How Dangerous are Kendo Strikes with a Sharp Katana?
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Or to put it differently, would a Kendoka be ready for a zombie apocalypse? Nah, it doesn't always have to be zombies...
Kendo can be seen as a sporterized relative of Kenjutsu, the traditional Japanese art of sword fighting. Sort of like Olympic fencing and historical rapier fencing, although that may not be an entirely accurate comparison. Either way, the focus on speed and comparatively light contact (or so it may seem) makes some people doubt its martial validity.
Personally I don't have a dog in the fight either way, but I was curious to see what a katana might do to a ballistic gel dummy head with one of those quick strikes, and my friend Sindri offered to help with his Kendo experience.
The skulls are anatomically correct and pretty realistic overall, although the gel doesn't simulate flesh and skin very well.
I also tried a lunging thrust with a narrow bladed Spanish rapier, which turned out better than I expected (the second attempt, that is).
And finally he went to town with a large two-handed cutting sword, to finish off the mayhem.
The swords shown here:
Shirasaya / Shikomizue by Hanwei
www.kultofathe...
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Tizona - 17th century Spanish cup-hilt rapier by LK Chen
www.kultofathe...
(affiliate link)
Battle-ready version of Inosuke's serrated sword from the Demon Slayer anime series
minikatana.com...
Supreme Cutter Classic by Lancelot Chan
lancelotsword....
The head analog:
ballisticdummy...
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#skallagrim #sword #katana #test #kendo
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conclusion: sharp stick dangerous
Who could have guessed
A stick is truly the ultimate melee weapon
fast sharp stick dangerouser
@@AliDixon95 ah no is that a threat
grog will wait for embargo. grog not trade in wooden stick yet
As you can see, my brain blocked the cut, so I'm pretty sure I'm good and Kendo has been debunked.
lol, lmao even.
Why does that seem like a kung pow reference? 😂
Caught the blade between the two hemispheres, just like some butt cheeks clamping down on something 😂
It slid right off my smooth brain, protecting me from any damage.
😂😂😂😂
Turns out, it doesn't take much to hurt people with a sharp metal object designed to hurt people
Yeah... Almost like they was made for it or something.. weird
@@robertagu5533 who could have guessed
Tbf I always thought, that all doubds of efectivenes of quick strikes was against an armoured oponent.
Not sure which weapon guy was talking about this, but the sword is a very special case among weapons. Axes were designed to chop stuff. Hammers were designed to smash things/drive them into the ground. Scythes and sickles were designed for harvesting crops. Spears were designed for hunting. Knives and daggers were for cutting things. But swords are only good at hurting people. There is a more effective item for every other task, but swords only excell at hurting/killing people. People, specifically. It's definitely interesting.
@@mohammednegm4007 scythes as weapons ALSO tend to be very good at hooking, subduing an countering armor an shields if used right. An in the right hands can make quick work of even tough armored enemies.. an often did. As they slim enough to find chinks in armor an sharp an rugged enough to both go through an be highly lethal stab an cutters but can also bind up an often control too when the user isn't feeling particularly bloodthirsty in those times ..
The blue blood indicates this was the head of a nobleman or possibly a lobster 🦞
Quite likely a horseshoe crab 🤔
The crustacean elites spread disinformation about reptilian aliens ruling the world.
Or a Vulcan.
It was an octopus, actually. Famous, of course, for having skulls
Or an octopus
"I got him in the jaw muscle, which is pretty rude"-Proceeds to immediately stab him in the eye-
"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Here, let me finish you... rightly"
always follow up a jaw strike with an eye strike....
make em unable to scream or see! lolz
Jaw, ear, nose combo for flamboyantly rude.
He also got like.. the brain behind the eye.
@@Ingeb91 Mfw the rapier tip seductively pokes my brain: 😀
When I was a beginner in kendo I stupidly wanted to see how safe a shinai really was. I asked a friend to hit me VERY weakly in the head with no helmet and it still made my ears ring. Since then I've never really doubted the effects a kendo strike would have with a real sword. I've also never asked someone to hit me with no armor again, what the hell was I thinking?!
Ah yes, non-invasive, percussive brain realignment surgery. Works every time, as long as one is careful with the percussion.
You seem like the kind of guy that will end up testing the respawn system in one of those 'you die in the game you die for real' light novels.
I learned the hard way to keep my head up straight, even with bogu. Shinai hurt.
@@shred1894nah, that's me. you're welcome
It is an honest beginner curiosity. I had too, until I put on a Bogu and the strike really hurt my head EVEN with all the padding that the Bogu provides.
And a shinai is not even a real sword.
I used t cut paper with a boken.
Don't even had to be sharp, in order to seriously hurt someone.
Same is true for HEMA.
I think people like to over-estimate just how durable we are to any sort of force multiplier. An axe, a sword, a hammer, even just a sturdy stick or branch but be super deadly even with relatively little strength put behind it
I'm beginning to notice the more I get hit with these types of things
There is good reason that we over-estimate. Humans are suprisingly durable to puncture wounds, we even have an entire type of muscle fiber thats first function is to be big and cheap(a target), second to be punctured, and third to be strong.
And the modern firearms that primarily have been pointed at humans have primarily been designed to puncture, push straight through because of a multitude of war treaties ment to keep soldiers from becoming gravestones
Now that would lead to an over-estimation of human dirability. One that is sorely mistaken and dissapears the moment something that isnt a NATO approved round decides to try and hurt you.
And the ammo chosen by our militaries are designed to knock you out of combat to be clear. Its just the gravestone is a secondary moment of the engineering, its better to have enemy soldiers go home from allied hospitals then be buried in the long term.
@@AnonymousAnarchist2 NATO approved round like phosphor or cluster munition?
@@AnonymousAnarchist2That might be the official statement, but modern bullets are designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, while still retaining enough "stopping power" to incapacitate an enemy, which they achieve by tumbling inside the target and creating complex wound channels. Certain ammo types that break apart and cause high internal damage may be banned, but most war casualties come from bombs or artillery, which are far from clean shots.
