When Japanese martial arts had the purpose of killing they were called "Jutsu" (Kenjutsu, Jujutsu, Iaijutsu, Aikijustu, etc.). The purpose of modern budo (and other gendai budo) is to develop oneself, hence, they are called "Do" or a way of living (Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Aikido, etc.). Many of the comments here miss this fundamental point. Modern Kendo is a "way" and has been restricted from a physical standpoint more to resemble a sport as a matter of practical development (since the chance of meeting someone on the battlefield for a swordfight are slim to none). So we test our skills in competition instead. Kendo enjoys the benefits of being a full-contact sport/martial art like boxing or MMA but has almost none of the risks of injury due to the way the armor and bamboo sword where created. This was the intention of the Samurai when they developed this. So Kendo can be practiced into old age. We can only imagine how much more a man like Muhamed Ali could have developed his skill had he been able to continue boxing into his 70's or 80's? That to me is the hidden gem of Kendo. In Kendo you have an unpredictable opponent coming at you with full force to take off your head off in an unchoreographed setting, and you have to be able to control not only your opponent but yourself as well. This is where spiritual philosophy of budo is still applied, as are the benefits.
@@Ronindennis I'll add more. Kendo teach learners 礼儀. It train our spirit. And It often happens that old man beats younger man. We can see this in only Kendo, never in other martial arts.
I think that what you are saying is objectively true, but fails to recognize the subjective nature of practice: Metatron is very much more a historian than a spiritual warrior, not to discount his spirituality in any way, but to recognize his consistent intense study of history. Note his repeated statement of "real samurai combat" here (which is often stated foolishly by others without the context of the following fact) and his obsession with HEMA and archeology, as well as his study of languages. All of these benefits are real and important, and why I practice Kendo myself, but kendo is not Kenjutsu, and Metatron is better served by Kenjutsu when you understand his intentions and purposes. He even points out that the Kendo Kata do feature some of the things he is looking for in Kenjutsu, which verifies my statement. I hope to continue kendo myself, and that your organization will continue to be successful.
Thanks for the video. I've been studying Kendo and Iaido for the last 15+ years, have been to a few seminars that show kendoka/iaidoka introductions to styles like Eishin-Ryu Iaijutsu and Itto Ryu Kenjutsu, and have some thoughts on the video: Kata: You talk about kata as being a secondary part of kendo, when in reality it's actually the heart and soul of kendo. The kata not only serve as the connection that kendo has to kenjutsu and actual combat with the katana (and indeed the kendo kata are almost identical to the first 10 kata of other styles like Ono-Ha Itto Ryu Kenjutsu), they also serve subtly as the complete litany of how you're actually supposed to fight. This gets clearer as you progress through the martial art and it's critical to you moving beyond 2-Dan. If you recognize the kata as central to kendo, then the connection that kendo has to the "Samurai katana combat" (like most kenshi I prefer using the term kobudo/koryu bugei given that a ton of non-soldier/warrior samurai existed due to the term literally meaning noble servant) becomes very clear. And if you don't like kata, well...you're probably in a rude awakening because that's literally *all* of Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu. Stances: I think you have some fundamental misunderstandings of the kamae in Kendo that are contributing to some of the confusion you have on why we focus a lot of chudan and jodan in taikai and keiko. First, we actually use a lot more than just 2 kamae - even at tournaments. If you've been practicing kendo for 3 years even intensively you're probably not yudansha, so you likely haven't faced a ton of jodan players. But when you do fight them you're often taught to take Seigan no Kamae (which is also a stance used in various styles of Itto Ryu Kenjutsu) which allows you to take their wrist faster, sets you up to parry/nuki-dou quickly, or even take tsuki deceptively. As another comment posted, gedan also gets used a lot. It's almost essential when you're fighting against naginataka as well, given that it positions you to ward off them cutting your tsune (shins) which is like their version of men in terms of primacy to their martial art. Chudan and Jodan get used a lot because we're focusing on long sword v. long sword fighting. If you have good chudan no kamae, you're going to ward off something like 80% of all of the cuts your opponent is going to do against you. Having a strong chudan means that they won't be able to get your chest, your wrists, and you're positioned well to attack if they try to stike your head or your the sides of your neck (kesagiri - something that's used all the time in kenjutsu and is still part of kendo but no longer part of keiko). Jodan gets used because we kendoka are fucking insane and like to go HAM. It's an extremely aggressive stance that only makes sense as you move on in the art and get rid of a lot of the fear you face when fighting. It positions you amazingly well to attack but exposes almost all of you to getting cut in away that makes it really hard to parry. Kata 1 and Kata 5 teach this well. You also don't seem to be doing chudan and jodan properly. Chudan requires you to have the pommel of your blade right above your belly button at the center of mass, and you to be facing your opponent square-on. This is to help you defend against tsuki, as well as to help you brace for them rushing you. You also are curving your sword too much in your jodan, and that might be why you have questions about the difference in some styles of kenjutsu's jodan and kendo (which are generally the same thing). Jodan is purely about offense after all and what you're doing is basically "half cocking" your men or kote. If you let the kensen fall too low, you're not going to be as fast on your attack. As for the other stances, we don't use them because they're really only designed for certain situations. You bring up waki-no-kamae here (one of my favoriate kamae btw) as an example of something that's deeply rooted in kenjutsu but isn't used in fighting. Well we don't use waki because the whole point of waki is to hide the length of your blade. You're only supposed to use waki when you have a longer sword than your opponent, and you're trying to lure them into your range to strike. The kata that shows this, Kata 4, is directly sampled from Ni-To Ryu Kenjutsu is and is a callback to Miyamoto Musashi's duel at Ganryu Island where he killed his opponent with a really long boat oar by doing the same thing. In kendo we're fighting with roughly standardized-sized shinai, so waki exposes you a lot for minimal gain. Similar too is hasso-no-kamae. Hasso is meant to be used when you're wearing a helmet (like the traditional kabuto of the bushi) that prohibits you from taking jodan, or when you're indoors where it's similarly hard to raise your blade into jodan. Hopefully neither is in play during keiko for you, otherwise your dojo needs to look into better housing. The issue is not our ability to strike out of any of these styles. Kata 4 is literally all about that topic, and it serves as the guideline for how to attack from both hasso and waki. The issue is that we're sacrifcing a lot of inherent defense in adopting these kamae for minimal benefit given the conditions of your typical keiko. Where we attack: Some of the commentary you said on areas we attack is incorrect. Yes, you can thrust into the torso, as this is part of tsuki and is literally the end of kata 3. It is a valid point in taikai when fighting against jodan players, and even gets called sometimes if you do it wonderfully well in chudan if you have proper ki-ken-tai-ichi. You're right that kesagiri isn't a valid point anymore, and if there's one thing that helps your argument on kendo being detached it's kesagiri's neglect in kendo. That being said, it's actually still part of kendo. We just don't do it anymore because it's super dangerous. The clear reminders that kesagiri is part of our marital art are on your men: they're why there are those big flaps on the side of your head. Said flaps were supposed to block your neck and help with the blow, but a lot of kendoka in the 60's and 70's were getting seriously injured. You said you were studying kendo in Japan. That's actually a great place to see kesagiri, tripping, ripping off your armor and beating up your opponent, and all of the super old school brutality of kendo in action -- just head over to your local police dojo. Footwork and attacks: To just round out a lot of this stuff, you bring up some points on footwork about why we don't move back somtimes in kendo after doing attacks. We definitely do; this is all part of hikki-waza and it's a big part of fighting. We don't cross our legs, as you showed, when we do it because if our opponent is paying attention he/she will trip us then. Kendo also is a very military-focused martial art, and as such we really don't like the idea of giving ground. This is why you're constantly encouraged to be attacking and moving forward, and why until 1-Kyu and 1-Dan you're pushed to just attack relentlessly; they're training you to get into the proper mindset. Cutting: So this is the one I'm actually surprised you didn't talk about. If there's anything that sets kendo apart from kenjutsu, it's the fact that kendoka generally don't practice tameshigiri. All we have on this front is tenouchi, which is critical to kendo but is just kind of left to the kendoka to be known as "that thing that helps you cut." I'd definitely encourage you to explore this a little bit more given that it's absolutely essential to understanding how to cut with a katana and it's conspicuously absent from modern kendo curricula. That being said, it's absent because it was moved to iaido and you're technically supposed to study both. But hey, just trying to go with the spirit of the video. Thanks for the content again, and I definitely encourage you to check out kendo again and learn more about the kata at your local dojo. When you're beginning in kendo it may seem monotonous or a little constrained, but what they're doing is building up your spirit and fitness. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you get past that point and explore the martial art beyond 1-kyu.
I've been doing Kendo for a while now, around the same time as you actually, Mr. Tron. For the most part, I actually agree with your statements, Kendo is by far a traditional martial art, more a modern recreation of a more ancient ancestors, which is adapted to the modern day. The sad reality is martial arts in our modern world, especially something including a sword, is practically worthless. In the terms of practicality, you think of things like Muay Thai, BBJ or even boxing, not particularly kenjutsu or even Taekwondo, which I did ITF (non-olympic) style for almost 13 years. The truth of the matter is Kendo is not really about learning how to use a sword, or how to even kill, but more perfecting your every move, every single action until you land that perfect strike. To me, Kendo is not about fighting, not about winning, but more improvement in yourself. Sure, plenty of people can knock it, call it worthless, call it nothing more then a sport or a waste of time. But, at least to me, I've spent my life doing a bunch of different martial arts, from boxing to Muay Thai, even tried Wushu at one point! The harsh reality of a modern world is that in this day and age, all we can take away from such ancient forms of combat and training is mental balance, strength and discipline. If you want to defend yourself, get a gun, learn MMA, something like karate or even kenjutsu id say won't help when the opponent does not play by the rules, and certainly doesn't care how badly you get hurt. For me, kendo is less fighting and opponent, and fighting myself, as cheesy as that sounds. Its seeing every little mistake you do wrong, accepting what you've done as your own fault, and seeking to improve. I don't do it to be a samurai, or to learn how to use a sword or even because of Japanese interest. Ironically im Korean, but anyone can tell you a solid cross will take someone down before a shinai ever could. I suppose in the end, it is all subjective, if you enjoy kenjutsu, then im very glad. But Kendo still has a purpose, and while lacking the practical ability to take a life, can help steady one, your own, if you commit passion, will and patience into it. Thank you, much love from Naju!
Muay Thai is over rated. Those great Muay Thai fighters are NOT common people. They started training at a very young age. Most of them were poor farmers' kids who chose it as a profession before they reach the age of 10 years old. BJJ never ever dominates the UFC. WRESTLING and Judo actually dominate the UFC. Ronda Rousey was a Judoka, who wasn't even as good as her mother. Dominick Cruz was a wrestler. The Gracie family was the cofounder of UFC and hence they set the rules to favor BJJ. But even with this, BJJ was dominated by wrestling and Judo.
First of before I go deep into my comment. I've been training Kendo for about 14 years. I'm not an expert but I kind of know what I'm talking about. Modern Kendo is a sport first and a martial art second. If you want sword fighting with all the ancient technics that would be effective in a real life and death fight you will be disappointed. But if you want a martial art where you can go all out on your opponent and it's still kind of close to the old thing you will have lots of fun. The spiritual stuff is important but if it gets in the way for you to be an effective swordsman you're doing it wrong. The spiritual stuff is meant to help you keep your focus on the right thing, keep your calm when the opponent get the upper hand so you can turn it around to your advantage and so on. (That was more an answer to some of the other comments than to the video.) The only benefit I know about those stances where you hold back your shinai (waki-gamae) is that you hide the length of your weapon. Or you could fake it if you actually were holding a broomstick or something. But the first thing I thought about is that when you remove your shinai from the front you put yourself in danger. The shinai is your offence and defence, plus attacks are ridiculously fast in Kendo. You need really good reflexes if your opponent charge you at that moment and you will probably use up much of your stamina doing so. Lower your hips gives you a more stable stance but you sacrifice reach. It's logical in a real fight because then you would also use kicks, punches and grabs. But since all those things have been removed from Kenjutsu there's only disadvantages with a low stance. (Those things was removed because during the years the philosophy about Kendo have been that it should only focus on sword techniques. If you also want the grabs and stuff you should practice other martial arts beside Kendo.) About the certain hit point areas it's something that every Kendo practitioner understand. (It's kind of obvious.) Attacks aims where the armor is strong so that we don't hurt each other for real. Everyone knows that it's totally backwards if you would find yourself in a real swordsfight. This is another of the sportification process that Kendo has gone through. I think you explained perfectly fine yourself why the stomach thrust should've been removed. In Kendo there's a philosophy that you won't get a point for just hitting your opponent. The hit must have such power that if it was for real the opponent would be dead. (Thus things like the stomps. The stomps are not for show, they're proof that you actually have weight behind your attack.) If a stomach thrust wouldn't incapitate you immediately the same way as a severed hand or head, why keep that as a valid attack? Hasso kamae is what I've heard a stance for indoor combat. You simply adapt to the fact that you're surrounded by walls and a roof. Since Kendo are usually practiced in training halls there's no need for that stance. Both footwork and which hand is where on your grip is a typical thing people get confused about. They think "this is how you MUST do because sensei said so" when it's actually "this is how you SHOULD do because it's more effective". There's nothing in the rules that sais that the right foot is the one that MUST be in front. But if you change your footplacement you SHOULD also change your grip in the same manner. Otherwise you lose balance, reach and force. If your attack comes from the left you probably wont have time to change your footing, but with training it surely is possible. A tip: It's allowed to go up to jodan and change your footing to the left foot forward. Then tilt your body and use the technique you mentioned where you throw with your right hand the last second. You can also make the footing change while attacking to get great reach which can surprise your opponent. But you will probably never have your opponent on such length that you will have use of that. The "just taking a step back and attack" IS permitted. My own sensei have made several points in competitions that way. It should be hinted that it's easier to do that if you don't let yourself get stopped by your opponent but instead use your opponent to bounce back making such steps. Also worth to mention is that it IS allowed to do simple steps. It's just not a smart thing to do because you get slow. If someone attack in the middle of your step you have to cancel your step, put your foot down wherever it is, and then you can actually find support to do what you want to do but by then your opponent have already hit you. You simply don't have time to place your foot down by one inch. And heck! I've seen people do straight up normal runs in competitions and they still get their points. But that's also about knowing when you should be strict about the footwork and when you can loosen on that thing. If you lose your sword it IS a problem. You get a warning. Two warnings and your opponent gets a point and two points is a match won. And that means you should train how you hold your shinai because if you do it right that shouldn't even be possible. If you let your foot point to the side you can actually hurt yourself so I would recommend not doing that. But it's mainly about propulsion forward, and since Kendo have removed all grabs and stuff those low stances are not needed. It's again part of the sportification of Kendo. By letting your foot point to the side you lose force that you could place in your attack. And if you feel that your balance suffer you should put your feet more apart. Basically about all techniques in Kendo: What matters is the hit itself. All techniques are just recommended ways to get those hits. All explanations that ends with "because sensei said so" is a bad explanation. Not that you should disrespect your sensei but because every technique have it's place and reason. And as long that you understand that it's a sport first and a martial art second nothing is that weird.
peope1976 yes, he did, I respect that; I also respect when somebody takes time and effort to write and expand on somebody when he has more experience; Fact that everybody is using wikipedia as final and ultimate source of informations, insights and knowledge is really sad. In case of Wikipedia it is hard to explain to people that it can be wrong (and in many cases is wrong), while in this case both of them openly claimed they are no experts, I have just confirmed it for any new people who would be in dilemma to read such a long comment or not. I have inbested 16 years in Uechi Ryu and in last 10 I've added Ba-gua-zhang ; I am expert in Uechi Ryu quanfa but I appreciate any other person which is ready to share his insights from his path and years of experience. The maker of this video is involved in maybe couple of things more than he can master .. ...you can only do limited number of things and be really good in them, if you spread your focus you will be able to reach some mediocre level in quite a few but mastery in none of them.
