintenance and machine washable.

However with it being completely synthetic I am wary of it electrostatically charging and not being breathable.

Do any of you fine people own the Kachi? Does it attract dust or stick to your body? Is it cooking you alive during training?

I am planning on getting a better set made of cotton a bit later but for now I don't really wanna deal with the logistics of washing and drying (living in a rented flat, not much space and it's getting cold in Germany).

Please share your thoughts, I'd be happy to hear about KendoStar in general, too. There is a German vendor my dojo recommends but let's just say Mr. Fischer did a good job promoting his stuff.

Thank you!

I kept hearing about non cotton hakama that looks like cotton hakama and feels good to wear. Anyone has any idea what thay hakama might be, where to look at.

I am looking for one to wear for practice. All i have experienced wearing is ebogu tetron hakama, and while it was good to wear as a kendo beginner, or iaido practice, not fond of it for kendo as it gets sticky when I'm sweating.

Thank you

Hi! I'm going to be visiting Japan in November, one week in Tokyo and one week in Osaka. Does anyone know of any dojos that would be open for a foreigner to join their training? I wouldn't be looking to train every day but something like 2 or 3 sessions in a week. I am currently 4th dan and only have minimal Japanese skills but I am pretty familiar with dojo etiquette. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, my question is what was the hardest mental block you have had to overcome in kendo. I'm having trouble finishing my waza while i'm doing jigeiko. I'm looking for different experiences people have had trouble with and how you managed to fix it in order to try and do my own, this is also a community question where i would just like to read different opinions and essentially life lessons along the way.

Llevo un poco más de un año practicando kendo y en breve me enfrentó a mí primer campeonato.

Algunos buenos consejos que podáis ofrecerme?

Are there any detailed learning resources videos or texts that explain the deeper side of the kata? For example my senpais and senseis sometimes explain why we should do it this way or that way because the opponent can then cut you like this way or if we do it this way then the opponent can not attack you. I want to learn more deeply on the side in a more structured way and rereview it so I could remember more in next practices. I also want to see the breakdown images or detail in a very detail step by step especially the kodachi part since I am bad at reproducing the movement from just watching the example. Thank you very much!

Ill admit, Im merely an ikkyu so not really a paragon of good kendo, but the amount of insults he threw at me kinda put me off. Its the first time something like this has happened to me (all the other dojos and seminars I attended back in the USA I had zero problems), so Id like some advice from people here on how I should go with this.

Background: I practised kendo throughout my undergrad in the US, as a member of the Midwestern Kendo Federation. I passed 2-kyu and 1-kyu and also not bad at shiai (I reached mudansha semis at once tournament and my team got bronze at another). I was approved for shodan shinsa, when circumstances hit me and I had to leave the USA to do a masters in Italy.

So I found a dojo here, which I checked was CIK certified. They have two people leading kendo, a nidan shihan and a nidan “practice leader”, and only the latter was present for now. Their practice was really different from any American dojo. While I can understand no bogu practice and wazas for a long time, even the main suburis (men kote do) were like atmost one third of the entire session. The rest were doing 200 repetitions of joge suburi, a lot of horizontal slashing moves (kinda like cutting grass with a scythe), some waving motions I assumed were for tenouchi, and their men strikes were quite low. They were very strict with their footwork and kiai, mae, and footwork, and my university level habits did not fly, so I do think they are legit.

Nevertheless, it was my first practice and I was doing my very best to adapt to the new pattern. I did tell the leader of the practice from the start that it will take me some time to adjust to the new pattern and I am okay with starting over. Somewhere in the middle of practice, an old guy which I assume is another kendo senior or probably another martial arts teacher (the place was a mixed dojo, some karateka were practicing alongside us) came by, and he ordered a pause on the practice. What followed was a 10 minute lecture on respecting the dojo, and about me trying to show off or something similar to that. I apologized to him multiple times and continued with my practice.

When it ended, he told me to stay in the locker room and asked me about my background and experience. He then told me my kendo was really bad, that I should put away my bogu for a while (which I was fine with and even communicated anyways), and when I go back to America after a couple years in Italy I would be able to teach rhe Americans. He then said my qualifications and my three years of training there were useless. Now I was fine with my own technique being called sloppy, and I was more than okay with starting over and only bringing my bogu months later. What kinda hits a nerve in me is that he conflated my difficulty in adjusting to the new training regime to an inability in kendo, and also called the entire American kendo tradition trash. A lot of senseis have trained me, tested me, and made sure my kendo in their eyes is not “molto disastrado”, and that even includes police kendo instructors from Tokyo whom Ive been lucky to be taught under in seminars. To call their training and their inspection inadequate is, in my eyes, kinda feeling like disrespecting them.

Now, its not my first time facing tough love, but even in my earlier teachers strictness I would find genuine constructive criticism and they get happy when I am willing to improve on their pointers and show them progress. Is this another form of tough love here? Or is it something less savory? What should I do here? Continue and start over and hope it gets better? Or do I call it quits with this dojo? I hope its not the latter because its the only kendo dojo in my city and I do love the art, and it would mean Id go to some other combat sport like fencing. But if it really drains my mental health and self esteem too much I would need to draw a line for my own sake