People can be literally killed by kitchen knives and we’re out here doubting the effectiveness of swords because a method focused on a tight technique 😂
Sir Rutherford Alcock, British doctor and Consul General to Japan (1809 - 1897) "I have seen many a battlefield," "but of sabre wounds I never saw any so horrible. One man had his skull shorn clean through from the back and half the head sliced off to the spine, while his limbs only hung together by shreds." "They have attained the climax of dexterity. The sword is always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it wound the moment it is drawn." "The fatal stroke, upwards, is given in the act of drawing. Hence, placing the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting a cocked revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act it is too late for defence."
Can you imagine being the UPS guy reading that email? " I just recently had a head delivered and its neck was broken" 😐😅
Note to self. Don't send myself with ups.
@@marcusc9931 Having worked as a loader/unloader for UPS, that is a very sensible stance.
And don't slap a whole bunch of fragile stickers on anything. Instead, pack it like you expect gorillas to juggle it, but don't give those animals at the trans-shipping locations the temptation.
@@MonkeyJedi99when i worked for the post office, we'd joke and tell customers the truth on packaging:
It has to survive the drop kick or kickball test. They'd ask what that is, and we'd tell them that if they believe their package is packaged and wrapped good enough, they should be able to take it, and do a drop kick or football/kickball kick. If the package survives, you wrapped it good. If it doesnt... customers said they would be afraid they'd break it by doing something like that. We'd then tell them its not good enough then and to stuff more peanuts, newspaper, and other packaging materials in. Despite being a rural carrier, I've seen how the plant handles packages, I'm sure fedex and UPS does the same.
That's why i always pronounce them as oops.
The neck was already broken! >i< wanted to break it dammit!!
How much damage can ken do if ken can do kendo?
Ken would do as much damage as Ken could do if Ken could do kendo!
hehehe
I didn't come in here to make this killer comment this time.
@@reptiloidmitglied2930 what could ken do with kendo to a ken doll?
Ken does kendo in his way.
Sloppy left handed lunge it is... Proceeds to make perfect strike on his second attempt
Hell, yeah! That's what I call impresive!
Well, you see... it was only on the second attempt. ;)
"I'm not left handed, either."
@@Skallagrim Yeah, I suppose second attempts aren't something to count on during a proper fight
@@Skallagrimyou pulled the Larry Bird. “I’ll probably miss” makes it perfect.
It seems like kendo is a lot like boxing. It has been sporterized and has some blind spots because of it, but it's still very much not something you'd want to face.
This is an excellent analogy. At the end of the day, both kendoka and boxers spend relentless hours beating the crap out of each other. So even with their trained limited rulesets, their "Hit you hard and fast" training will serve them very, very well
This ananlogy reminded me of a quote from Mike Tyson "Everyone has a plan - 'til they get punched in the mouth". Seems to fit very well here.
Yeah I remember when my dad was teaching me self defense and his first piece of wisdom was "never let a boxer get within arms reach of you." he's not even a boxer, but he threw out a jab just short of hitting my face to show me what he was talking about, and was like "now imagine if I was really good at that, and i was trained to hit 5x harder at that speed."
That's pretty much what boxing is, most people who say things like "boxing isn't fighting it's a sport because of the vulnerability to grapples and leg strikes" have no concept of how difficult grapples and leg strikes are in the heat of the moment. It's usually people who don't know how to fight and have never been in one. It might not be good against a trained mma fighter, but when a boxer breaks your nose it's going to hurt all the same.
That's what I thought. Kendokas are, I guess, the most professional sword fighters in the world. The pros can probably mess up each and every HEMA practitioner. (There are no professional HEMA-Fencers, right?)
@@klausgerken1905most overused and misquoted quote ever
Physical therapists HATE this one simple trick.
Lmao
Hot elbow maimers in your area! Click now!!!
a quick and free lobotomy
@@necroseussounds fancy... I would like one of your finest maims, please? 🤗 don't worry, I'm a professional masochist like Houston Jones 😅. Hopefully he doesn't eat me like a fruity pebble for writing that.
Love these demos showcasing how sporting/mid combat strikes still can pack a wallop. We don't need to swing all the way 180 degrees to land a fight ending injury with a strongly cutting sword!
Great thrust by you Skall with that rapier. Always welcome more penetration testing.
watch?v=mY3t1TnMYHI&ab_channel=Let%27saskSekiSensei%7COnlineKatanaLessons
Notice how light the kendo user strikes with the top of his quick wooden weapon?
Nothing like anything shown in this video.
Now imagine putting a real sword into the kendousers hands. He'd be confused as to how to swing a katana with the same speed.
It's because Kendo is a modern sport - and nothing else.
@revisit8480 "lets consider this imaginary person I made up, they probably are confused by a real sword because that's how I am imagining it"
All modern swordplay is just a sport or hobby... obviously. That's irrelevant completely.
The discussion is about if certain techniques could translate (obviously adaptation is required)
That's how real combat works, the weapon user must consider the circumstances, and adapt their techniques based on what will work.
Maybe the guy you imagined up wont though
0:35 One thing I learned, shipping your opponent is a tadbit more dangerous than poking a blade unto them
Matt Easton from Scholagladiatora has a whole video dedicated to how quick light little cuts are perfectly valid and even a necessary part of any martial art. Even if it's just a light little flick, if you can cut the tendons in his arm, your opponent can't hold a sword anymore (or anything for that matter).
Yet history tells otherwise. The masters back in day seem to not show or mention tappy little hits even with the rapiers. They all demonstrate full powerful cuts and thrusts which for me seems to be a very obvious reason for that.