The simplification of Kendo is to make it possible to practice really just one aspect of swordsmanship: the 'tachiai' or what happens when you cross swords. Can you read your opponent's intention well enough to a) strike first, b) forestall them, or c) turn their attack against them? That's it. Kendo is a laboratory for testing that hypothesis over and over and over. No melees, no leg strikes, no grappling. No 'realism'. But then again, when, other than in adolescent fantasies, are you ever going to need 'realistic' sword techniques? Kendo is as realistic as a Van Gogh painting of sunflowers is 'realistic'. Is it the same as actual sunflowers? Of course not. Is it a beautiful and immensely valuable imitation? Absolutely. Currently in my fourth decade of learning Kendo and my second decade of learning koryu bujutsu (what some folks call 'kenjutsu'). b
But note that the shiai is in many ways a much more realistic method for preparing warriors for combat, than doing only kata, which is what many kenjutsu schools practice.
Very interesting experiences. Your views almost exactly mirror my own, though you've had a lot more experience of kendo than I have. It's a shame that there aren't more kenjutsu schools doing sparring, or that the old style of pre-war Gekken has not been revived. I'm fairly certain it will happen though, as Chinese and Japanese martial artists are already starting to look at their martial arts in a similar way to the HEMA movement and I think there will be a lot of changes over the next few decades.
+scholagladiatoria Thank you for watching Matt, I appreciate your time mate. Ye I wish kenjutsu school would have people spar as much as they do in kendo. In Japan we used to spar for 1 hour and a half straight sometimes, which was exausting, but built up stamina like crazy. Hopefully what's being happening with HEMA will happen with Kenjutsu and our "age" will be remembered in the future as the time when they brought back the warrior spirit of martial arts ;) At the moment I have my little group of friends and we spar with our own rules and eventually I'll show some sparring in this channel for fun ;)
I really hope so. The reason why I chose to practice iaido instead of kendo is exactly due to the points Metatron brings up in this video, kendo is too simplified, they removed so many things from the original kenjutsu schools that kendo doesn't even feel like fighting, at least not properly. In iaido however we learn all kinds of cuts and stances, specially in my Dojo because we learn at least 9 different schools, and we also have what our sensei calls the "blue bag" which are several optional katas from other schools that we can learn if we want to. With this being said, the downside of practicing iaido is that you don't spar with anyone, you only do kata, and I am not complaining I really like iaido but I would like to also spar with someone, test my skills in a different way, but kendo is not good enought in my opinion, so I do hope they eventually bring back some stances and cuts into kendo, make it more interesting and rich.
Metatron Interesting, and coincidentally almost the exact same thing i experienced myself. I did kendo for 2-2,5 years, and I quit because I felt it lacked realism. I also trained iaido, but just doing katas without sparring is not for me. I still do iaido sometimes, but now I'm more into HEMA. If there was a kenjutsu school with sparring I'd probably train that as well as HEMA. The instructors I had didn't really call kendo a martial art as such, i remember one of them just saying "it's an effective way of fencing on a totally flat surface", a statement which (whether you agree with the effective bit or not), clearly says a lot about the realism in Kendo. The whole thing is more about spirituality than actual martial application IMO.
If there was a Kenjutsu or a Kendo school in Wisconsin I would definetly attend but the only avaliable thing here is Hema and I would prefer Japanese sportsmanship over western. After this video definitely Kenjutsu would be my prefrence
I once lost first place at a regional tournament to a guy who used gedan against me. Also, upwards kote (strike to the wrist/forearm) is a force to be reckoned. I've seen people be disarmed after an unsuccessful men (strike to the head) in tournaments. They automatically lost the match. Many of your points are extremely valid, but one thing one of my sensei told me is that many of the forms are taught to keep you on a consistent mind set, and only after the basic forms are mastered to a point where it's all automatic, the student can start questioning or adapting them to be more risky, or unorthodox. Check out "Shuhari" and let me know what you think! Also, awesome video! ;) Ganbare!
What is gendan? We just learnt kaishi do during my club's last practice, and I want to learn a bit more before the next semester of training. And also, how do people disarm after an unsuccessful men? Really want to learn for when I'm able to practice in bogu.
It's the "low guard" where the tip of your sword is pointing to the knee of your opponent. In kendo it usually points a little higher than that, depends on the style/school you're studying. About the disarm, in my experience it really comes down to looking for good opportunities. After parried/dodged hits (nuki) opponent might have only one hand on the sword. At this point you can go for kote, close in to use your hilt to press against his guard, which will still be fragile, or go for a classic fencing disarm, applying force to the blade which should still be out of position. Each of them comes with their own risks, which is usually why people don't go for it as much in higher level competition (also the reason why chudan is so frequent in competitive). That's just my perspective on it too :) I'm not high-ranked enough to be giving out advice, but I find this kind of discussion helps people look for new ways to use what they already know.
Does anyone ever use this stance? It looks bad ass but I've no idea if it's a viable stance in Kendo... media.aintitcool.com/coolproduction/ckeditor_assets/pictures/8961/original/kyuzo.jpg?1347069840
abmong It's a waki gamae. Modern kendo uses it only for kata. In ancient kenjutsu it was used to hide the length of your blade so that your opponent would have problemns judging how far you could reach. I use it quite a bit in combat with friends, and find it quite viable. It's a shame you never see it in modern kendo.
Interesting topic my dear friend. I have practiced Kendo for the last 13 years and as a martial art I see it has become a sport for many people. I like the metaphysical part of kendo. That is which makes it a martial art and not a sport. You must become the sword, control your opponent's mind and fears, play with your opponent's weaknesses and make them work on your behalf. That is easier said that done. You need to pass 4th dan to start having a glimpse of that. You are more Kenjustu oriented and I am glad you decided to turn into it. Enjoy it and study it well it is undoubtedly a wonderful art. Kendo is not a sword fight per se. It is a mind/spirit game. That's why many of the cuts and guards you talk about are irrelevant. Scoring a point is not the goal in Kendo (...although as I have already said most people think so as a sport...) Enjoy!
I am a Ni-Dan and your points are valid. It's like you're only allowed 1/2 the techniques so it is not fluid. Read the Book of Five Rings where musashi discusses the upstroke and the fluidity of the combination. There really is no reason for not having a 'scorable' upstroke with kendo. (kote for example) With Kote, the lower position would make sense... it would also incorporate a part of Kenjutsu (e.g. muscles, motion etc) that is missed in current kendo.
i practice both kenjutsu and kendo and i wouldn't have it any other way. though if i'm to choose, i'd say i would rather keep kendo. It's a personal reason: i can find more people to relate to in kendo, the opportunity to meet new friends is also greater. Also, since there's a clear basis for winning in kendo, i find it a superior way of testing swordsmanship as you'd have to fight under the boundaries of the rules dictated for the sport. But kenjutsu has helped me a lot in my kendo, i won a lot of fights because of kenjutsu techniques i carried over to kendo, understanding their core idea and adjusting it to fit kendo. besides, i like the idea that we don't really have to kill anymore to prove our skills. but that's just me, different men have different strokes. it's a perspective that i've acquired through a decade of kenjutsu and around 2 years in kendo :)
+Raven Flau Hey just curious what kind of kenjutsu techniques have you brought into kendo that have worked and against what kind of opponents? -->(Kyu ranks or Dan ranks for example)
Hard to tell which specific techniques were used, but you could say we were doing kaeshi waza and katsugi waza even before it was taught to us. We advanced to bogu class after a month of training.A senpai of mine from kenjutsu was even granted recommendation to take the shodan exam after only 6 months of kendo when morishima sensei(7th dan) visited our dojo. Techniques on how to manipulate an opponent's sword are especially useful, and they were fairly easy to execute too. All we had to do was shift our cuts to yoku datotsu(e.g. men instead of kesa). Which opponent you ask? hard to tell looking back at it now, but it did gave us an edge against kyu holders back when we were still kyu-less :)
+Raven Flau If you are restricted by rules it is definetely not a proper way of testing skill with a sword. Also, the primal aim of swordsmanship is to kill.
+TheMalitias Not in japan. Swordsmanship is not just about killing, it's also a means to improve oneself. To be a swordsman in japanese culture means to strike a balance between the art of killing and living a moral way of life; the way of the sword. A balance kendo strives to achieve. Besides, there really is no real situation to test your skills anymore because we can't just kill people to do that. So for us practitioners of the ancient art, kendo is one way to test our skills as a swordsman because each cut should be driven with motivation, and not just random cut hoping to score a point
+Raven Flau Yes, even in japan, the *primal* aim.. was killing. There isn't really anything to debate about that. Having alot of rules, like limiting where you are allowed to hit or how you are allowed to move, causes the result of whom is a better swordsman to deviate quite significantly from the truth. It's not actually a test about who's the better fighter/swordsman, but a weird game of who touched whom first with a stick.
Metatron, I would like to make some comments: Stances: There is further more not only migi-jodan, but also hidari-jodan. Actually you can stand how every you want. Furthermore you can change hands, if you would like to. Use waki, use hasso, use what ever you want. You could even use two swords. If you read the rules, there is now law how to stand. Tsuki to the heart will be letal for sure, it's not just tipping. Actually it would destroy your spine easily. In regards to footwork: you can "walk" how ever you want. Left foot to the right: Let me give you some propper tai-atari and you will know that it's risky to turn your foot outwards. :) All that said: If you are very far from the "norm" judges and examiners could have difficulties to give points or now dan grades. Good ones will know the rules and will be able to adapt. I know Kendoka with just one arm, with just one leg or even no legs at all - and still they can fight and are treated equally. But still you are right: There are limitations in order to make it a "Sport" and to make it safe. For example we don't hit from behind, we don't hit upwards. Please don't get me wrong: Maybe 3 years are not enough to get a deeper understanding of this very complex Martial Art, or Sport if you like. I practice since 15 yrs now, I'm godan and I wouldn't consider myself to have understood more than the basics - and a little bit more, maybe. Give it a try. Go on with it and you will sooner or later feel the immense efficiency and freedom of the movements. But it takes time. If you find a stance that works for you and let you still win: Tell me where to find you: I would love to fight with you! And you know in our small world of Kendoka this is not a threat, but the honest desire to experience something new and to find a extraordinary challenge. Keep up the good work!
Metatron about the back foot rise, in MMA, boxing and kickboxing it is taught that it gives increased stepping/dodging speed and striking power. that's also why the term caught flat footed means caught unprepared.
It's been nearly 8 years now being a Kendo practitioner. I must say it takes a lot of patience and discipline. Then again, most of martial arts do. After all these years of practicing, just recently, instructors around me are saying now I am striking the head effectively in correct terms. Now I accomplished one thing in Kendo and millions more to go. LOL. Think Kendo as a very basic step towards to any sword fight. Some one already said here, all swords fights are components to each other. I think that's one good way to put to explain. Now, some of you may wonder if I will ever study Kenjutsu to extend my swordsmanship any further, to prepare in realistic term? No, I won't. Why bother. I will just use my safeful of guns in reality if any physical force is needed. I am happy with just meditating my body with fast action of bamboo sticks.
There are some errors that I would like to point out. Hasso opens your left Men for attacks, so while Kote is more proteced you open up another part for attack. At the same time you limit yourself with Hasso since cuts to the left side are far more difficult, you head is simply on the way. This makes Kote and Do harder to strike for you. So there is little benefit of Hasso over Jodan. Of cource you can use it freely there is no stance that isn't permitted. Also your footwork is wrong, you can use left foot in front, for example when doing a Nuki Men to the left side. It is rarely used, but perfectly valid. You claim that in Kendo only Hiki (the jump back) is possible is also wrong, you can use different methods to seperate from your Opponent. The suggested "half" step back with your left foot as you demonstrate will not bring you into proper stike distance. Loosing the sword does not mean the fight is interrupted immediatly, you will always have a short windows to strike until the refs will stop the fight, if you manage to score a valid hit it will count. And finally you point your foot towards the enemy, so your hips are straight and your can easily strike. Turning your foot like you did will turn your hip and will make your strikes to become far less accurate, especially center hits like Men. I always find it a bit strange when people with only basic beginner knowledge make videos like this. Some of your points are certainly valid, Kendo is not fully realistic Swordsmanship. Mostly because the zones you can hit are limited to protect the practioniers from injury which would happen if your go with full force sparring without a full armor. I would also Love to see stikes to the Legs, which would make Gedan more usefull, but I'm not sure how the knees of the practitioners would react to a full hit if a stike to the thigh misses. A lot of your "problems" simply come from errors or misunderstandings. Finally Kendo is not only about spiritual growth, but more about to learn how to deal with an opponent, how to apply pressure and create an opening. Something you will not learn in Iado for example since it is only done in solo Kata.
