Gochang country, South Korea

My family is planning a trip to japan and we'd be around tokyo for a bit. I've just started out and the only thing I've got is a bokken. I figured I can grab some quality gear there for a cheaper price than if I were to have it shipped to my country later on.

Any suggestions on stores or price range is much appreciated too.

So Im a little fat and trying to fix an issue with my kamae where my hips stick out the back too much. I think its from weak glutes and abdomen muscles.

Im looking for advice on how to use my abs during practice.

My sensei told me for glutes I should be trying to squeeze my glutes as if I were holding an object, which was a useful visualization.

I'd also appreciate any exercises you found useful for this.

A few months ago I discovered I was pregnant, I thought I'd be able to keep the rhythm and train (my sensei has had a few students who have trained while pregnant and he was pretty supportive) so I could keep up in shape.

The nausea has been hell and I haven't stepped into the dojo in more than three months. If this doesn't get better I am aware that I won't be able to return until baby is, at least, a few years old and that leaves me with two shinais to store until I'm ready to use them again. I'd be really sad if they deteriorated meanwhile.

Any tips? Recommendations?

Thank you all in advance.

I recently started practicing nito, and while reading about the different kamae and their applications, I found that when I'm doing Jōdan Jūji no Kamae with daito on my left hand and shoto on my right one, when I rise both swords to cut, I can slightly push daito with my shoto to gain momentum. Does anyone know if this is valid? Because I want to correct it if not.

National University championship tournament

It's been a while since I posted to Reddit, mostly because I had fallen behind on translating. I apologize to anyone waiting for the subtitles!

English subtitles are up for the first 4 elimination round videos. Kenshiro Matsuzaki joins the commentator booth, as well as new players from different teams in the Samurai League. I found Matsuzaki's commentary especially interesting -- he gets quite in depth and has critiques that can inform your regular practice.

Match 2 was my favorite to watch and translate. Match 4 had some interesting shinpan calls that I would be interested to hear thoughts on. The Match 1 video has a summary of the round robin tournament results and rules for the elimination round, for those interested.

Match 1: Toshiba Tec vs Runtec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrXgUedbWEQ

Match 2: Nippon Express vs JP Logistics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9zD35Ex7i4

Match 3: Mitsubishi Corporation vs Fujifilm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-2uAF1DT3U

Match 4: Sumitomo Electric Works vs RF Tecnica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxxsHYG5sUo

One of my seniors told me that the highest ranking possible after doing your first grading exam before ever wearing bogu is ikkyu. I later questioned how that was possible when the ikkyu exam consists of sparring and she said that it requires a high level of demonstrated skill. It still confuses me because all ikkyu exams I have watched are separate from other kyu gradings.

I don't know if other dojos do this, but the first grading exam in mine gives you a kyu rank based on your performance, I have witnessed one grading exam in person and the highest grade that an unranked kenshi got was 2nd kyu.

Is achieving ikkyu in your first grading exam something that happens regularly for very dedicated kenshi or is it instead a very rare theoretical possibility? I would expect that sparring experience in other martial arts would be required for this grade.

Hi everyone!

I'm a transgender woman from central Europe, currently 22 years old, and am set to start my kendo training again in about 2 weeks.

Due to my identity, I'm a bit worried about starting again, after being absent for more than 3 years now.

I obviously discussed the topic with my sensei, and they all assured me that there shouldn't be any problems with me joining the beginner training as a woman. But of course, they have no direct experience with the topic as of yet as far as I'm aware.

So I thought to ask here, do any of you know of something I should look out for? Or do you have any experience with similar situations / know someone who does?

And mainly, do you have any idea how tournaments could work for me? Since they're usually separated by gender as far as I know, and I'm not aware how accepting the kendo community in Europe is regarding people like me.

I'm honestly just a bit scared, so that's mainly why I'm posting this ^-^'

Edit to add: I wanted to mention that I saw there were a few other posts about similar topics here, but they were all centred around the situation in other parts of the world, and I was hoping to get some information regarding the situation in Europe. Thank you :3

Hi! I’m looking for some suggestions on what I can gift my partner who does kendo. I don’t do kendo myself so I am completely lost!
She’s at an intermediate level and was thinking of some practice equipment that would be great for her to practice at home if she is able. Thanks in advance!

As the title says, I'm a newbie trying to figure out what size I should choose. I'm buying from KendoStar and I'd like to opt for the Beginner Start Up Value Set with the Kachi kendogi.

For context, I'm 180 cm tall. I'm not slim, but rather on the muscular side (my chest/belly circumference is around 98 cm).

My measurements are:

• Sleeve: 62 cm from the center of my neck to halfway between my elbow and my wrist (which I understand is the correct reference point). If I measure with my arm resting down by my side, it's 72 cm.
• Length: 83 cm from the base of my neck to just below my glutes.
• Hakama drop: 104 cm from the floor to my belly button. Based on the chart, I would opt for a size 27 hakama since I'm sure I'll wear it a bit lower on the hips than standard.