@@shaundouglas2057 Which masters are you thinking of? Light cuts exist in various texts, especially in 18th/19th-century systems. Matt Easton mentions John Musgrave Waite in the video in question. But lighter cuts are also present in medieval & Renaissance sources. For instance, Joseph Swetnam mentioned a wrist blow as being the best way to cut with a rapier, though he preferred only thrusting. & plenty of flick-cut type actions appear in Bolognese fencing, in George Silver's system, etc. A rising falso from a middle guard, for instance, is never going to be a full-power cut. As these often targeted the hand, they don't need to be. Historical fencing included cuts at a range of power levels.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 No Swetnams wrist cuts that you mention were done fully wound up for maximum power as had to be done with a blade that was not ideal for cutting, any cut delivered less was next to useless with a rapier. As for George Silver which is the main system I am trained in their is nothing mentioned in Silvers system about little tappy strikes. George said all strikes should be delivered with manely strength. Yes obviously a down right blow is a more powerful strike compared to a false edge rising cut, but even that strike is delivered with full exertion.
As for the 18th to 19th century manuals I'll admit i am not very familiar with them but even the french troops in Napoleons army complained about their sabres being too light and thus only injuring the english troops. Certainly seems like they wanted to be able to deliver powerful cuts in order to kill the enemy and that little tappy cuts in combat were considered inferior and useless.
@@shaundouglas2057there’s some traditions that put mild emphasis on shallow strikes that wouldn’t be scored in HEMA; a cut to the hand is still a cut to the hand, even if it doesn’t immediately disable the opponent.
I watched that video and in every significant cut he did, he did not do a "tappy" wrist strike. He definitely did elbow cuts, often with full drawback and a significant amount of follow through. I don't think he did so on purpose, but rather it happens subconsciously as soon as he decided to actually cut something.
Honestly that first cut would probably make them reconsider already, and after that second cut... Yeah, it's probably over.
I kinda like it, cause the first hit is like a warning shot, get em to reconsider their life choices and if they still wanna fight the second shot takes em out
@@MasakanSolaris The first shot would probably also blind them, opening them up for a more killing strike
@@MasakanSolaris yeah, I absolutely agree. And as a security professional it's also something that I believe should be specifically practiced in real life. You don't want to immediately go in and just make everything a problem.
Well, it cut into the skull, so it very likely would bring an immediate halt to hostilities. Unless the aggressor is highly motivated, they’re not going to want to continue.
nothing ends a fight quite as quickly as reminding your opponent how much fighting hurts and how hard it is to function with blood in their eyes
as a kendo and Iaido Practitioner for 7 years, my Japanese sensei always reminds me, short movement quick cuts are meant to cause damage by bleeding your opponent in actual sword fight, while stance ready heavy cuts are meant to sever. We were taught that in a sword fight, quick cuts from a katana are essential to slowly drain out your opponents stamina to disrupt their stance and guard, once they're tired out, you finish them off with a stance ready heavy cut and aim for vulnerable body parts aimed for a severing slash
But can you actually do Kendo strikes with katana? Sure, you can do some quick cuts, but they way they are done in Kendo seem way too fast for an actual sword. Isn't katana just too heavy in comparision to bokken? Having one, it seems to me that first thing Kendo strikes would achieve with katana, would be tendon injuries of the person trying to perform them.
@@piotrmalewski8178 yes you can, you're not allowed to practice with steel yet without proper weight training specially on your shoulders, forearms, and wrists. Thats why we practice "kabuto giri" or overhead vertical slashes alot, and i mean by alot, until your arms and body starts to get used to it. And ofcourse, we use weights on our forearms until we can swing our swords quicker, once weights are removed, legit, a real katana feels as light as a bokuto(wooden sword) not gonna lie
@@tobiferrer2339 Out of curiosity, do kendoka ever use suburitō in their strength training?
@@NDOhioan Actually, Yes. We do use Suburito in our practice, But it depends on how our Sensei Assess our strengths during practice. Beginners usually use a shinai, your typical Bamboo practice sword as its lighter, more comfortable for the wrists during practice swings and build up strength, Then working your way upto heavier practice swords, Suburito, Then lastly, unsharpened steel.
3:30
One of the best rapier pokes I've ever seen. Exactly what was intended, precise and efficient.
AND he did it with his non-dominant arm.
nah, best rapier poke is the one you don't see it coming, specially from below the waistline
@@royalecrafts6252 I meant the best one that we've got on camera, not the actual best that you can in any situation.
And are you talking about nailing an artery or causing a unprofessional circumcision? That deep in the brain it's highly unlikely that you're walking away from it and it's a sort of fall to your knees as you quite quickly die type situation.
@@synthemagician4686 precisely, imagine a 25-year grizzled pro in the 1600s Naples area, doing something like this. This would be like nothing.
If I wanted to practice rapier I would put a wooden ring on a piece of twine and at first it would be still, seeing if I could poke it from different positions, then it would be a metal ring with paracord, probably would still be a metal ring with paracord because it would be easier more durable at the first beginning, and it would be swinging from side to side.
Another good test would be a little bit of pool noodle, I could cut fist-sized pieces and get a lot of bang for my buck, and what I would do is try to cut as many large hunks as possible off of those pieces as they are put on the end of a wooden dowel, the harder the level, I would put a metal dowel at risk of damage to my blade. Of course I would get a type of rapier where I could replace the blades, but you get the gist. There are ways of practicing. Not exclusively but including, using a heavier practice sword, purposely lumpy and heavy.
@@crimsonfox87fluxule62 haha opponents in real life moves a lot, you most likely wont hit any artery
For the elbow tendinitis
I see the wrap. If you don’t already, get a wrist brace, wear it comfortably to bed (locks out any unnecessary “sleep stretching” on the affected tendons) trust me they will heal faster.
Fresh sliced pineapple, not canned. (vitamin c = good collagen boost)
Had my first tendinitis issue in April earlier this year (bad Olympic lifting technique coupled with the Highland Games and work did). A month went by and it felt like it was only getting worse, until I bought both an elbow wrap (wore that a Lot) and the wrist wrap (went from combined wearing to just wearing at while sleeping.)