I never had the impression that Kendo would bring me closer to being a samurai. I understand it as a sport, perhaps derived from earlier sword arts. But it's a modern sport, like boxing - there is a certain amount of real fight sitations in it, but when it became a sport, their own rules developed.
I'm glad you made this video. Im currently writing a story where my main character practices kendo so Ive been looking at a lot of books, articles, and videos on it and rarely do I see find anything that talked about the cons of the sport.
What I liked about Kendo, was the mindset, the mental discipline. I'm not simply discussing the etiquette, but rather understanding the restrictions of the fighting system (many, because you're not meant to win actual fights - this really is a sport). I only practiced for six months, so I'm far less of an expert than the Metatron - I likely don't even count as potty-trained in the Kendo world. Yet, the way I understood my sensei(s), these are tools in the toolbox. As one who practiced for six months, I was learning the rote motions required to build a strategy, with which to defeat an opponent playing by similar rules. *This is the important part - I was not learning to fight to the death, but merely to learn to play the game half-competently, and in a non-dangerous way.* Could these building blocks be adapted into techniques to defeat a real opponent? Yes. As the Metatron (and others) note - Kendo is actually a distillation from the Kenjutsu, it's the watered-down little brother. That being said - and maybe I'm the crazy one - the point of Kendo for me wasn't the capacity for violence, or even necessarily a historical study, but rather the opportunity to hone my thinking, to understand how best to channel aggression, and to learn some of the many, many things I just don't know. For what it's worth, even that six months was a total success - I think I, if not totally, achieved those goals, at least learned things that are constructive and can be applied to a non-violent lifestyle. Put differently: Kendo is not a Japanese HEMA. If you want to learn to fight, there are disciplines that teach you that, and Kendo can be a great supplement I'm sure. The point of Kendo is the discipline, and control, and limitations - when you learn to overcome the limitations, due having the discipline that grants near-perfect control of your situation. Kendo allows one to pursue self-improvement, through learning violent techniques, but not succumbing to them. Thus, the practical nature of the Kendo is entwined with the spiritual nature of this system. To master one may help you master the other, but it's not a sure shot. And, it's not for everyone. It aligned, and does align, to my goals/wants/needs. If you need something different out of an activity, seek an activity that gives you what you need. For what it's worth, if I am physically able, I intend to pursue kendo in the future. I still have my shinai, hakama, and keiko-gi. I'm confident I can find a good deal on an entry-level bogu set. Right now, it's not something that can be a priority due to other considerations. Nonetheless, I met great people - especially my sensei - and it opened my eyes to a great many things.
I just came across you channel and subscribed. You offer a ton of information, history, and a wealth of sword fight terms. I have been collecting swords and practicing forms and cuts informally in the privacy of my home. I have well over 20 katana and some really nice handmade swords from Nepal. Thank you very much for your insight. I have been wanting to get into Kendo for awhile now, but I think Kenjutsu might be the way to go. I plan on watching all your videos to gather as much of your knowledge as possible. Thanks again for some very insightful and informative videos.
Hello Metatron, I wanted to know what style of Kenjutsu are your training? I am training Katori Shinto Ryu for almost 18 months now. We learn to fight with Bokken, Bo, Naginata, Kodachi and Ryoto (bokken and kodachi). We would alsow learn Yaro but we train i a schools gym and yari's are to big for transport in a car of bick. We alsow learn KSR iaijutsu. I choose this over Kendo because i really wanted to learn how to fight with a katana but alsow for spiritial growth because my sensei alsow teaches this. And KSR is the most complete style that i could find here in the Netherlands. Greetings and loved the video. Jeffry.
Metatron Nice! Would you be aloud to make kata video's? I want to see if the style is diffrant from my own. Otake sensei and Sugino also are 2 really diffrant styles. (Sorry for my english.)
+Jeffry Hello Dutch, the Naginata is stigma of being a " woman's" weapon. A cheap home made one(H.M.O.) can be made from a Machete blade and a two inch/ 5 cm oak dao rod that is between 4 ft- 6 ft long. Call it Two Meters long._____ Train slow and watch your feet., a dull blade can still break toes. My Irish/ Dutch grandma practiced Karate, ju-jituse, aikido taught to her by her Half-Sicilian son, my Uncle. Now how much of my Close Quarter Combat (C.Q.C.) came from Dutch/ Irish Wop Boxing, WW2 "C.Q.C." from grandpa, my Kungfu/ Japan martial studied Uncle, and my German/ Prussian- Russian Grandpa 1960's Navy "C.Q.C." ? I was Surprised to learn at 13 years old that the " Kick/ Slap Boxing" my family uses is the same of the Movie Actor- Steven Seagal uses. Do to All Of the Fights I was in between 9 ish to 23 years old. By the time I was 24 years old, I thought Eastern Martial Arts to be Over Hyped.. Still do and I'm about 40 ish. Growing up I had a lot of 20 to 30 ish adult Men bloodieing me, to prove to me that I can be OUT " Steven Seagaled". 3-6 on 1 is not a Fair fight B.S. What Gave me My edge was Shield Guard Bashing and Spear thrusts / jabs boxing. Thats right, tried and true Europe Round Shield Bashing. Try doing some boxing techniques with a Large 1 meter shield. Also the Over Hyped Long Sword / Katana isn't good fighting with if you are in Shield formation, in a thick hedge row of tress, Ship fighting, or Close building / narrow streets.____ True Thrusting Blades are better. Even the Samurai used Strait blade "Sword Canes" for "civil" defense. Honestly the Only Real thing that matters, Is that you are Training. The Right to Bear Arms. B.s.--" Zen out"
i think this is interesting, ive been training kendo for 6 years now and i also like to study kenjutsu on an academic stance more than practical. but i think kendo also makes you effective for combat to an extent, it makes you a perfectionist on hitting vitals, so much that every miss will probably be a serious hit. I have put this to the test with some guys at my local Hema/softcombat schools and with the freedom softcombat give i feel like im wrecking everything. so many of my mistakes are valid when paired with other representations. I agree that kendo is not samurai fighting, but i think it just encourages focusing on having super strong basic cuts, mastered to an extent when you can fight anybody and find a way with them (this comment is so late tho)
@@legrandfromage9682 Compete in tournaments and competitions is very different compare to compete sparring with mutual rules agreed by 2 fighters and no one else. Tournaments and stuffs made restricted rules that eventually degraded every martia art if that art start only focusing on tournament competition (which already happened to sport fencing, Kendo, Judo...), that's the kind of compete OP was referred to. Compete between only 2 fighters with their own rules to keep things as realistic as possible is a very different thing, something must have in every martial arts, which is the kind of compete you were referred to
You make absolute sense, and I like your analysis! Molto interessante, ho sempre voluto fare Kendo ma non ho mai avuto l'opportunita. Facevo Thai Boxing a Milano, e dopo la nostra lezione di Thai, c'era una lezione di Kendo, mi siedevo per tutta la lezione a osservare, e che all'epoca mi allenavo molto in Kikcboxing e Thai che non avevo il tempo e l'energia per iniziare il Kendo! Grazie per i tuoi video sono molto dettagliati ed altamente informativi!! Buona continuazione!!
I have studied aikido for a couple years too, which is a martial art that gets a lot of hate because of its high emphasis on philosofical teachings and how exaggerated and unrealistic the techniques you practise look. I really like it, and I wasn't blind and could understand the body mechanics at work under that fancy jumping around. We had a very good master, who always built knowledge from the base, explaining all reasons and making us demostrate points with the use of all kinds of weapons or even only with balance. I know this peace philosofy is not for everybody. But I also think that a particular mindset is a very important think in a martial art. If you are trying to get closer to an idea of perfection, that idea has to be well defined. People who just want to fight with swords are usually, in my experience, disrespectful aggressive guys or knowitall nerds. Now I have been getting a lot into HEMA, studying source material and reading historical records of the period. It's also another cool part of it - that also isn't for everybody - and allows me to learn more about the history of my country. And I can understand most of the writing! Which from japanese not a lot of things have been translated and most of the knowledge is passed through different schools only. Do you reccomend some source for investigating on kenjutsu, or iaijutsu maybe? I have already read "go rin no sho" and a couple of modern books that are useful and explanatory but not the based-on-the-period source I would like.
+Klavak Khazga If you're looking for more historical sources, have you read the "Heiho Kadensho" by Yagyu Munenori? There are a couple of English translations available of the "Heiho Kadensho" available: one by William Scott Wilson called "The Life-Giving Sword" and another by Hiroaki Sato called "The Sword and the Mind." Having read it myself, I must warn you that it's not a technical manual on swordsmanship that teaches you step-by-step on how to fence; it's a treatise that is more concerned with the general art of strategy and the "Yagyu Shinkage Ryu" mindset behind swordsmanship. IIRC though, those translations (or at least the William Scott Wilson one I've read) does include an illustrated mokuroku (i.e. technique catalogue) of some techniques in the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.
+Klavak Khazga Aikido is the "Old Man's" fighting style. Because of, 1.) He Was an Old man when he develop the form, and his body was broken down. and he was still wanting to Practice. 2.) If you don't want to have a broken down body, and to practice as long as he did. You should follower what he has done. 3.)Look at Professional Athletes, Wrestlers- server back pains, Football- legs and back screwed together, Basketball/ Football- twisted out Ankles/ knees. 4.) I grew up learning Aikido, this Is all Old B.S. to me. My Uncle was a good teacher, an Egotistic Prick, but a good child teacher. 5.)I have twisted out ankles, bad knees, and a bad back for the pass 20 years.. I'm 40 ish. now. Aikido is "Like" Swimming in water, if you have never truly been in water, you can talk All About Swimming you want ; but you still don't know anything about swimming. 6.) Water in a sallow swimming pool is very useful to train in. It teaches how to relax, flow with the roll. Very low impact to the ground.
+Klavak Khazga "gets a lot of hate because of its high emphasis on philosofical teachings and how exaggerated and unrealistic the techniques you practise look." Eh, only a little. The main criticism of Aikido (and I've practiced it a bit myself too) is that it doesn't have real sparring, with fully resisting opponents trying to hurt you. Aikido largely works "in theory", but the majority (not all, just a lot of it) of techniques are far too impractical to actually use in a real fight. If you train Aikido from a Budo point of view, almost more like meditation with some health benefits added in, by all means go for it. Awesome. But I just wanted to add, that "it looks unrealistic" isn't the main reason people criticize it.
I also used to practice Aikido a few years ago, back in high school. And yes, unless you've really had a lot of practice, it probably won't be as efficient, as say, a martial art with both offensive and defensive techniques (such as karate). But even if you forget a form or two, or the exact names of the techniques, the philosophy of the Aiki will still remain in you. But if people just want to learn how to spam punches, kicks and how to go berserk, then yes, it is a bad Budo.
dude i belive that martial arts are the truest expression of humanity. you are projecting your will to live, the only interpretation to be realized is your life against another. truly beautiful in the end. so i would love to learn more of kenjutsu
Hi Metatron, thank you for this video. I'm currently thinking about some refreshment and wanted to try Kendo for the first time. To make it clear, I practice Katori Ryu for 5 years now but there are no sparring matches there - mostly because nobody wnat's to be hospitalized even while we use bokuto not shinken. Nevertheless this video makes me think that Kendo wouldn't be a good choice for me. I'm used to perform every single action with an intention to kill and I have to disagree with you about the general understanding of martial arts - no offense please. I understand that modern teachers see various schools of fighting as martial arts simply because there is no use for them today, people are not dying daily in combat with swords, spears, arrows, etc. People die from the bullets and bombs mostly. But the thing is that the teachers want to preserve the teachings of their schools so they transform the deadly art into a martial art - it's more attractive to the students this way and if you add a spiritual element, people may even think that it's useful in their normal life, family life, business, etc. But we have to remember that nobody ever forged a sword centuries ago just for the pleasure of forging a beautiful object. People forge weapons to fight. And kenjutsu - in general - is not a martial art, it's a raw, brutal combat system like nowadays krav-maga or filipino martial arts. Every move, strike, stance was designed to kill. Maybe designed is not a good word, more likely observed. When you stand on the battlefield with mud and blood up to your ankles and look at the corpse of your friend or enemy you don't think about the beauty of the world nor about the glory of warriors death. You think about what you've just seen. About the strike that took down the dead warrior. You try to understand why it was this effective. You carefully consider it, lear it, design a stance or a strike or a kata that may be shown in the dojo, than you teach it to your friends so you would have better chances in the battle to survive. And that's it, there is nothing more to add to kenjutsu. It's a soulless, vicious methodology of killing. All of this spiritual stuff came later and nowadays we have to respect that but we must not forget hundreds of thousands of lives taken to make those fighting styles come to life. I hope it all makes sense more or less. Kind regards.