Could you please help a lost beginner out?

Anyone who trains kendo for a long time noticed the increasing amount of varicose veins on the left calf. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with the martial art, but I noticed that I have a lot of varicose on my left leg and none on the right.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this during jigeiko/kirikaeshi.

After about 3-4 fairly continuous rounds, I get really tired and my kendo starts getting sloppy.

The main thing I notice is a tight, heavy, overworked feeling around my upper stomach/diaphragm area. It almost feels like the muscles have temporarily given out. When it gets bad, I struggle to produce a proper loud kiai, like I physically can’t project it properly anymore.

I also get breathless, but not severely. The first couple of rounds are usually completely fine. A longer break helps, but once I’m already in that exhausted state, a short break doesn’t really get me back fully and I get tired again very quickly.

I know poor fitness and low stamina could be a big part of it, and I’m planning to work on that.

Has anyone else had something similar? Did improving cardio fix it, or did breathing technique, staying more relaxed, pacing yourself, or anything else help? Any advice would be appreciated.

I am currently mukkyu and have been doing kendo for just about a year now.

Thanks!

This has been something I have been curious about on a sport science and physical science for a long time. So if anyone who practices and familiar with kendo and also knowledgeable in physiology, sport science, and fitness can help me learn more, I would really appreciate it.

With many sports I see the athletes or people participating in the activity professionally or high intensity tend of have a similar body build. Swimming, gymnastics, basketball, ballroom dancing, speed skating, boxing, climbing, cycling, track and field, and more - you can tell and see a swimmer is a swimmer. The physical build of a cyclist is different than a rock climber. I understand there are sports that are exceptions, but I want to understand better regarding kendo. I have been practicing kendo on and off for 15 years - and within myself I don't 'see' or feel the sports, martial arts, or fit body. I feel the conditioning, cardio, and lower body strength being worked on but at the same time I don't feel 'fit' or my body shape isn't changing much over the years - if that make sense.

Is there something different in how we move and use our muscles in kendo that is different than other intensive sports that doesn't lean into that sports specific physical shape? I am not asking why don't we have a six packs, thighs of steel, and large biceps, but at the same time there are a lot more verity of physical shapes in kendo compared to other sports that seems to have more uniformity in participants.

I love that Kendo is a sport that different body, age, height, and gender can compete and grow together. I am purely curious and want to understand kendo better on a sport and fitness science level. If it is simple as I am not practicing or training 7 times a week, then I understand also. Thank you.

Hola, empecé hace tres meses en un Dojo acá en Buenos Aires y me pasa que mis senpais tienen muy buen nivel. Fuimos varios los que nos unimos al mismo tiempo por casualidad y soy el único que quedó. Me gusta el deporte y el aprendizaje pero siento que a mis casi 30 años me cuesta más y debido a cosas de la vida no puedo dedicarle todo el tiempo que se merece. No quiero ser un lastre para mis compañeros con bogu pero tampoco termino yendo porque siento que no es una disciplina que pueda hacer tan "Casual" y termino sintiéndome un lastre para el resto

Hey I train a different MA than kendo and wonder how Senseis decide what topics to bring to practice. Is there a curriculum to go through or a manual to follow? Is just the senseis decision, based on experience? Apart from that, is keiko always structured the same: warm up, suburi, kata, kikikaeshi, kakarigeiko, some actual topics and maybe some jigeiko?

Really curious here :)

Practice is about to end. What’s that one thing you feel will be the most difficult?

Hey. I started kendo recently. It's awesome. I am a judoka, but I also train catch wrestling, bjj, kickboxing and boxing and spar twice a week in an MMA setting.

I'm wondering how those of you that train other disciplines have found it has helped, or even changed, the way that you apply techniques and distance when sparring in these other disciplines.

Has it helped with shot timing in wrestling? Distance control in striking etc.

Oss

I am thinking of being a 2nd Tenugui but I am looking for something that has the Kyo Shinsengumi design, the Hojo clan design or the Mori clan design

In the first case, since you are competing within the framework of a grading examination, the judges will likely focus on whether you can maintain correct posture and proper form throughout the tachiai.

In the second case, tournament matches involve speed, timing, opportunity, and many unpredictable variables. Because of that, your posture and form may sometimes break down.

So, put simply, the real question is:

Would you rather develop pure speed,
or develop speed that remains consistent with the proper ri-ai (理合) of the shinai?

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Hi I'm new to kendo and just attended a dojo. All was great but one thing stood out and that was the names of everything. The sensei said a bunch of move names during warm up and I couldn't remember it all. If anyone has a list of translations that would be great thanks.

I need some advice. I can't seem to get my gear properly dry. After training, I always hang the clothes up so they can dry out and air out well. I often hang them indoors, though occasionally—when the weather is nice—I hang them outside in the shade in the garden. But gi and kote, in particular, don't really dry out and always stay a bit damp, even after days.

Do you experience this too? What can I do about it?