I noticed the relief in the mornings, treated it gingerly through the days over the weeks, noticed grip strength was returning (measured using hand grips) and range of motion while gripping tools and sticks (also pain free)
If you read this far, hope this helps, may you have a fast recovery, looking forward to more of your content.
At 2:00 - yup, he be dead. That was worryingly fast and light and yet did horrible things to the target. Fighting someone is bad enough when both people are barehanded, but weapons change things totally.
Maybe in a few hours or days, but if you do a little chop and he does a tsuki, you'll die quicker.
@@austinaxley81in what world does a sword going into your brain kill you “in a few hours or days”
@@lukeparsons583he’s built different
"Yeah, it was impressive...but a katana did it, so it's actually ineffective."
-Sun Tsu or somebody like that.
7:55 "I said across her nose, not up it!" -Darth Helmet
'I knew it, I'm surrounded by assholes'
"Does anyone else smell swords?"
Sorry sir, im doing my best.
Thinking back to your video of what makes katanas good, the fact that the scabbard is such an integral part of the sword itself and the smoothness of the draw is what gives people the idea that the sword itself is somehow "faster" than something like a european longsword. The idea of being able to combine a martial art like kendo with a technique like iajutsu, drawing and striking at the same time with a quick and small strike, could still go through someone's skull or cut their jaw off like this is pretty terrifying. I think that's what gives people this glorified idea of the legendary supernaturally fast katana, that ability to deploy and strike and be completely lethal within an instant, whereas drawing something like as you demonstrated a rapier took much more effort and was more cumbersome. So there's nothing entirely special about katanas per se, it's just that they are designed for a purpose and they do their purpose very very well.
There was a lot of cultural emphasis on excellence in craftsmanship and technique, but that's present to some extent in many cultures- Hungarians and Spaniards, for example, have historically been very proud of their swordsmithing and swordsmanship.
@@Toxoplasma13 Exactly. As he said in the katana video even a relatively bad or cheap katana still tends to have a pretty nice scabbard. Translating that historically, depending on the period, as you said the Japanese had a large cultural emphasis on excellence in craftsmanship, so it would be safe to say that even a relatively bad blacksmith or a cheap one would still put a lot more time and effort into his product than one might expect, meaning that even people who could only afford cheaply made katanas, if they practiced heavily which many did as the emphasis on excellence translated to most things in Japanese culture, even someone who just saved up and bought a sword and trained with it in their free time would be a force to be seriously reckoned with.
I wonder if it’s possible to do iaido with saber, would be pretty cool to see something like that
@@ВсеволодМальков-м2п I'd be surprised if the cultures around the Caucasus don't have something like it already
@@Toxoplasma13 yeah, probably possible to do with shashka, but I haven’t seen anyone performing it
The anime, over serrated katana was a really effective club
I mean to be fair, in the anime it's used by a muscle-brained idiot who takes normal katanas and smashes the edge of the sword with rocks to make it like that.
@@awiseauthor3456 yeah I guess it is probably the most realistic anime weapon.
What are you expected from a dumb boy raised by a boar?😂
Serrated isn't built for slicing.
@@ashernoreen I wouldn’t even call that particular sword serrated. I would say that it has an “interrupted” cutting edge or “disjointed”. Serrations are purposeful and crafted in. The anime clearly shows that the edge is disjointed, damaged, and created by beating the edge against rocks.
as a bit of historical background, during the Seinan war, as swords were banned and kendo became a famous sport, many renowned kendo practitioners would end up being hired as police and military because they were so effective in battle and their skills were needed in order to put down the rebellion
Wow, I've been subbed to Skallagrim for about a decade, but this is the first time UA-cam has recommended one of his videos to me in years.
Yeah, that's unfortunately quite common.
same
The fun thing is that during the Bakumatsu period that marked the end of the Shogunate era, Kendo was the most commmon swordsmanship style, as it was far less regulated than traditional kenjutsu schools. So most swordfighters would have been fighting using Kendo, even on the battlefield
And they didn’t use curved blades.
Samurai were using bow and spear on the battlefield. Swords are typically side arms (backup weapons), and without shields they aren't effective on the battlefield. So using kendo would make a lot of sense.
@@samlevi4744 Some did, old heirlooms and some did still have training in old arts, but yeah, straight bladed katana became popular during that time as people were used to the straight shinai used in kendo
@@wumpusthehunted2628 During the Bakumatsu, the main weapons were guns, as it took place during the time when Japan was opening up again in the mid-19th century. However, the Imperials had special units of dedicated swordsmen which launched raids on Shogunate armies on the march, and the Shogunate in turn created special "police units" of swordsmen to counter them, and rogue swordsmen in the civilian context (remember, for the most part the main guns were revolvers and single shot rifles, and early on even matchlock muskets were still in use, so in the right circumstances melee was still very important)
EDIT: The reversed: Samurai remnant forces during the Satsuma Rebellion (famously fictionalized in the Movie the Last Samurai) were the ones to use melee shock troops, and it was the Imperial Police, which created a dedicated sword unit, the Battotai, to help deal with them and other samurai remnants
So then kendo is about slapping with the flat?
Great seeing the other end of those snap cuts! Shows the difference between aiming them to just make contact versus end somewhere within the skull. It's all in where you aim! As Liechtenauer said, do not shun the tag hits!
The impact of those super slight kendo moves was impressive.
As someone who has practiced a lot different aspects of Japanese swordsmanship, I think this assumption of many kendoka comes from their lack of training in edge alignment. Not so much the strikes being functional. That's of course very situational and depends entirely on the person.
Well the instructor SHOULD be teaching about edge alignment when doing test cutting, which was part of the program when I practiced.....
@huskiefan8950 like I said, situational. Some instructors only see the sport side of the art.