I am a instructor in Kenjutsu, iaijutsu, tantojutsu, jujutsu and Kobudo well as modern military combatives. I am noticing that even the way you grip the sword, stances, footwork and cutting movements are completely different. I respect kendo as a sport providing fitness and I am sure it is a lot of fun. The thing with a lot of kenjutsu and iaijutsu that exist today is that they only do kata...maybe tameshigiri but that's it. There are still some schools, that I was blessed to have become a part of, that deeply study the science of kenjutsu / iaijutsu and applies it to all the other arts such as tantojutsu and jujutsu etc... Samurai were very proficient because they completely eliminated excess movement, maneuvered and cut with juntai ho and this is what enabled them to move very smoothly at what appears to be blinding speed. Few systems practice the drills that enabled samurai to overcome bruit force with soft redirection leading straight into a cut. Also very important is the randori or free movement drill (which is always done very slowly) that helps build intuition and deal with unplanned attacks. These old and nearly lost kenjutsu principals have been making a come back a bit because military, general citizens and law enforcement see the value of them. Are they carrying swords around? Of course not. But when applied to jujutsu or any martial art you can very swiftly and efficiently drop people and decide how much bodily damage you want to deliver based upon the level of threat. It's not at all impressive to watch but it just works so well. Oh, and instead of a sword, I generally carry a flash light, pen and occasionally my folding knife. ;-) Thank you for another informative video!
Dev let me be upfront and tell you I am a hardline existentialist and *very* much a 'spirituality sceptic' BUT if your interest lies in the direction you say then you might find Akido considerably *more* engaging. - And at least with Akido you learn a useful (but rapidly pretty complex) skill set. (For everyone else there's Jitsu (but not the Brazillian 90% groping about on the mat version unless .......)) But Muikkunen has the right of it - do start something rewarding and the evidence is the younger you start the higher you eventually peak. Plus, as DragonSlayer says, you can do it for longer too .... Provided you select one which doesn't damage you. The main cause of people quitting the 'hard' martial arts (most, not all Karate styles, and I think some Taikwondo styles) is knee damage from the twisty 'footwork'. Research is your friend. Its well worth a bit of digging before you commit to a Martial Art. That way you find the one right for you.
I think a lot of points you make are valid regarding some places where kendo is lacking, but there’s also a great deal of misunderstandings and lack of knowledge. You’ve been doing it for three years which isn’t long at all. I think one of the biggest points that you miss is simply the purpose of kendo. It’s not about winning or losing as in a sport or even a real fight. It’s about strengthening your body and your mind. It’s about cultivating the spirit and mentality required to fight in sword combat. It’s about learning to read and understand your opponent. To understand what they’re going to do before they even know that they’re going to do it, then reacting to it. It’s about pressuring and controlling your opponent in a mental battle. You’ve been doing kendo for three years, so you haven’t even mastered the basic strikes, not even to start speaking about your form in Jodan. Younger kendoka and middle aged kendoka in their 20s, 30s and 40s usually are the fastest and strongest. They have an excellent speed and mastery over the moves, and they move at high speeds in very aggressive plays. Most of the world champions and winners of shiai are that group of kendoka. They are strong, but even they have yet to fully grasp the purpose of kendo. The real kendo comes out with the old guys. The guys who can’t even do a full sonkyo anymore. They move with such slow and relaxed movements. They don’t have the endurance or energy nor do they need it because they don’t waste any movement at all. They move with the bare minimum speed and not anymore than they have to. Do you know why? Because they are fighting with their hearts. They are fighting a mental battle with pressure and openings and strength that only people at their level can sense. That is the level of kendo that is truly the top. And yes, I fully understand your problems with kendo when you compare it to real samurai combat. Mixing arts like iaijutsu, kenjutsu, and kendo are essential if you truly want to come close to mastering the sword as a whole. That is something that you can’t inherently do just because you are a strong kendoka. The point is, the truly strong swordsman of the samurai era were not people who simply trained by swinging a sword around. They were warriors and they fought to the death in duals and wars for years. The ones that became strong were simply the ones who didn’t die, and lived long enough to get that combat experience. Their minds and instincts were sharpened through actual fights to the death. If they lost, they died, and even if they won, they might be missing body parts. Even losing a single finger would severely hamper a swordsman career or end it outright. Replicating this is something that we’re aren’t capable or willing to do now. (At the very least I don’t know anyone willing to die for kendo or any similar hobby/undertaking.) Using blunt swords and armor in fights like kendo are the closest we can come to cultivating that mentality. No flashy moves, no unnecessary actions. Just a very quick bout of movement between two players and the match is already almost decided. We put everything in our heart and mind into each strike, imaging that it’s the only strike we’d ever be able to do. We strike fully with our entire being, prepared to follow through regardless of if we are also struck. We don’t think about the realism, because we can feel it through trial and error. Through literal thousands of fights the movements become second nature. Our reactions become second nature. The limitations on our sword force is to focus on limited parts of the body because we must expect to only be able to strike a single time. We must follow through with everything we have, prepared to die. I know that I’m not able to do that. I’m not prepared to die, and beyond a very very small percentage of people, I doubt any martial artist is. It’s simply the mentality that we strive for and cultivate . The point is that the real warriors of that time, and throughout all time we’re prepared to die. The samurai were prepared to devote their lives to prepare for battle. To expect every single strike to be their last, and put their life behind each strike. If you want realism, that’s it right there. And without actually going to war, it’s the closest we can get to it. (And I know that for certain because the kendoka that I know where fought in actual military conflict and sometimes police as well have a unique pressure that many others are unable to replicate.). Sorry for the long comment, just some ramblings of a weird person who decided to dedicate himself to kendo until the day he dies.
How dare he hold an imaginary sword in an incorrect manner while introducing a video!......you REALLY need to relax, life is too short and nobody except you gives a shit.
You have encountered the same problem I had when I studied Olympic Saber, Foil, and Epee. Many of the rules limiting targets, foot work, strikes, and stances and the focus on offence only seems to be lacking to me. That is why I switched to historic fencing for rapier and saber. I eventually became enamored with the Spanish and Italian schools for the sword and Sabre as practiced during the 1800s. I found it to be very rich and rewarding. And as I learned more I learned a little about the saber practices from Eastern Europe and Russia. Needles to say I have found it to be very rich and rewarding and it deepened my level of understanding. I believe that once you leave the constraints of Kendo and start walking your own personal path of martial study, you will learn a lot and your understanding will become richer. Good luck!
+Xevi Corral The difference is not difficult to understand. Iaijutsu is about quickly drawing the sword from the scabbard and cutting with. It was very useful in street fights to perform surprise attacks or to defend against surprise attacks. Kenjutsu is the swordfight (fencing) that follows if you couldn't immediately disable your opponent with iaijutsu. They are often taught together as part of a sword fighting system.
I've done Kendo, Muso ikiden Eishin Ryu and Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu since around 2012 now. I can say that kendo was very helpful, for both the physical health benefits (gives you ALOT of stamina), muscle memory, distance, timing and for cultivating zanshin. Hopefully back to it after a period of illness soon. I think it HAS to be paired with a form of kenjutsu or iai, or at least a very solid amount of practice in the kata element of ZNKR indulged in. I feel the kata element of Kendo is not up played enough.
I'm a Yudunsha in Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. I have also studied Ona Ha Itto Ryu, both with the Japanese masters. Why do I mention this? Because what many do not know is that Kendo, came mainly from Itto Ryu. In that style, the downward cut is considered all powerful. That is why they stress it so much. FYI, Kenjustsu is the art of fighting once the sword is drawn, Iaijutsu is the art of fight with a sword sheathed. They are separate arts to the Japanese. There are over 200 different styles of swordsmanship in Japan and yes they are registered. As for Kendo itself, many of the Koryu arts look down on it as a watered down sport.
Hello and nice to meet you. Want to start by saying the way you introduce your videos is so classy and approachable, and I always enjoy watching. I would usually never do this, but since I have enjoyed your other videos and learned loads of new stuff about our mutual interests from you, it would be great to give something back to you. I've been pursuing Kendo for 11 years now in the United States and several places across Japan, and wanted to offer a few small (but certainly not all-encompassing) experiences that have happened to me personally: I have been hit across the menbuton intentionally many times by sensei in kesagiri. I have been tackled and had my bogu ripped off, and been choked out at least once. I have punched a senshu in the face from tsubazeriai with my tsuba in shiai and not received hansoku I have had my feet swept out from under me intentionally I have headbutted a rokudan sensei with my mengane, right after he did it to me. I have received tsuki in the shoulder from people trying to physically hurt me (so many times), not as a nice thing but to actually harm me in a not friendly way. Have done it back too (much to my shame.) But the keiko never stopped for either me or the other party to talk about what happened or bring up "would either of us be dead." We just kept fighting. Tournaments have rules and so do dojo to keep people safe and coming back, but good teachers know exactly how to do what you're talking about. They just don't because it's not (for better or worse) part of the standardized curriculum anymore. And lastly, doing those things to people with full intent, without stopping to laugh it off or explain the larger purpose of the violence turns people away because it's abusive. I've seen lots of HEMA practices and love the grappling and fighting involved, but whenever that stuff happens to me in Kendo with intent, it isn' t all that fun. They're not trying to teach you, they're trying to hurt you enough to break your spirit. Just my two cents. I really do like your videos, so I hope what I said was at least interesting. Much respect and again, nice to meet you.
kendo makes plenty of sense for modern day applications. it is a sport and a martial art and has very clear rules to regulate winners/ losers of matches. what good is kenjutsu really as a martial art that makes it better than kendo? how often are you walking down the street with your katana and meet an enemy samurai, then proceed to duel? if the answer is "often" then by all means then kenjutsu is right for you. for me i would rather pick kendo for full contact duels with clear rules designed for tournaments. NOTE. i would love to be able to practice BOTH kendo and kenjutsu! there is only kendo in my area. but if i had to choose between one i would pick kendo.
First, I just came across this channel, so much interesting here I'm going to be spending weeks watching stuff as I have time. Second, as someone who used to practice both Kendo and Fencing this video has rather hit on why I moved away from them both over time. Much as I like the sport scoring systems in both as a driver to constant improvement, they reinforce bad habits in relation to historical combat practice. That isn't bad thing per se, but when what you're really interested in is actual historical practice it is very much a problem.
Check out Unified Weapons Master, they're developing a suit of armour made for full impact combat sparring. The armour can measure impact strength and location. They're gonna have a competition March this year. Hopefully this will spread and allow for warriors of cultures from all over the world to gather and fight epic duels with more realistic rules.
+Moosehound I'm cautiously optimistic about the UWM. If their armor works as advertised they could have something incredible on their hands, but I've heard nothing about the quality of their weapons simulators, and what I saw in their demonstration videos was not encouraging. Plastic swords do not behave like real swords. Again, I'm not hating on them, just reserving judgement.
+G-Man From what i understand, their first event will utilize blunt metal weapons (don't quote me on that). And synthesized swords are available cheap, durable and weighed realisticly. The point is the armour, it takes care of protecting and measuring impact location and force, what they hit with is irrelevant. Promising, but I understand your skepticism.
i don't care how pretty a style looks if the flashiness comes at the cost of practicality. i mean, i learned Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo. Hapkido and Aikido in middle school. but the Street Brawling i taught myself in elementary school as a response to being bullied, was actually a lot more effective in a real chaotic unscripted fight. i mean sure, i have multiple blue belts, but the techniques were all stuff i already knew how to use and most of it, i had to remove or modify to compensate for flaws like joint strain or lack of hand eye coordination. i always put up a powerful beat down, generally downing larger opponents in seconds. because real fights are decided in seconds, not minutes, hours or episodes. but i admit that i am what RPGs would call a Glass Cannon.
A friend pointed me towards this video, and though there are some valid points that you make, the main thing I get from your video is that you want to change spaghetti Bolognese by swapping out the pasta for rice and be disappointed to find it's no longer spaghetti Bolognese. You mention the absence of certain techniques and/or the lack of use of certain techniques that would generally be used in kenjutsu. Now, I, as a practitioner of not only kendo, but medieval European martial arts as well, am the last person to deny kendo has changed in this way. But, I don't think it's appropriate to say kendo "lacks" these things, because they are simply not a part of kendo, as they do not directly contribute to the ultimate goal of self-development in kendo. It's not kendo anymore if you add those old medieval techniques. I.e. spaghetti Bolognese is no longer spaghetti Bolognese once you change the spaghetti to rice. So I guess my question really is, what is it that you want people to understand from this video? That you shouldn't start kendo when you believe you're going to learn kenjutsu? If so, why mention an arbitrary number of differences between kendo and an arbitrary number of kenjutsu schools? Then again, if you want to experience the mental struggle samurai went through on the battlefield kendo might actually be one of the greatest ways to experience that. No you might not be using the same techniques as they were, but that's just a superficial part of the martial struggle anyway. You can't experience this at the same level through most other forms of martial arts, especially ones that focus on medieval techniques, because people would actually die from performing them. It really is a shame you have never participated in a tournament, or trained more than once a week. Because if you did, I'm pretty sure this video wouldn't have existed.
You literally brought back some ptsd that I didn't know I had from tournaments. The worst were promotional exams! Fighting twice in a row all alone without any peripherals. God, those are some of the scariest memories I have. Doing the Kata portion of the Dan Promotional exam O.O
+Zimujova - Martial Arts You do make an interesting point about whether kendo and kenjutsu should be treated as distinct from each other, and that your expectations should not overlap between them. I genuinely find that an interesting perspective. But you have to understand that Metatron and his audience are people mainly interested in history, and from that perspective you just can't deny the historical continuity between one and the other. Kendo is historically a simplifcation of kenjutsu, aimed towards making a sword-based martial art that can be practiced as a sport. If Metatron makes some criticisms over the restrictiveness of the rules of kendo, he's not saying its therefore bad, but that it just does not suit him and others like him who wish to be able to get as close as they can to the historical way samurai used to fight, where fair and balanced competition matter less than simply what would work to win a fight. It's entirely reasonable to advise his audience not to expect kendo to be kenjutsu in this regard. There's no right and wrong here. It's just matter of what you want out of your martial arts. Making this video does not in any way attempt to invalidate you or others like you who choose to practice kendo and are passionate about it.
The problem arises when Sensei and the "organization" sell kendo as an ancient art linked to Samurai culture. Heck, they call it Kendo (the way of the sword) and then package it with so much nonsense, when in fact there is not really that much swordsmanship in the sport. Alas, I love it even though there is so much hypocrisy and baggage.
Kendo is not a simulation or reenactment of samurai katana combat. What it is, is a survival of a training modality that was, in a similar form, used to actually train samurai to fight with katana.
