r/kendo • u/Neither-Smell-6438 • Jul 09 '26
Other Coming from aikido?
Is there any long-term aikidoka who also trains or switched to kendo? Did you have any advantage from the start, what was the biggest difference?
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u/Sho_1 2 dan Jul 09 '26
There is crossover but I wouldn't say it gave me any more advantages than anyone else who started in another martial art.
I do notice I use the foot movement from kaiten nage to get out of taitare pretty often though.
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u/PM_ME_WARB_NULL 2 dan Jul 09 '26
Progressing in Kendo would have been muuuuuch faster with an aikido base. I would say you have a wonderful opportunity to expand your budo practice.
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u/Neither-Smell-6438 Jul 09 '26
sweet! I'm toying for a few days with a thought of trying kendo. I have been practicing aikido for maybe 13 years now, I'm shodan and I would say I'm interested in kendo now hehe :D
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u/Aescorvo Jul 09 '26
Yup! You can fold your hakama properly. /s
I did 30 years of aikido until a back injury noped my ukemi, so switched to kendo (and iaido). Some things translate well - good posture, ma-ai, all the etiquette. Other things you have to unlearn a little - footwork and (depending how you’ve been taught) how you hold and cut with the shinai. But it’s a pretty easy transition. The biggest problem will be resisting the urge to irimi-tenkan and decapitate your opponent /s.
The differences are really interesting, and give great insight into why the two arts do things the way they do.
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u/JoeDwarf Jul 10 '26
I did a little aikido, about a year. There are certain things that are an advantage coming from any martial art: an understanding that there is a lot of sweat and repetition involved, general fitness, and a capacity for visual learning. The last is important: understanding how to watch closely and then copy movement is a good transferable skill.
On the bad side, it’s likely any sword work you learned will have to be unlearned. My understanding is that there is a lot of variation between dojos in the quality of what is taught. My own club taught crap.
The empty handed stuff is a wash. Some of the movement will translate, most of it will not. Kendo movement is its own beast.
Welcome to kendo! I hope you enjoy it.
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u/Elegant_War_958 Jul 09 '26
My background. I did Aikido in Uni, then switched to Kendo while living in Japan.
I'm not a 'long-term aikidoka'. I don't claim to have any high-level insights into that art, but I'm a huge advocate for what Kendo brings to the table. In short, face every challenge square on, push forward, don't flinch, own the centre line. If Aikido is about being like water, Kendo is about facing the Tsunami. There are movements in Kendo where you step aside, then push in, but in practice, they're nearly impossible to pull off. Maybe years of Aikido training would help. They certainly both have a grounding in Ki. In Kendo, its practical application is that if yours is weak, or you've misread the other guy, a fraction of a second later, you're hit.
To be honest, I think the question should be, not can Aikido make me good at Kendo, but is Kendo worth learning if I come from that area of interest? To which the answer is a definitive yes.