You just saw the result of the 'edge alignment' being off. It still chopped off a third of the upper jaw and smashed out the lower. All the emphasis you see on great edge alignment by sword tubers is for show. "Look how pretty I cut the mat/water bottle!" I have always said so what. Even an ugly cut will incapacitate or worse. I can guarantee you that in a life or death situation the last thing anyone was focusing on was edge alignment and I can also guarantee the a victim of a poorly aligned blow never just shrugged it of and kept fighting. "Hah! Twas poor edge alignment!" WAY too much emphasis is placed on it.
@@robo5013There are plenty of videos around, of people getting hacked at with machetes and other bladed weapons, only to continue struggling. There as even a case of a homeless man attacking someone with a sword, and repeatedly striking the guy’s arm as the guy was on the ground blocking. It took MANY blows before the guy’s arms were disabled.
Edge alignment and proper form can mean A LOT. Even more so if we’re talking medieval times, where people wore thick clothing.
I'm an absolute layman in this, so feel free to correct me, but I think the point which should be examined is whether these techniques would achieve the same speeds with a katana as with a shinai.
Former kendo athlete here. It's really dangerous, if you're unarmoured. With that speed and a precise cut, you're dead. Take a hint at what Musashi did to Kojiro with a wooden katana. Imagine it tenfold with a real katana.
The Inosuke katana never should have left the world of fiction.
My brain had a moment when you poked the eye with the rapier... "I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." LOL!!!
They are, in fact, quite dangerous
They're actually pretty harmless until the wrong kind of person gets their hands on it.
The masters back in the day seem to suggest otherwise.
Ace Ventura UPS shipping.
It happens to the best of us
the elevator bit....
@@ZenakuShinobi followed by the hallway bit
Hah, that would explain it. Didn't expect an Ace Ventura reference, but it fits. :)
Thanks
The thing with Kendo is that they use such light weapons it looks like they barely touch the opponent, but in truth you're absolutely using a sharpened fulcrum that exponentially increases your force, especially at the end of the blade, which a lot of these strikes use.
Itto Ryu was not only the chief formative influence on modern Kendo, but an official school of the Shogunate that spread to every corner of Edo era Japan and fundamentally changed swordsmanship itself. There's an English NHK(?) interview with one of its teachers, the late Sasamori Junzo, where he briefly demonstrates the difference between a Kendo strike and how they cut; it looks like the difference between casting a fishing line and splitting wood. Indeed, Itto Ryu's onigote are substantially massive gloves that allow people to use not split bamboo but solid oak swords to deliver a considerable amount of force. Cutting powerfully isn't just a trick in the bag for Itto Ryu, it IS Itto Ryu. That should put Kendo shiai in context.
A lot of people don't understand that if it's sharp, you don't even have to apply a lot of force to cause severe trauma. And that it applies to everything, not just swords.
Anyone dismissing kendo for the way it emphasises speed over power have misunderstood what is emphasised in kendo.
Speed gets you far.
Timing beats speed.
Ki ken tai no ichi = spirit/mind sword body's unification.
Emphasis is on timing, precision, mental awareness, etc.
Sure, there is a wish for quicker, more immediate action. You will be told to never hesitate. This is subtly different from speed.
When speeding up often I have heard: "Focus! Relax! Proper technique! Only strike with purpose!"
When cross-training into two-handed spear (Roman re-enactment), xing yi quan (Chinese internal style martial art), Liechtenauer (German longsword), arnis (Filipino martial art), and others, I found in every discipline my kendo made me significantly more capable from day 1 and specifically that sword techniques translated directly.
Or simply put: I've spent a lot of hours training with bamboo. I am quite a lot more competent than the average person with any type of sword, even one I have not used before.
Across all martial arts we see this dismissal when someone does not understand what is going on. There is usually always something worthwhile in what you see, once you try it and reach a sufficient level to combine the basic building blocks into an actually coherent dance.
You were the first sword channel I ever started watching and you are the only one I still watch. Good work keeping it real through all the years man, I respect it.
to me it always appeared that Kendo emphasized those strikes at that speed because that's all that mattered.
sometimes we look at combat sports for too long as a proxy for real life and forget just how devastating all these weapons and techniques are.
My biggest concern is the removal of defense during those advances. Great strikes, just makes my ribs itch.
you are correct, there are indeed some techniques that take advantage of that in kendo. the kaeshi dou is the primary example
Skal understating his own ability as always.
"My right arm is wrecked, this will be very sloppy" - proceeds to perfectly stab the eye on the second attempt.
I mean, I have zero experience with rapiers and with stabbing in general, but I couldn't hit the eye with my right hand and ten tries, propably, so yeah. And yes, I know, lucky shots are a thing. But just imagine having a duel, and your opponent says they'll use their weak arm because they're hurt and then hit you in the eye a few seconds later. If you survive, you'd be livid.
Great video and a great argument (once again) for "don't underestimate small cuts". I mean, even if they don't go into or through bone, they'll hinder you, especially if you get cut more than once. The first one or two may actually help by flooding you with adrenaline, but at some point the pain and everything will just take effect. There's a reason the best self defence tips are "hit them where it really hurts and try to get away".
Looking forward to the next one and also get well soon Skal! (Dunno if that's the right thing to say for a hurt/injured elbow, but I mean it)
I took a fencing class and was having difficulty hitting my opponent in the chest. I couldn't imagine aiming somewhere as precise as the eye
That jaw shot was gnarly oh my gosh
Ooh, looking forward to the sword review! That blade is awesome! Happy to hear there's a review on it coming!😁👍
Hitting bare skin, it wouldn't take much all to wreck someone with a sword. But most of the body is covered in clothes, so you should do more tests cutting through the various types of clothes people commonly wear. I bet even a flimsy t-shirt would provide a surprising amount of cut resistance, especially if the blade isn't razor sharp.
Depends on the fabric. A thick cotton tee might do a bit but a sports tee will shred as soon as the sword starts its swing.