Once again a great video from the Metatron. Personally, I'd love to get to see some content about ancient Kenjutsu.I'm planning on starting to practice HEMA, but I don't practice any japanese martial arts. However, I am quite interested in the historical aspects of Kenjutso, but not so much in the sporty Kendo. It's the same as with european sport fencing; It may be a great sport for some, but the simplified, abstract movements just don't fit my taste. So yeah, Kenjutsu gets my vote.
+gargoyleex Kendo is closer to a martial art than the sorry state of modern western fencing. Kendo doesn't use orthopedic grip hilts and electronic scoring.
Malcolm Powless-Lynes I hold the stance that classical fencing teaches martial skills, much more than Olympic fencing. (But obviously HEMA and kenjutsu both do so even more.)
+Noah Weisbrod The weapons may bare little resemblance to their antecedents but the same could be said of a shinai save for the grip which is not that much different from a katana. As for electric scoring, I don't see how that's a big deal, it simplifies things a lot, esp. in epee fencing where it completely eliminates the need for a scoring judge since there's no right of way. In a way modern sport fencing is less limited than modern kendo, sure the foil and saber have limited target areas but both are less limited than with kendo or at least no more limited, with foil anywhere on the front of the torso and below the neck (minus the arms) is a valid target, and with saber anywhere from the hip bones up (front of back) is a valid target.
+gargoyleex If you want to learn how to fight with a Katana , then Kenjutsu is the way to go, one problem there arent many schools that teaches it.( srry for bad enlgish, im from Norway) im lucky to live in Bergen in Norway. we have a Martial art school that teaches Koden Enshin Ryu Kenjutsu ( only shcool that teaches Kenjutsu inNorway i think) If you don't have a Kenjutsu club where you live, then il sugest a HEMA club, have checked out some HEMA videos and thinking about basic like footwork and stances it is much the same. What i like about the School / ryu that i train is that it is not just all about how to use the sword, but also how to fight and and defend without a sword. ( Ju-Jutsu) Don't know if you do that in HEMA aswell :P but if you don't have anny Kenjutsu clubs, try out HEMA :)
I'm impressed. I studied for at least 12 yrs regularly and achieved 1st Dan and I would agree with you. You are very knowledgeable more than others I've seen on youtube. The concepts and basics like timing and precision etc. that can be used no matter what you practice. I fought in full plate and chain and used various weapons and shields fighting in heavy combat in the SCA. Again it is different when you fight in large groups and against a variety of weapons. I did a little olympic style fencing but more SCA style fencing and again the concepts are all different and the targets you can hit are greatly widened. The foot work varies too when you are in a field on uneven surfaces. A lot of fun.
Yea it was some work to get. Learning different styles and tactics and weapons and you learn a lot. It was all fun while I could still do it. It's funny how people limit themselves to weapons and styles rather than learn from everything. Great job
Aikido is religious-philosophical system implemented in movements (yes it is somehow related to martial arts of samurai era, but in a very indirect way), has nothing to do with real grappling. In other words, it is a type of yoga ( in a traditional meaning of the word, with all respect to yoga), but performed in the martial-like way. I'm sorry for you friend and other millions of Aikido practitioners, who newer even read wikipedia article about o-sensei. If they need to grapple -they better learn something else, or maybe they will like Aikido even more (realizing what it really is).
The school that I've been practicing with since 2007 in Utah, Unites States, was founded by Dr. Kotaka Satao whom was one of the founding members and Vice President of the US Kendo Federation. As a 9th dan he recognized that modern kendo was taking a turn in the wrong direction so he left it behind and began The US Classical Kendo Federation teaching Sakurai-ha Kogen Itto Ryu. He renamed it after his teacher Sakurai Fumitake, a surviving member of the Shinsengumi. We practice live blade iaido, Seiza no bu, Kiza no bu, and Chudan no bu, Nippon Kendo Kata and Kogen Kata, and Keiko sparring every session. It was Kotaka's belief that only by understanding all three could a kendoka truly grow. When we spar there is no Ippon point system and we fight in every kind of kamae. Also we heavily practice kiriatoshi and how to execute it properly. I'm preparing for my 1st kyu test this June, and it is as brutal as taking a 2nd dan test in modern disciplines.
If someone stabbed your in your mune in shiai and it was permitted, but you then struck them on the shoulder, that would mean they lacked zanshin, so it wouldn't be a valid point, As for the value of using smaller fewer targets, I always thought this increased one's accuracy. Also, plenty of people do use a torso thrust at 4th dan and above - it isn't a valid point but it does break the other's zanshin, so it is trained for (at the dojos I have been to anyway). Also, the gedan at full knee depth and the use of hasso are in kata so people can use them in keiko - people do it all the time. In kendo, you learn the basics solidly first, so maybe your only having done kendo for a short period is why you didnt get onto these techniques. Or maybe you just had a very sport-style dojo?
Hello Metatron! I am a student of Kenjutsu, and we practice Keiko betwen us like in Kendo. But the footwork its different in the high Kyu (or grades). In the firsts Kyu, we learn to move like a kendoka do it, with ashi-sabaki. But in the highs kyu, we learn to move walking. This is because when you move in suri-ashi, okuri-ashi or other form like this, you learn to move through the "Hara". And that its the essential of the movement in real combat. When you learn that, you can move walking through the Hara. I hope that this help to understand this. Thanks for your videos!
+ilyriandevil go back far enough. my name comes from greece & germany, with relatives (back far enough) all over the world. the list is to long to type here
I have been Practised Kendo now for 6 years now and I'm a 3rd Kyu, after 2 years I started to get Bored of it, and I almost Dropped out Completely, but I Started to do Larping, and I could now used some of those Sword Skills outside of the Dojo, and gave me a reason to stay ! Kendo teaches you Pain, and Life, Because Life is not Easy and Reality Hurts, Kendo Teaches you to be, & Live at Peace with it !
Kendo is pretty obviously a sport rather than a martial art. You may as well make a video about why boxing isn't effective compared to over fighting styles.
Of the three martial arts, I would prefer to study Kenjutsu, especially after hearing how limiting kendo techniques and stances can be. I would prefer to keep my options open. My second choice would be Iaido, a stark contrast to Kenjutsu and kendo but it would (in my mind) complement Kenjutsu rather well; similar to how some martial artists practice sport based arts like karate or kickboxing along with the much calmer tai chi. If you wouldn't mind, I would very much like to see a video describing/demonstrating the various kamae, footwork and techniques of Kenjutsu, that has been removed from modern kendo. Also, how did modern kendo settle on a standard length of a blade and grip, which school of Kenjutsu used a katana of identical or similar proportions? I'm glad I came across this channel, I have zero experience in any of these arts, I do however find them fascinating.
I do practice all three. Understand this. 1.Alot of people who study Iaido have studied Kendo, vica versa . 2. Alot of people i met in Kenjutsu Want to study Kendo ! One of the main reasons is that the combat style is never experienced in Kata movements. You will do repetitive kata weather solo or partner in Kenjutsu and iaido. However funny enough. A time will come where you will beleive your stagnating. And wish to go an extra mile and go to combat. Kendo is unpreditctable. All three are parts of the same wheel . However Kendo will make you face your mental fears more than Iaido and kenjutsu. Your competing, your in a postition where you dont know the outcome. Your made to work hard and endure pain physically and mentally. The social aspect is huge. You can travel and face anyone in the world. It all depends on what you want as an individual. Practice all three if you can. If you dont like fighting or competition, or physical pain then Kendo might be an issue. Iaido and kenjutsu are turn based Kata. Where the focus is on mental and timing and distance. Kendo is where you put them in practice. Yes Kendo has been sportified no doubt, but the budo elements of zanshin , mind focus, spirit and knowing waza without thought exisit. The guy who made this video , i beleive didnt dwell enough into kendos spiritual and mental aspects. However all three martial arts are great to study, but it all depends on the individual. Kenjutusu also has many different styles of ryuha, their are some on youtube. But beleive me only a few techniques have been taken from kendo . Not many.
Mr P Your comment is completely correct They are all components of the same art, And all are somewhat incomplete without the others. The way I've always felt is that Kenjustu and Iadio teach you the physical moves. And Kendo puts you in combat and helps you develop the mental mindset needed to overcome the stress and the pain, and to give you the reflexes and stamina to actually win. Ideally you'd want to learn all 3. But otherwise people should just find the one they get the most out of.
I would add , please research before doing any of these martial arts. I know people who have been putting off by kendo s sports influence. Kenjutsu is the way samurai fought in real life. Same with Koryu iaido. Kendo is a sportified version, which still has Budo elements.
The main advantage kendo has over the other two is the kendo is "full contact". The physicality, the exhaustion, pushing through the fatigue, the intensity and chaos of sparring . . . it's incredible and provides an entirely different experience that cannot be captured otherwise. I wish kendo preserved more versatile techniques---certainly a lot of HEMA-style protection could be added and suddenly the entire body would become a target. But doing kendo, you will find that there is quite a lot you can learn despite the simplified technique set.
I was interested in kendo when I was a teen, but I found it did seem a bit stiff and sporty for me so I never started. Iaido sparked my interest more, but in the end it didn't seem quite what I wanted either. Several years later I was researching martial arts, particularly ancient ones, for a creative writing project and was absolutely thrilled to find Kenjutsu. That's something I could commit to. I'd rather theoretically be able to manage a real fight well than really practise a sport well.
You keep saying "in a real fight situation". Yet you know kendo is a sport. No one will ever be in a real sword fight. I'd take Kendo over the others every time. Because at least it actually has a modern day application. 🙂
I don't get what Kendo could offer in modern day application that other non-japanese weapon based martial arts could not. All the basic stuffs like timing, distancing, body movement.... exist in every practical martial arts. Yea, it build up the fighting spirit and character development of the practitioners but that's where it stopped as a martial arts Just look at HEMA, it's just as competitive like Kendo with big difference such as no uptight nonsense restricted rules and practical sword techniques are applied in the match And yes, there's almost zero chance that a swordfight would happen in modern day BUT in your hand, a stick is a sword, an umbrella is a sword, a crowbar is a sword, a machete is a sword. Now that's the application of practical techniques that weapon based martial arts provided you in a fight that would happen in modern day. Kendo doesn't help you with that, it's whipping cutting techniques are inefficient compare to the cutting method and techniques are taught in iaido/kenjutsu/HEMA or any practical sword based martial arts out there
Nice video, I really liked it. I had already looked for the difference between kendo and kenjutsu, and definitly, it was kenjutsu that took the first place. I found one thing interesting in kendo, it's the fact that it's easier to find an opponent. It comes from my own experience but, all the kendo practitionner that I know though that kenjutsu was a barbarian martial art. But, kenjutsu is so full of bushido (what is logical) that it's an incredibly noble martial art (I'm not saying that kendo is not). It teaches you, the way of saving your life, the way of feeling great in your body and your mind, and finally, to respect the life of your opponent in his death. All is in honnor. And your katana is at the same time, the protection of your life and a way to increase your self confidence, body and mind but also, the weapon that will take the life of your opponent. All is respect and effectiveness. Simple and complicated at the same time. Beautifull. Iaijutsu and iaido have a bit the same comparison excepted the fact that the only difference I found between them is the research of effectiveness for killing that iaijutsu has and not iaido. Iaido is more for the beauty of the move. I did not make a choice there. Both making sense for me. It's to see new horizons that I decided to chose iaijutsu. So definitively, I chose the old martial arts. I find them much nobler because of their origins and teaches. Kendo is a sport, a martial sport but still a sport, kenjutsu is a martial art. And I definitly prefer art than sport. It's my point of view. Please don't feel insulted, it's not the objective.
An excellent explanation for your reasons. When you look at a sport like Kendo from a martial arts perspective, you always have two major flaws: 1) in a sport, you only fight opponents who fight honorably. 2) competitive sports need win conditions and a killed opponent just isn't an option. That said, a sport still is a very useful way to hone skills which are useful in an actual fight. Furthermore, there is a valid way to see how good your are at those skills. “You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
Please do correct me if i'm wrong but it seems to me that in those 3 years in Japan you have been absent in the dojo most of the time, did not REALLY listen to your teachers because like you say yourself; you have "problems" with kendo, and thus your kendo never took off in the first place. In other words you never really committed to begin with. I can simply tell by the way you hold your shinai and your posture and your strikes that your movements are extremely ineffecient and you have never REALLY trained beyond your comfort limit. I think we both know it's true. I also think this is a real shame since you've had 3 years(!) of training in Japan which is the most favorable environment to study kendo by a huge margin and also a privelege some people can only dream of. If this is what you come up with, i am inclined to call it a waste of time. Not YOUR time mind you, i mean the time of the people that have put effort in trying to teach you. I really mean no offence, but i simply have stood in their shoes too often for it not to be personal. Anyway, you argue more or less that Kendo is not realistic, oversimplified and restrictive, and you have quit. I've seen it a hundred times and shrugged it off most of the time, but i really felt like i had to put in my two cents here; Kendo is complex and has more depth beyond your imagination in contrast to your explanation of (your problems with) it, which i find to be rather shallow. This is not how you should be quitting kendo, or quit anything for that matter. Here's why: In my opinion, you either commit or you do not even start at all. It is the only way to get something out of it because only then will you understand what you are quitting. Do not go into anything half-assed. If you commit fully and still decide it is not for you, at least you are quitting for the right reasons. So what about (mental) strength, (mental) endurance, speed, willpower, agility, self improvement by experimenting, finding your own style, how to cope with pressure, never giving up, how to fully commit, and strategical decision making? I am quite sure you would have a "problem" or two with those aswell against any well trained kendo practicioner. If your dojo in Japan was anywhere near moderate level you know this is true. They would dominate you easily in any physical activity let alone in some kind of fictive, hypothetical duel no matter how much "real samurai combat" you practice and no matter how many years you theorize about it. Merely saying that it "makes no sense" or calling it "stupid" and what you find effective sparring with your friends is never going to cut it. Pun intended of course! :D If anyone here is contemplating to practice kendo, please have a thorough look at the following video playlist and you should be able to understand what i am trying to explain. It is part of the All Japan Kendo Federation channel which contains some of the highest level kendo in the world. (Edit) The really good video's are those of the All Japan Kendo Championships and the slowmotion video's thereof. Just scroll down untill you find them. ua-cam.com/users/ZennipponKendoRenmeivideos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=1
Hi there and thank you for watching and commenting. Since I made this video I have received a lot of insults from kendoka, I don't mind personally because I am only sharing my opinion, so people can agree or disagree, the only thing I don't understand from some kendoka is that it almost feels as if I'm attacking their religion and how dare I even speak. I believe in freedom of speach and opinion, if your points are more valid them mine so be it, I accept that of course, but I think anyone has the right to have and form an opinion and of course to share it with the world. I do realise and I have infact stated that I am no expert and that my level of experience in the style is very low (as you can see), but I think you are over judging me stating things (such as me not putting the effort, my sensei wasting their time) that you clearly have no idea of, and that's a shame because by the way you make your points you sound like a person with a solid background in the style and you also sound like an intelligent viewer, not one of those who worship kendo and insult me for no reason. I went to the dojo under rain, snow, scorching heat, always carring my equipment and riding my bicycle on the long uphill slope that took me there, so I did put a lot of offort, but since I had to work full time to live in Japan I could only go there once a week, my sensei knew that and appreciated the effort. (also I could never participate to any tournament or competitions because of my job). So I do lack a lot of experience, but not because I didn't want to commit, in that you have misjudged me. Also keep in mind I had to learn and understand all explanations in Japanese, which it wasn't a problem anymore after the first year, but I was slower at first because I had to learn a whole new vocabulary. (and no, the tale that since they use Japanese words in dojos in western countries you would be able to understand a whole lesson in Japan is false, I had to study like crazy to fully understand them, now I do, but it took a lot of time). So as far as your points are concerned, I'm sure you are right when you say that there is more depth to the art, but I still feel that there are also too many rules. Again as a discipline I totally agree with you, kendo is fine the way it is, but too many people are drawn into kendo because they are attracted by samurai combat, I only wanted to point out that kendo is quite far from real samurai combat, that would be kenjutsu. In my opinion if you take a kendoka and you put him in a battlefield he wouldn't perform as well as a kenjutsu practitioner, because of all the limitations he is used to have, IMHO.
Hello, thankyou for your comment I agree with everything you said, the video is arrogant, and from a complete novice. I enjoyed very much the battles on the link you gave and it was honestly the best "sword" fighting I have ever seen, amazing speed and simple effective and precice techniques, I can see kendo is a martial art to be respected very much. Good luck with your life long practice.
I agree with you Metatron on this one. The main thing that sucks about Kendo is the rules on what does and does not count. Hits that would kill with real blades not counting as points and others counting in areas where they would not be lethal with real blades. These "Kendo practitioner" guys are simply insulting you brother, trying to cover it as "professional critique". You know full well how hard you train. They are simply butt hurt that you are calling out the facts of how Kendo unnecessarily limits real and lethal sword technique. Kenjutsu and Iaido are the way to go for both training and sparring, hands down. Designed for BLADE combat to the core.
+kndk Your comment is presumptuous and mean-spirited. You never really addressed anything in Metatron's argument, you just decided to insult him instead.
Well, without insulting anyone (most art martialists who insult others or play "my martial art is better than yours" arts are just beginners), you should not have made a video. What i've been taught is 1st dan : you havn't start yet ; 2nd dan : you barely begun. Mochida, the last 10th dan said it tooked 50 years to learn the basics of kendo... You make several mistakes, such as keeping you shinaï on your shoulder (it's an arrogant posture). You speak about jodan, but it's an advanced technique you can't master if you don't have a perfect chudan. So I don't think you can properly understand what is behind this. And you talk about footsteps limitations but there you are the problem, not the martial art. Humble 1st dan here : it's was natural for me now but it took me some years of practice :) You compare kendo and kenjutsu, but neither are more efficient than the other : kendo is a martial art but a competitive sport too, where the learning progression is slower than most of other martial arts. I've not practice Kenjustu, only talked to a friend who practice it. There are not real fights in kenjustu (what is prejudiciable I think), but yes, it's more like samourais than kendo. But ! Samourais did not use katanas as their main weapons. Bows and halleberds were. Personnaly, I wouldn't do Kenjutsu for 2 reasons : it would give some bad reflexes in kendo (what seems to be your problem), and I want some real fights :D Sorry for my language, if I made mistakes ! Peace !
I am 2 dan in kenjutsu but recently i found that kendo techniques are way more practical in full contact sparring and hence i have been picking up a lot of kendo techniques.
I found that the chudan no kamae is super practical in fighting cos I closes off the centerline and disallow the enemy from just walking in and striking u.
Hi! I've been practicing kendo for almost 15 years now and I would like to react a little bit on this video. I understand that Metatron is just expressing his own opinion about why he prefers kenjutsu over kendo. There is a lot that could be said but as a start, I will just say that this is probably typical of outsiders coming to martial arts and not realizing a few important points : 1) Kendo and most of the "-do" martial arts, are very recent forms of combat that have been synthesized during the 20th century. Kendo as we can practice it nowadays has little to do with real swordsmanship of the Bakufu era when using a katana was a vital skill to defend oneself and one's own important ones. Kendo is a mixture, if I may say, of various techniques from various schools of sword, theorized by, mainly, the police forces who are still deciding even now, how kendo should be taught. 2) Comparing Kenjutsu (which school of kenjustu, btw?) and kendo (a unified martial art) is like comparing a knife and cissors : both cut but they are used for different purposes. Kendo is not aimed at making you a fighter but, as Metatron says very correctly, a better person. The many schools of kenjutsu teach a genuine legacy of techniques from the times when killing the opponent efficiently was crucial. Yet, I have a serious doubt as to the importance of such thing as etiquette (reigi) or the emulation and the special relationship that can bind a young kenshi to a master. Overall, I think that the author of the video is showing too little knowledge about the variety of forms that sword fighting has taken in Japan. Swordsmanship in Japan has evolved through a long history and there still are a huge number of schools in Japan that teach these techniques. Kendo must not be considered an art to become a samurai but a path to become a better human being by sharpening your mind and manners through sword fighting. IMO
Did you get the meaning of my comment? I said that martial arts in Japan (the ones that are called "do") are not supposed to make you a warrior but to help you become a better human being. Of course you don't need to be a good individual to use a sword efficiently! But that's not the point with kendo in my opinion. If you want to wield a real sword, kendo is definitely NOT the martial art to turn to. I'm saying this because the author of the video is criticizing kendo techniques with being inefficient in combat. I'm just saying that it's not the point with kendo.
Sadly even within yodansha in kendo there are people who truly believe they would be effective in a supposed sword fight in reality. Too many people doing gendai budo who don't understand their own arts (some having practiced for 10+ years!!). OP was emphasizing the same points you're defending, Ben, just in a slightly different manner. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it's easier (and more attractive maybe) to get started in kendo as opposed to the stricter and more selective koryu dojo's, that a part of the wrong crowd of people get in.
My Sensei taught me to keep both of my heels at least slightly risen above the ground, not much. But he says it also will practice balance, and for me, I find it to be a unique way, to move swiftly only on the toes, and the general area of where the toes are located rather than the entirety of your foot. Another thing, is that, he included is your sword is your soul, it's apart of you, and to never disrespect your sword...
Kenjutsu is the actual style the samurai actually used. Kendo is a branch of the umbrella of Kenjutsu. What I mean is that there are styles like Iado, Iaijutsu, (and believe it or not Jujitsu was part of it for an introduction Grappling). This was identical to how Europeans sword fought. The reason for these many different styles is so that if a Samurai wanted or needed more work in a subject, they would just choose one of the styles to better perfect it and then move on to the next style. The first form of Kendo was closer to the older style of Kenjutsu but started to become more of a sport during the Meji Restoration.
I am in Japan right now and i went to a kendo training, because i want to start some sort of Sword-Martial Arts. But, from just watching the other students practicing, i could already tell that Kendo is not really an option for me. It's just to much sport in it. Your video was great because you said specific things that are limited by the rules, so now i can understand my own observation better. Im looking forward to do iaido now. I hope i can start it soon. Nice video, you got a new subscriber ;)
I took a Kendo class two years ago, and it was a mixed bag. On one hand, as far as I could tell, the only "spiritual growth" I achieved from Kendo was a growing distaste for my primary instructor, whose "insult them till they practice more and get better" teaching style did not work for me. It got to the point where I was glad when a group project spiraled out of control and required my personal presence to salvage (who writes a history paper in present tense?!), just because it gave me an excuse to skip class. I also found my diabetic, sweaty feet stuck to the floor like glue making practice with sock a must (also diabetics really shouldn't practice w/o foot protection as the feet don't heal well at all). One of the few classes in University that has reduced me to tears. I did get what I wanted out of it though: rudimentary sword knowledge, enough to spar with my friend who is a HEMA practitioner. I also picked up an added bonus: shared experience, as when I went to Japan for the second time and got a chance to speak with some girls in the advanced English class at Nanzan University I was able to commiserate with one of them on the subject of mean Kendo instructors! I should also point out that said Kendo instructor had an alternate, I think she was his wife, who sometimes taught class, and she was a wonderful person, much more paintent and skilled as both an instructor and practioner. Even when she wasn't teaching, but only assisting, the primary instructor was more paintent and kinder towards students. I guess Kendo is another thing in life that takes a woman's touch to do properly? ;). Anyways, Metatron, loving your videos, I am learning so many new things from kenjutsu and can't wait to practice them all with my friend!
...except that you forgot the true point here that is: when you are in right momentum of killing someone with the tsuki into his torso, the moment when you start piercing his armor and penetrate his belly, his momentum is completely disintegrated because if it is not, you can't kiill him and that is the true meaning of ippon moment and kill cut synchronicity ...
Hey is there anywhere in the west that teaches actual Kenjutsu? cuz im interested in katana fighting but most places only teach kendo and honestly after 3 years of fencing i´m watching videos of kendo and finding it pretty boring. is there a contact type of kenjutsu with helmets on and stuff? nice channel btw
It's true, that Kenjutsu isn't common in Europe. And if you find a school, they rarely do armored sparring. But if you're interested in a school in Switzerland, you could go to kokuryu.ch We do sparring there, but without armour, because the feedback of a hit is more accurate.
Thierry Donzé Switzerland is a bit far off from where i live, but thanks for replying, nice to hear that there are people in the west practicing anything other than the kendo/Iado cerimonial crap not to disrespect the art, i find it beautiful but it ain´t much of a swordfight is it? more like art than sport
I do Kenjutsu and kendo and Iaido . Let me ask you a question .. when you do you plan to get into a real swordfight ??? ... Kenjutusu will teach you turn based kata ! , Which literall means you know whats going to happen. Its Kata with a partner not sparring. And i dont know any legit places which do that. Their probably are some. The closes thing your going to get a samurai sword fight is Kendo .. why ? Unpredictable, timing, oppenent ability, technique choice, fighting mind, speed , strength, and pressure ( seme). Dont forget , most of the samurai descendants practiced Kendo in its modern form and still teach it. If you havent practiced or been in a dojo for Iaido or kendo , then you simply havent got a clue. Heres my honest advice. DONT come to youtube and ask. Read a book on Budo in general . I can reccomend some really good ones that will give you more knowledge on the matter than any youtube video. And these are authors who have studied these arts for years in Japan.
Mr P thank you for your answer, i do appreciate the values built into modern day kendo. i just don´t get why they´ve left out the action. so it is only an art designed for self improvement?? i get that it´s cool to learn the values and better yourself but why is there not an actual dueling? i found one modality that consists of the art of drawing your sword. drawing. your. sword. nothing else. no wonder most ppl interested in swordfight fence. as interesting as traditional japanese culture and bushido are, how come they didn't come up with a better sport?? no offense i do find it facinating from a learning perspective, it´s just too boring for my taste
antonio you can't say it's boring unless you have done it. so much goes in to making the perfect killing cut which scores ippon, the current striking positions are those that would Instantly disable your opponent. yes hitting the head is both sports element and post sengoku era combat. movement of the sword and technique is 30 peecent of what's required in a real sword fight or kendo as a sport. the rest is a combination of body attacking and mental resolve! . kendo teaches attacking as soon as opportunity becomes available, not hesitating. But yes the sports element s have taken more priority lately. the other techniques which were left out... as mentioned.... hassle has been used I've seen it. some of the technique mentioned in the video have been used. using the tiger tail ,or hiding the sword behind your back would have no effect in kendo. in nito ryu we use it . But it was only used by musashi because the opponent didn't how long the sword was, or what musashi was going to do . in modern day you would need to be up against a person who has no clue about swordsmanship for it to work. you can't score in kendo by just hitting, it has to be a valid cut done with body work , the cut should be able to be lethal if used with real sword. But Kendo wasn't just prep for swordfighting, it was get you combat minded, efficient in technique without thoughts. It had become more sport because it's competitive. I recommend watching the videos by Alex Bennett or books by him . search him , he has done all three kendo being his main.
Pyrobaconstudios , Depending on the school of competition you're in, epee fencing is not a disgrace. I have yet to see a sabre fencing incarnation that wasn't embarrassing. HEMA most definitely allows sabre fighting to flourish with much greater realism.
Seems like you do not understand the difference between cutting (which was simplefied), and attacking (semei, which wasn't at all). And your kamae is pretty bad for a 3 years of practice.