Kendo is definitely a dueling sport and not a combat art, but its techniques are still optimized for hitting the other person with a weapon of death just the same. The Kendo attack was also faster and less telegraphed than everything else bar the rapier, so while the damage was less, its ability to end a fight quickly is still something to speak for.
ALOT of people forget you don't have to cut someone in half or chop their arm off to win, if you snap cut to their wrist breaking the one and completely destroying that hand, they can't use their sword anymore
Unless they're ambidextrous
When I was practicing kendo I asked the teacher how severe damage it can do with this small quick moves from kendo, instead of full swings over-head and he said the origin of those small moves are from 平服剣術(normal-clothes swordsmanship). So when you're fighting in a battlefield where most soldiers are equipped with armors, you need full charged moves to damage them but when you're not heavily equipped, those quick moves with katana is deadly enough to leave you severe injury.
1:08 ichimonji my beloved.
I've interested to see ichimonji double.
Cuts and smashes and skulls aside, Skal's hair's looking downright MAJESTIC in this video!
6:56 The Lancelot sword shall now be known as Smurf's Bane
Kote (wrist) and Tsuki (throat) strikes happen so fast. They hit areas that most people just won't consider to defend because of movies and are so effective and direct.
Japanese fighters used to hit their enemies on the top of the head which would then cause them to get blood in their eyes, and we all know a blind fighter isn't much use. A lot of ancient Japanese sculls that are found are found with cut marks on the top of the skull. Fun fact 😆
The "Kendo Strike" and similar variants are prevalent in many forms of "actual" Kenjutsu, it's a great, quick technique to catch an opponent off guard.
It would be very unpleasant indeed!
It's amazing how much power comes from the step in kendo, like when you swing, you're trying to almost make as lazy and weak a swing as you can while still being quick. It feels like fly fishing (had fishing instructor surprised at my casting technique because there were so much crossover in feel and motion). Taking the hit doesn't feel like much if they don't move, but take a step and strength behind the blow becomes significant.
0:36 Well, you would never want to be accused of doing tests on a live dummy! 😆
SIGNIFICANT blunt force trauma to the cranium, poor bloke dead upon arrival 😔
Don’t forget that the katana was made for deep cuts. It was usually the person that struck first that won the fight. That’s why there’s so many kata for unsheathing the blade and cutting in the same motion.
A lot of strikes weren’t intended for use on the head. You could damage the cutting edge of your blade on bone.
Therefore a lot of cuts were quick, sharp cuts to the limbs. If you can’t hold a weapon then you can’t fight back. Even a small cut to the hand would win you a fight.
Hence why kendo is a thing. Strike first, strike hard and fast then get out of range so you don’t get hit by a dying man’s sword swing.
“Hello there!”
General Kendo-bi! 😂
As a kendoka it's so nice to finally see a video like this! Absolutely love you
Kendo not being "real actual swordfighting" was always such an hilariously dumb complaint to me, even before I did it. Especially when people whinge about it not being useful in self-defense.
Like no shit, it's a modern sport and not Kenjutsu as practised in the Sengoku Jidai or Bakumatsu. No-one has to protect themselves from or with swords nowadays and there is no danger of having to fight off Shinsengumi in search of restorationists.
That said, I wish there were a bit less regulations in terms like sword length and usable stances.
There are no regulations regarding stances in kendo. :) Just within this ruleset only two are really effective (arguably one).
The complain wasn't that it would not kill. The complain was that it was pretty predictable, especially when used against a European swordsman.
@@marcusc9931that's also misguided complaint. Pitting kendo versus hema has no sense, because rulesets are different and you won't find fair platform to compare these two. It's like comparing tennis and badminton players since both are using rackets.
@@kamillipa7679 yes and no. If we look at it as a sport , it makes no sense. But if we want to test its viability as a combat style, the ruleset is that the winner gets to live.
@@marcusc9931 If you're coming at it from a "combat test" angle, a kendoka no longer has to worry about scoring points in their ruleset. So, while their strongest (from a muscle memory standpoint) techniques might be more predictable, there's now nothing them from using illegal (in terms of a kendo sport match) moves which would reduce their predictability. Especially if the kendoka has studied other styles. That's also assuming that the two combatants have perfect knowledge of their opponents style(s).
4:47 While you are less intimidating without the hide of the Mountain God on your head.
Your technique is clearly good.
The God of Cave Survey Teams, Lord Inosuke totally approves this message.
Excellent content 👍
Kendo uses bamboo and wooden swords for practice. The types of exercise are different (wooden sword for kata with no armour - bamboo sword for armoured 'full on' fencing). My understanding is that the system as a whole - with both types of training - is meant to (in part) help you train for 'real' fights, but the practice of either alone is insufficient - the bamboo shinai are light and straight and used on armoured targets that are the most heavily defended - specifically to not hurt people who are training. But it's fast and agressive to give you the 'feel' of a fight. Also if you can accurately hit those targets you could also accurately hit weaker spots which is what you would probably aim for in a real fight - e.g. joints and un-armoured areas. For kata, the shinai (bamboo) is replaced with a curved wooden sword, so techniques closer to katana cuts can be used, but (again for safety) the cuts are rehearsed, stately and formalized and there is no bodily contact. Kendo practitioners don't think of the art as a sport (and are not generally interested in getting it into the Olympics for example) - because it has a deeper and more psychological/spiritual aspect compared to a 'sport'. Entry to the Olympics is feared as something that would 'dumb down' kendo forcing scoring to be simply about a hit and not about the psychology and intention - which is assessed now but could not be intuited by laymen in a TV audience. In addition, I don't think there is any pretence that kendo alone would make you a great swordman - iaido and older kenjutsu schools can also contribute valuable insights. Modern kendo was 'created' as a tool to train police and students in attitudes, self-discipline and a way of life suitable for Japanese society after the meiji restoration and at a time when the wearing of real swords was being banned. Partly it was to keep old traditions alive but there were other reasons. That's why Kendo, Judo and others dropped the 'jutsu' and added the 'do'. Fundamentally, it's purpose has never been to enable people to use a 'real' sword. Sure it was based on older teaching techniques that did aim to help with that, but even then, it's more complicated. At it's deepest level, Kendo has a philosophy drawn from Zen Buddhism as a 'do' meaning 'way or path' - of living and being (see books like 'The Life Giving Sword' and 'The Unfettered Mind'. So while learning to fence is a part of what kendo can help with, it's by no means making claims to teach you everything about fencing, still less about how best to chop people up - but it certainly has something to say about the psychology of fighting - and living.