+JCH Nanaya im a kendo student and i found many comments for this video very offensive, but the worst thing its many people here doesnt have a fucking idea about kendo, and they are just saying bullshit. Thats my point men
+Alvaro CasaMadrid LOL ! That's the exact reason I point out theses mistakes, without any other kind of jugment. Actually, I'm a sandan level (I'm currently working hard for my yondan already), training with the NT. So if you have any question, feel free to ask. And if your stronger, I won't forget either. ^^
Just seen my first Metatron video. I cannot argue with any of his logic in this vid. He is correct ! I am not as knowledgeable as him but have come across some of these issues. I was practising Iaido for a while. One day a guy turned up and demonstrated Iaijitsu . He wiped the floor with all of us as he was practising the real deal rather than a `sport` or an `art`. A humbling experience
I'm sorry but what the hell are you even talking about... You literally are talking nonsense related kendo. There are so many mistakes you made and youre talking about 'advanced techniques' when your basic knowledge of points stances and footwork is has tons of incorrect information. And you're explaining to people who don't know the difference. I questioned how much keiko and sparring you've really done... How have you studied for 3 years... Sorry nothing against you, I appreciate the love of sword sports from everyone but you really should get you facts straight...
I wish I was able to go back in time and just see how samurai and other swordsmen actually fought in real life, movies are utter bullshit when it comes to that, and even sports. There's no feeling like the feel of fight or flight, when you know you might die and your body becomes many times stronger, your sense becomes finer, and there's a rush of energy you have, and your actions are very clever, as if your mind does most of the work on it's own. I don't know if many people experienced that, I did a few times, hopefully will never go through such a thing again, but it is truly fascinating. I wanna give an example, I never thought I'd be able to jump over a moving car, but I did without even thinking about it, I just jumped over it only my fist touched it, if I didn't do that, I'd be probably dead or paralyzed now and yet I can't even claim I did that, it's like my body did all the work on it's own. Now, that kind of unbelievable thing I wanna see, where people who fought were in real danger, and heir bodies and minds worked many times better than normal.
+Silver Mirai The human instinct is truly incredible indeed. Combined with a disciplined spirit/mindset. I understand your point, but i do think you are trashing (non-Hollywood) movies too easily. If you have never watched the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movies, i suggest you do. To me, personally , it conveyed alot of that "fight or flight" spirit, alot more than most Hollywood movies could ever do.
RogueAndroid I've seen all Rurouni Kenshin, both movies and anime, and they are very entertaining, close to 10/10 for me. But the fighting is not really accurate to be honest. Something that comes close to real fighting are some of Kurosawa's movies.
I know nothing of these martial arts but it sounds like kendo is a very unrealistic combat form. I always go back to what Bruce Lee said, be like water. No form is form. Maybe I'm just too uninformed to know the subtleties.
7 років тому+3
roger Rumble styles and forms do hold a fighter/warrior back being married to a certain style is limited physicaly and mentaly...thats why mma is so effective
your problem is that kendo is something that needs years of hard practice ... you dont need 6 stances and 10 valid cuts... the thing is you have many many options for strikes in kendo ... its just sth you have to study and try... in competition there are no strict rules how to setup your strikes... as long as you perform it properly with the key points being correct what i realize hearing you talk about kendo is the following: - you are a smart person thinking out of the box - you most likely looked into different sword related sports - you most likely are still on a very, very low level my complaints: - you can chose whatever you like to do but you didnt really realize why things are done in a certain way in kendo - you learned and remember the stuff you are told but again you most likely didnt participate in many competitions and most like didnt reach any notable higher level skill --> you dont understand nore master the skills and techniques in kendo
+Corey91666 I am shodan (3 years practice) and I am hardly a beginner! what I don't understand about this video I why he has spent 3 years practising when its clear he doesn't enjoy it?
+alan ferrier Why do people try things they don`t enjoy right away? Because it is human nature to explore. Everyone has things they like right away and things they want to learn to explore before they decide whether they really like it or not as much/at all. I`m actually kind of amazed that in 3 years of kendo and whatever your age is, you never realized that?
RogueAndroid I understand what you're saying however in the video he talks about how another art would be much better and that's his right to think like that :) I just have to wonder why after 3 years he has all these problems and really doesn't seem like he enjoys it but he still practices it? it's entirely up to him what he does with his life I just can't understand why you would choose to do something you don't seem to enjoy? especially after 3 years of it? I mean I could understand 6 months or even a year (allowing you time to get into bogu and experience shiai and jigeiko) but 3 years seems excessively long to decide if you like something or not? I'm fully aware of that (I'm 18 btw) and totally understand it I'm simply questioning why he'd spend so long practicing kendo when he makes it clear he wants to practice other arts? It's nothing against him or his choices :)
alan ferrier in germany you will never be shodan after 3 years... you need almost 3 years for all kyu grades and another year to shodan... also i started kendo 8 years ago (had a 2 year break though) all i can say is ... you might be not too bad but on the other hand i know enough people who barely represent what i expect from shodan, nidan or sometimes even sandan...
I agree with this video. A lot of martial arts are not geared for actual combat, but only for form and discipline. That's why I prefer to learn hand-to-hand combat instead of any specific martial art.
I completely agree with you dude. And i do the same thing with people at the Dojo. If it's not an actual tournament we spar with a full body target available including legs as well. I rarely ever sparred with anyone using the actual Kendo fighting rules unless it was for an organized event, practice or a tournament. Also when i sparred with people and my father(he's been practicing way longer then me and he also trains Iaido.) we fought hard, as in slight little taps didnt count where we were armored. Basically when in full gear we sparred trying to simulate as much as possible a real Samurai duel. Little love taps didnt work for us unless we manages to strike the throat or something. We also tried the same thing with a Bokken, don't do that lol. It was a bad idea.
I have to agree with you on all your points. I wanted to practice kenjutsu for 11 years now, but only last year I've had the opportunity to finally get Kendo, and it's either that or nothing. I really like it and have fun with it, but it's the same problems I've had with tae kwon do: too much simplicity, too much sportyish logic, not actually practical in a real fight (although how often are we going to swordfight nowadays other than training?). My all-time favourite stance is the lower right stance, and I'm usually mad as hell that I can't use it, because I cannot do upward swings, but on a sporting side, I do agree that leg-hitting would be "too easy", it allows for practitioners to try and take the most effective approach to hitting any body part, instead of trying to actually duel in a disciplined manner (which is a big problem I have with most competition duels, because that's exactly what they do, in any martial art). But my biggest concern of all is the total lack of freedom, one has to follow all the stances and swings with little to no freedom of improving it, as if it was a god-given technique, flawless that should never be questioned. The greatest martial artists won big because they ignored an absolutely unmutable formula, take for instance bruce lee and musashi, they won because their techniques involved adaptability, flexibility. I know I'm speaking from almost utter ignorance, but it's natural logic. It's an essentialist phiolosophical approach that does not reflect reality, as if the original formula was perfect in its essence, and any questioning it would be simple heresy; I know that only 5th dan and onwards should be allowed to do this, but still... I don't agree with being taught that you should never question what you're taught. Thank you for reading this, if you did. And interesting points raised in the video. I now need to play some sword of the samurai to alleviate frustrations.
+Luke Boland There's nothing wrong with Kendo being a sport - though really I think it's got elements of sport and martial art to it, so saying it's either one or the other doesn't do the whole thing justice. That said, I personally don't practice Kendo, so this is my outsider impression.
I have no interest in Kendo for the reasons stated in the video. I do however have an interested in Kenjutsu...again for the reasons stated in the video. As far as the spiritual aspect of either or both goes; having years of martial arts experience I can tell you that the spiritual development that can and should go along with martial training is not BS or mumbo jumbo. The mind and body are one in that they are two sides of the same coin. When one is overdeveloped in total disregard for the other, then an imbalance or internal conflict is created within the in practitioner. Why is this bad? Well at some point the battle and the war is over and when the warrior returns home he must do so with a calm spirit if he is to gracefully reintegrate back into peaceful society. The lack of recognition of this reality manifests itself today in all forms of combat related cognitive disorders, socialization problems, and high suicide rates among soldiers returning from combat zones. And the opposite is also true. Picture the spiritual man who eschews and ignores all physical martial development. This highly spiritualized individual is poorly equipped for any kind of combat or war situation. He has no inner "metal" to bring to bear in his own defense much less the defense of others and his homeland. He will end among the pacifists who will be the first to die when the tide of war rises around him. Now think about the more "rounder" individual; one who is well trained to survive and be effective in a combat situation AND with sufficient spiritual and personal development to be able to cope with psychological aftermath of having been to war.
Gomenasai, my name is Ken-Sama. I’m a 27 year old American Otaku (Anime fan for you gaijins). I draw Anime and Manga on my tablet, and spend my days perfecting my art and playing superior Japanese games. (Disgaea, Final Fantasy, Persona series) I train with my Katana every day, this superior weapon can cut clean through steel because it is folded over a thousand times, and is vastly superior to any other weapon on earth. I earned my sword license two years ago, and I have been getting better every day.
When Japanese martial arts had the purpose of killing they were called "Jutsu" (Kenjutsu, Jujutsu, Iaijutsu, Aikijustu, etc.). The purpose of modern budo (and other gendai budo) is to develop oneself, hence, they are called "Do" or a way of living (Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Aikido, etc.).
Many of the comments here miss this fundamental point. Modern Kendo is a "way" and has been restricted from a physical standpoint more to resemble a sport as a matter of practical development (since the chance of meeting someone on the battlefield for a swordfight are slim to none). So we test our skills in competition instead.
Kendo enjoys the benefits of being a full-contact sport/martial art like boxing or MMA but has almost none of the risks of injury due to the way the armor and bamboo sword where created. This was the intention of the Samurai when they developed this. So Kendo can be practiced into old age. We can only imagine how much more a man like Muhamed Ali could have developed his skill had he been able to continue boxing into his 70's or 80's? That to me is the hidden gem of Kendo.
In Kendo you have an unpredictable opponent coming at you with full force to take off your head off in an unchoreographed setting, and you have to be able to control not only your opponent but yourself as well. This is where spiritual philosophy of budo is still applied, as are the benefits.
I prefer to use ninjutsu and genjutsu
This answer can be used as a copy-paste on 99% of people complaining about the 'effectiveness' of martial arts.
@@Ronindennis I'll add more. Kendo teach learners 礼儀. It train our spirit.
And It often happens that old man beats younger man. We can see this in only Kendo, never in other martial arts.
@@Couch-Tomato That last line puts a big burden of proof on you...
I think that what you are saying is objectively true, but fails to recognize the subjective nature of practice:
Metatron is very much more a historian than a spiritual warrior, not to discount his spirituality in any way, but to recognize his consistent intense study of history. Note his repeated statement of "real samurai combat" here (which is often stated foolishly by others without the context of the following fact) and his obsession with HEMA and archeology, as well as his study of languages.
All of these benefits are real and important, and why I practice Kendo myself, but kendo is not Kenjutsu, and Metatron is better served by Kenjutsu when you understand his intentions and purposes.
He even points out that the Kendo Kata do feature some of the things he is looking for in Kenjutsu, which verifies my statement.
I hope to continue kendo myself, and that your organization will continue to be successful.
Thanks for the video. I've been studying Kendo and Iaido for the last 15+ years, have been to a few seminars that show kendoka/iaidoka introductions to styles like Eishin-Ryu Iaijutsu and Itto Ryu Kenjutsu, and have some thoughts on the video:
Kata:
You talk about kata as being a secondary part of kendo, when in reality it's actually the heart and soul of kendo. The kata not only serve as the connection that kendo has to kenjutsu and actual combat with the katana (and indeed the kendo kata are almost identical to the first 10 kata of other styles like Ono-Ha Itto Ryu Kenjutsu), they also serve subtly as the complete litany of how you're actually supposed to fight. This gets clearer as you progress through the martial art and it's critical to you moving beyond 2-Dan.
If you recognize the kata as central to kendo, then the connection that kendo has to the "Samurai katana combat" (like most kenshi I prefer using the term kobudo/koryu bugei given that a ton of non-soldier/warrior samurai existed due to the term literally meaning noble servant) becomes very clear. And if you don't like kata, well...you're probably in a rude awakening because that's literally *all* of Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu.
Stances:
I think you have some fundamental misunderstandings of the kamae in Kendo that are contributing to some of the confusion you have on why we focus a lot of chudan and jodan in taikai and keiko.
First, we actually use a lot more than just 2 kamae - even at tournaments. If you've been practicing kendo for 3 years even intensively you're probably not yudansha, so you likely haven't faced a ton of jodan players. But when you do fight them you're often taught to take Seigan no Kamae (which is also a stance used in various styles of Itto Ryu Kenjutsu) which allows you to take their wrist faster, sets you up to parry/nuki-dou quickly, or even take tsuki deceptively.
As another comment posted, gedan also gets used a lot. It's almost essential when you're fighting against naginataka as well, given that it positions you to ward off them cutting your tsune (shins) which is like their version of men in terms of primacy to their martial art.
Chudan and Jodan get used a lot because we're focusing on long sword v. long sword fighting. If you have good chudan no kamae, you're going to ward off something like 80% of all of the cuts your opponent is going to do against you. Having a strong chudan means that they won't be able to get your chest, your wrists, and you're positioned well to attack if they try to stike your head or your the sides of your neck (kesagiri - something that's used all the time in kenjutsu and is still part of kendo but no longer part of keiko).
Jodan gets used because we kendoka are fucking insane and like to go HAM. It's an extremely aggressive stance that only makes sense as you move on in the art and get rid of a lot of the fear you face when fighting. It positions you amazingly well to attack but exposes almost all of you to getting cut in away that makes it really hard to parry. Kata 1 and Kata 5 teach this well.
You also don't seem to be doing chudan and jodan properly. Chudan requires you to have the pommel of your blade right above your belly button at the center of mass, and you to be facing your opponent square-on. This is to help you defend against tsuki, as well as to help you brace for them rushing you. You also are curving your sword too much in your jodan, and that might be why you have questions about the difference in some styles of kenjutsu's jodan and kendo (which are generally the same thing). Jodan is purely about offense after all and what you're doing is basically "half cocking" your men or kote. If you let the kensen fall too low, you're not going to be as fast on your attack.
As for the other stances, we don't use them because they're really only designed for certain situations. You bring up waki-no-kamae here (one of my favoriate kamae btw) as an example of something that's deeply rooted in kenjutsu but isn't used in fighting.