Some nice damage 😮
Thats a lot of damage
I feel like the difference between the very first and the second strike is pretty illustrative of the difference between competition and combat. It seemed to me that the first strike was a "competition" strike, and the second strike was actually applying the technique with intent to actually hurt someone. So my current conclusion is that the strikes we see in competitive kendo probably do sacrifice "damage" for the sake of speed, and so we're not imagining things when we see the competition and wonder if that would actually kill or disable anyone. but also, with a simple adjustment of intent, the practitioner of kendo techniques can absolutely put the emphasis back on "damage" and deliver deadly blows. So my takeaway is that the kendo strikes made in competition, if repeated with actual swords are not always deadly, but the kendo SKILLS are absolutely deadly. The difference is just intent, not capability.
5:04 RELATIVELY unscathed
Amazing strikes all around and another banger video but I laughed at 3:45 because you basically gave them a free lobotomy 😂😂
Well, considering that that second chop (because that's what it was, very little push or pull) went through the hardest part of the skull...yeah quick choppy kendo cuts are going to be martially effective.
A couple of things restrict your exploration of kendo here. They are momentum and skill.
Sindri starts out very nicely with the small cut to the head and then stops in place. When what is taught in kendo is actually that you continue forwards keeping contact. Provided that you keep your arm structure intact and have properly drawn power from your feet and applied tenouchi at the time of contact, a forward moving body will let the blade slice even further into the skull.
The basic cut to the face should stop around eye level letting the body movement do the rest.
Unless of course you draw back your blade for other reasons. In doing so you could also apply damage though this is only a point scoring technique in certain retreating actions such as when performing gyaku-do, a cut to the bowels.
Skill-wise it is simply that your blades would have performed even better if Sindri had been trained more in grip which translates to edge alignment in HEMA terminology.
Or, alternatively, Sindri is well trained in it and simply was excited or nervous for the video to be good. I just see some tension in there that makes some cuts land quite wonky.
One of the pitfalls in kendo is that most shinai (bamboo sword) have a round hilt. This combined with the large gloves used can make the wielder deceptively unaware of the edge and how it behaves during cuts, especially off-center ones. There is an indication of edge in kendo and it is important, however it can be difficult to feel in the fingers.
I noticed my own shortcomings the first time I had an actual katana in hand. I swung only a few times and immediately felt a pain in my wrist.
Switching to oblong handle on the bamboo did wonders for my technique.
It would seem the human body is very weak to swords.
Okay that last stab was straight out of a comedy horror film. That was some Mortal Kombat shit.
Man, it took like nothing to incapacitate the target.
From when I started watching you, so many years ago, I'm happy to see you putting more time into katanas. Knowing how long I studied in Japan, can you see why I have trouble going to the rapier because of my most common stance?
used to do kendo, initially we did 50 strikes in 3-5 variations as warmup and then moved on to something like 200 total cuts in 4 sets of 50 strikes for 5 variations before sparring so, the force generated is actually surprisingly hard, even with a small movement, a senior accidentally hurt my arm doing a kote(forearm) strike with maybe 3 inches from starting position, i was out of action for two weeks. im curious if someone that trains kendo hardcore tried this, what the difference would be
@@IGNEUS1607 i mean yea but our forearms and biceps and back were so efficient for specifically those strikes that im pretty sure it'll be even more devastating if someone hashtag hardcore frfr on cod did the same experiment, im just curious about how drastically different or not it would be, but yea that videos pretty on point for its purpose
I'm glad you did this because a lot of people doubt Kendo's technique as being a cut at all. Sometimes they're right at a certain level. But higher than a certain level we preserve more cutting principles within the shortened striking movement and having tried kendo technique in Tameshigiri, I know it's still a cut,and a reasonably effective one if performed well .
Now, when you face the 7th and particularly 8th dans and you feel the sharpness or "sae" in their shinai work, you know in your bones that if it was Shinken, you'd have drawn your last breath. In fact I'd say from around the 5th dan perhaps a strong 4th Dan, you expect quite a lot of power from a small motion that contains a lot of cutting principles within it. They're definitely no longer just tapping you on the head by this stage.
So we do try. 😂 What also helps is that in Kendo you're always driving forward, so you end up using more of a cutting action by using more surface area of "the blade" than most people might imagine. So it sort of replaces that slight drawing back that you'd find in koryu or Iaido for example.
Fun video. Hope your injury recovery is speedy.
Lobotomized him with your left. Noice!
Recent stuff has been fun to watch i rly like seeing you work with other educated or trained people
This is really interesting. From these results it really doesn’t take that much force to end someone’s day, even with just a half decent weapon.
This is another point in favor of short fights, and against anime-style long fights with powerful strokes and multiple deep wounds. If a small strike can do that much damage it wouldn’t take many minor mistakes to completely disable someone.
Or one or 2 well placed decent power hits to basically end them
Point for long fights: if you care more about drama than realism, they are cool
We just need to get better choreography
I have seen knife and machete fights and attacks in real life i have read the historical treatises and first hand accounts of duels but was never fully convinced until I saw two middle aged men hitting a broken plastic skull, this finally convinced me that anime style sword fights are bullshit and not realistic.
Next I'll look into gravity and find out if the roadrunner cartoons have it right.
Flashy long sword fights were a thing way before anime. Stories wouldn't be as fun if the final battle between the protagonist and its nemesis were to end in one second with a single strike.
Therese is force though - a cut like that from someone experienced can make your ears ring through protective gear, and occasionally there are concussions that occur when people get gassed up and forget to do the second part of the tenouchi (the tensing and releasing just as you land the cut). It takes tonnes of practice though and not something you can do initially as you need both technique and forearm muscles for the purpose. I was also told that if you intend to actually hurt someone you wouldnt do the release part that makes the sword go up after impact, rather you do the tensing part to get through the skull and then keep the movement forward going to complete the cut...
'We're fragile creatures, Mal. It takes less then a pound of pressure to cut skin' - Firefly
yeah even the first strike that didn't do too much damage would likely have been a fight ender. blunt force and the cut i think it would severely limited the opponents ability to continue fighting
Adrenalines one helluva drug man. People've had their legs broken and still managed to run on them
@@sidneyrobinson18 legs maybe, but if what's damaged is your brain you're less enclined to just push through with adrenalin.
@@ludantikasmith2869 watch any combat sport and you'll find that people can be quite persistent even through extreme damage to the head
The first cut would’ve stopped the bad guy plain and simple…. Katanas are not toys.
Luckily his brain blocked the most damaging strikes 👍
The unimaginable amount of blood that would flow out of that first cut would blind the man, then all the others would basically bleed him so dry you'd be halfway to mummification...😮
Were there really people who believed that gettiing hit on the head with a sword was inneffective?
You'd be surprised what sort of complaints some people have when they see sparring footage...
@@Skallagrimah yes, gotta love armchair experts 😆
Maybe their skulls are extra bony.
There is reason why kendo practitioners wear protective gear.
Their is a reason why their are no tappy strikes shown in the manuals. All cuts and thrusts are done fully commited. One may be surprised how much damage a human body can take when confronted in a life or death situation with one's adrenaline levels having shot through the roof.
Skall you're always putting effort on bringing us fresh content ,we appreciate you brother,keep doing what you do ,thank you for your service
Greetings from Guadalajara,Mexico 🇲🇽
Been seeing lots of balistic dummies that arrive in terrible condition.
ive been here for ten years skall. since i was 11 or 12 years old. i just bought my first Albion sword it should be here in a year and a half lol. thank you brother. You influenced my life more than you ever can know.
Great vid but the reason why people say that is because kendo was never meant to be a "katana art", most kendo practitioners in Japan will never ever even touch a katana, let alone do test cuts. Yes it's true that kendo originated from sparring, simulating real sword fights, but that was long time ago and the shinai used to be shorter & proportional to real katana, now they are just big long sticks.
This has multiple errors.
I’ve practiced a little bit of kendo. Don’t underestimate the amount of power that goes into some of those strikes. It’s distributed down through the legs and footing is as important as anything else. It’s fast and smooth but there is certainly quite a bit of power goes into those “taps”. Actually looking at the timing between his foot and hands I’m pretty sure he isn’t doing it right.
My senseis did some test cutting with quick kendo cuts and effective enough’ was the word of the day vs an unprotected target. However it would be interesting to see it done with even some cloth covering. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it significantly reduce cut depth.
Yeah. These cuts would 100% be scary vs flesh and bone, but I'm curious how much clothing or even just a simple hat might change things.
@@tcuegonbear if you watch any of the Todd Cutler test cutting videos it doesn’t take much to have a large effect on cuts. Even something like a kendogi would be significant I think.
@ruleslawyer Yeah I've seen a couple of those, and it really makes me appreciate why things like gambesons were so ubiquitous. Sure they don't stop everything, but even if they just help against these little snap cuts that's a huge upgrade in protection.
I haven't seen it tested specifically, but I suspect things like winter hats or turbans give more protection than I would have initially assumed. A heavy hit would still be bad news, but it wouldn't suprise me if they would almost completely mitigate the quick 'kendo head tap' type hits.
That rapier thrust was very interesting. I guess there would be penetration all the way out if this dummy head would have more inertia, more mass (like attached to the pole). You did a video about rapier vs skull in the past but i think skull used there was just a little too strong. Anyway its always goood to see swords braeking dummy skulls :D Nice one!
Yes, this skull seems a lot more realistic than the one I tested back then.
Simple fact: any cut to the cranium will stop someone so if you're smart wear a damn helmet in any swordfight
History has shown otherwise, theirs a reason why the manuals make no mention of tappy hits.
I mean a lot of swordsmanship is based off of presumed self-defense, not just massed battle. If some ne'er-do-wells jump you as you're leaving a restaurant you can't exactly say 'hold on let me get my helmet'
@@shaundouglas2057 Do you wanna start in where you're wrong, why, or do you just wanna sit down and retract this one?
@@GuitarGuy057 This will be good.
@@shaundouglas2057 Look at pretty much any saber manual. Ever.
A big theme in the Kendo style is to strike fast and take the fight out of the opponent. Light hits are waved off in adult matches and throat strikes are disallowed in Junior matches. The instructors in my area also buy bamboo mats to allow the students to hone their cutting skills. Florentine fighting gets dissed quite a bit too, but I have seen some effective Florentine styles in HEMA. No champions yet, but one young man did quite well.
Wait are you telling me that a sword is going to cut someone badly no matter how quickly the cut is delivered? Wow, who would have guessed?
I love your videos of this kind of testing. I'm a writer and my current books I'm working on do have a fair bit of swordplay and seeing this kind of damage done to a human analog is fascinating and helpful. I think i might just have to write in a vicious backroom in which someone takes a sword into a nostril
Lol the Hamlet soliloquy.
I like that he got the quote right. Lot's of people think it's "I knew him well."
Another excellent video! Love seeing both a katana and a rapier take out one of those cool skulls, they really should send you a replacement tho.