Well we don't use waki because the whole point of waki is to hide the length of your blade. You're only supposed to use waki when you have a longer sword than your opponent, and you're trying to lure them into your range to strike. The kata that shows this, Kata 4, is directly sampled from Ni-To Ryu Kenjutsu is and is a callback to Miyamoto Musashi's duel at Ganryu Island where he killed his opponent with a really long boat oar by doing the same thing. In kendo we're fighting with roughly standardized-sized shinai, so waki exposes you a lot for minimal gain.
Similar too is hasso-no-kamae. Hasso is meant to be used when you're wearing a helmet (like the traditional kabuto of the bushi) that prohibits you from taking jodan, or when you're indoors where it's similarly hard to raise your blade into jodan. Hopefully neither is in play during keiko for you, otherwise your dojo needs to look into better housing.
The issue is not our ability to strike out of any of these styles. Kata 4 is literally all about that topic, and it serves as the guideline for how to attack from both hasso and waki. The issue is that we're sacrifcing a lot of inherent defense in adopting these kamae for minimal benefit given the conditions of your typical keiko.
Where we attack:
Some of the commentary you said on areas we attack is incorrect. Yes, you can thrust into the torso, as this is part of tsuki and is literally the end of kata 3. It is a valid point in taikai when fighting against jodan players, and even gets called sometimes if you do it wonderfully well in chudan if you have proper ki-ken-tai-ichi.
You're right that kesagiri isn't a valid point anymore, and if there's one thing that helps your argument on kendo being detached it's kesagiri's neglect in kendo. That being said, it's actually still part of kendo. We just don't do it anymore because it's super dangerous. The clear reminders that kesagiri is part of our marital art are on your men: they're why there are those big flaps on the side of your head. Said flaps were supposed to block your neck and help with the blow, but a lot of kendoka in the 60's and 70's were getting seriously injured.
You said you were studying kendo in Japan. That's actually a great place to see kesagiri, tripping, ripping off your armor and beating up your opponent, and all of the super old school brutality of kendo in action -- just head over to your local police dojo.
Footwork and attacks:
To just round out a lot of this stuff, you bring up some points on footwork about why we don't move back somtimes in kendo after doing attacks. We definitely do; this is all part of hikki-waza and it's a big part of fighting. We don't cross our legs, as you showed, when we do it because if our opponent is paying attention he/she will trip us then.
Kendo also is a very military-focused martial art, and as such we really don't like the idea of giving ground. This is why you're constantly encouraged to be attacking and moving forward, and why until 1-Kyu and 1-Dan you're pushed to just attack relentlessly; they're training you to get into the proper mindset.
Cutting:
So this is the one I'm actually surprised you didn't talk about. If there's anything that sets kendo apart from kenjutsu, it's the fact that kendoka generally don't practice tameshigiri. All we have on this front is tenouchi, which is critical to kendo but is just kind of left to the kendoka to be known as "that thing that helps you cut." I'd definitely encourage you to explore this a little bit more given that it's absolutely essential to understanding how to cut with a katana and it's conspicuously absent from modern kendo curricula.
That being said, it's absent because it was moved to iaido and you're technically supposed to study both. But hey, just trying to go with the spirit of the video.
Thanks for the content again, and I definitely encourage you to check out kendo again and learn more about the kata at your local dojo. When you're beginning in kendo it may seem monotonous or a little constrained, but what they're doing is building up your spirit and fitness. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you get past that point and explore the martial art beyond 1-kyu.
I've been doing Kendo for a while now, around the same time as you actually, Mr. Tron. For the most part, I actually agree with your statements, Kendo is by far a traditional martial art, more a modern recreation of a more ancient ancestors, which is adapted to the modern day. The sad reality is martial arts in our modern world, especially something including a sword, is practically worthless. In the terms of practicality, you think of things like Muay Thai, BBJ or even boxing, not particularly kenjutsu or even Taekwondo, which I did ITF (non-olympic) style for almost 13 years.
The truth of the matter is Kendo is not really about learning how to use a sword, or how to even kill, but more perfecting your every move, every single action until you land that perfect strike. To me, Kendo is not about fighting, not about winning, but more improvement in yourself. Sure, plenty of people can knock it, call it worthless, call it nothing more then a sport or a waste of time. But, at least to me, I've spent my life doing a bunch of different martial arts, from boxing to Muay Thai, even tried Wushu at one point! The harsh reality of a modern world is that in this day and age, all we can take away from such ancient forms of combat and training is mental balance, strength and discipline. If you want to defend yourself, get a gun, learn MMA, something like karate or even kenjutsu id say won't help when the opponent does not play by the rules, and certainly doesn't care how badly you get hurt.
For me, kendo is less fighting and opponent, and fighting myself, as cheesy as that sounds. Its seeing every little mistake you do wrong, accepting what you've done as your own fault, and seeking to improve. I don't do it to be a samurai, or to learn how to use a sword or even because of Japanese interest. Ironically im Korean, but anyone can tell you a solid cross will take someone down before a shinai ever could. I suppose in the end, it is all subjective, if you enjoy kenjutsu, then im very glad. But Kendo still has a purpose, and while lacking the practical ability to take a life, can help steady one, your own, if you commit passion, will and patience into it.
Thank you, much love from Naju!
One more comment. After 3 years, you're also most likely still a kyu. Why are we taking the words of a kyu seriously?
@@Gnefitisis 🤣
Muay Thai is over rated. Those great Muay Thai fighters are NOT common people. They started training at a very young age. Most of them were poor farmers' kids who chose it as a profession before they reach the age of 10 years old. BJJ never ever dominates the UFC. WRESTLING and Judo actually dominate the UFC. Ronda Rousey was a Judoka, who wasn't even as good as her mother. Dominick Cruz was a wrestler. The Gracie family was the cofounder of UFC and hence they set the rules to favor BJJ. But even with this, BJJ was dominated by wrestling and Judo.
First of before I go deep into my comment. I've been training Kendo for about 14 years. I'm not an expert but I kind of know what I'm talking about.
Modern Kendo is a sport first and a martial art second. If you want sword fighting with all the ancient technics that would be effective in a real life and death fight you will be disappointed. But if you want a martial art where you can go all out on your opponent and it's still kind of close to the old thing you will have lots of fun.
The spiritual stuff is important but if it gets in the way for you to be an effective swordsman you're doing it wrong. The spiritual stuff is meant to help you keep your focus on the right thing, keep your calm when the opponent get the upper hand so you can turn it around to your advantage and so on. (That was more an answer to some of the other comments than to the video.)
The only benefit I know about those stances where you hold back your shinai (waki-gamae) is that you hide the length of your weapon. Or you could fake it if you actually were holding a broomstick or something. But the first thing I thought about is that when you remove your shinai from the front you put yourself in danger. The shinai is your offence and defence, plus attacks are ridiculously fast in Kendo. You need really good reflexes if your opponent charge you at that moment and you will probably use up much of your stamina doing so.
Lower your hips gives you a more stable stance but you sacrifice reach. It's logical in a real fight because then you would also use kicks, punches and grabs. But since all those things have been removed from Kenjutsu there's only disadvantages with a low stance. (Those things was removed because during the years the philosophy about Kendo have been that it should only focus on sword techniques. If you also want the grabs and stuff you should practice other martial arts beside Kendo.)
About the certain hit point areas it's something that every Kendo practitioner understand. (It's kind of obvious.) Attacks aims where the armor is strong so that we don't hurt each other for real. Everyone knows that it's totally backwards if you would find yourself in a real swordsfight. This is another of the sportification process that Kendo has gone through.
I think you explained perfectly fine yourself why the stomach thrust should've been removed. In Kendo there's a philosophy that you won't get a point for just hitting your opponent. The hit must have such power that if it was for real the opponent would be dead. (Thus things like the stomps. The stomps are not for show, they're proof that you actually have weight behind your attack.) If a stomach thrust wouldn't incapitate you immediately the same way as a severed hand or head, why keep that as a valid attack?
Hasso kamae is what I've heard a stance for indoor combat. You simply adapt to the fact that you're surrounded by walls and a roof. Since Kendo are usually practiced in training halls there's no need for that stance.
Both footwork and which hand is where on your grip is a typical thing people get confused about. They think "this is how you MUST do because sensei said so" when it's actually "this is how you SHOULD do because it's more effective".
There's nothing in the rules that sais that the right foot is the one that MUST be in front. But if you change your footplacement you SHOULD also change your grip in the same manner. Otherwise you lose balance, reach and force. If your attack comes from the left you probably wont have time to change your footing, but with training it surely is possible.
A tip: It's allowed to go up to jodan and change your footing to the left foot forward. Then tilt your body and use the technique you mentioned where you throw with your right hand the last second. You can also make the footing change while attacking to get great reach which can surprise your opponent. But you will probably never have your opponent on such length that you will have use of that.
The "just taking a step back and attack" IS permitted. My own sensei have made several points in competitions that way. It should be hinted that it's easier to do that if you don't let yourself get stopped by your opponent but instead use your opponent to bounce back making such steps.
Also worth to mention is that it IS allowed to do simple steps. It's just not a smart thing to do because you get slow. If someone attack in the middle of your step you have to cancel your step, put your foot down wherever it is, and then you can actually find support to do what you want to do but by then your opponent have already hit you. You simply don't have time to place your foot down by one inch.
And heck! I've seen people do straight up normal runs in competitions and they still get their points. But that's also about knowing when you should be strict about the footwork and when you can loosen on that thing.
If you lose your sword it IS a problem. You get a warning. Two warnings and your opponent gets a point and two points is a match won. And that means you should train how you hold your shinai because if you do it right that shouldn't even be possible.
If you let your foot point to the side you can actually hurt yourself so I would recommend not doing that. But it's mainly about propulsion forward, and since Kendo have removed all grabs and stuff those low stances are not needed. It's again part of the sportification of Kendo. By letting your foot point to the side you lose force that you could place in your attack. And if you feel that your balance suffer you should put your feet more apart.
Basically about all techniques in Kendo: What matters is the hit itself. All techniques are just recommended ways to get those hits. All explanations that ends with "because sensei said so" is a bad explanation. Not that you should disrespect your sensei but because every technique have it's place and reason. And as long that you understand that it's a sport first and a martial art second nothing is that weird.
+Henrik Nygren Reads this man comment and you can skip the video. The time you saved can be used to do some suburi.
+Fausto Faria Agree
+Henrik Nygren
This person knows about subject at hand "a bit" more than maker of this video.
+Kahali L. 14 years vs 3 years is a hint at that.
The one who made the video said he wasn't an expert.
peope1976
yes, he did, I respect that;
I also respect when somebody takes time and effort to write and expand on somebody when he has more experience;
Fact that everybody is using wikipedia as final and ultimate source of informations, insights and knowledge is really sad.
In case of Wikipedia it is hard to explain to people that it can be wrong (and in many cases is wrong), while in this case both of them openly claimed they are no experts, I have just confirmed it for any new people who would be in dilemma to read such a long comment or not.
I have inbested 16 years in Uechi Ryu and in last 10 I've added Ba-gua-zhang ;
I am expert in Uechi Ryu quanfa but I appreciate any other person which is ready to share his insights from his path and years of experience.
The maker of this video is involved in maybe couple of things more than he can master ..
...you can only do limited number of things and be really good in them, if you spread your focus you will be able to reach some mediocre level in quite a few but mastery in none of them.
The simplification of Kendo is to make it possible to practice really just one aspect of swordsmanship: the 'tachiai' or what happens when you cross swords. Can you read your opponent's intention well enough to a) strike first, b) forestall them, or c) turn their attack against them? That's it. Kendo is a laboratory for testing that hypothesis over and over and over. No melees, no leg strikes, no grappling. No 'realism'. But then again, when, other than in adolescent fantasies, are you ever going to need 'realistic' sword techniques? Kendo is as realistic as a Van Gogh painting of sunflowers is 'realistic'. Is it the same as actual sunflowers? Of course not. Is it a beautiful and immensely valuable imitation? Absolutely. Currently in my fourth decade of learning Kendo and my second decade of learning koryu bujutsu (what some folks call 'kenjutsu'). b
But note that the shiai is in many ways a much more realistic method for preparing warriors for combat, than doing only kata, which is what many kenjutsu schools practice.
Very interesting experiences. Your views almost exactly mirror my own, though you've had a lot more experience of kendo than I have. It's a shame that there aren't more kenjutsu schools doing sparring, or that the old style of pre-war Gekken has not been revived. I'm fairly certain it will happen though, as Chinese and Japanese martial artists are already starting to look at their martial arts in a similar way to the HEMA movement and I think there will be a lot of changes over the next few decades.
+scholagladiatoria Thank you for watching Matt, I appreciate your time mate. Ye I wish kenjutsu school would have people spar as much as they do in kendo. In Japan we used to spar for 1 hour and a half straight sometimes, which was exausting, but built up stamina like crazy.
Hopefully what's being happening with HEMA will happen with Kenjutsu and our "age" will be remembered in the future as the time when they brought back the warrior spirit of martial arts ;)
At the moment I have my little group of friends and we spar with our own rules and eventually I'll show some sparring in this channel for fun ;)
I really hope so. The reason why I chose to practice iaido instead of kendo is exactly due to the points Metatron brings up in this video, kendo is too simplified, they removed so many things from the original kenjutsu schools that kendo doesn't even feel like fighting, at least not properly. In iaido however we learn all kinds of cuts and stances, specially in my Dojo because we learn at least 9 different schools, and we also have what our sensei calls the "blue bag" which are several optional katas from other schools that we can learn if we want to.
With this being said, the downside of practicing iaido is that you don't spar with anyone, you only do kata, and I am not complaining I really like iaido but I would like to also spar with someone, test my skills in a different way, but kendo is not good enought in my opinion, so I do hope they eventually bring back some stances and cuts into kendo, make it more interesting and rich.
Metatron
Interesting, and coincidentally almost the exact same thing i experienced myself. I did kendo for 2-2,5 years, and I quit because I felt it lacked realism. I also trained iaido, but just doing katas without sparring is not for me.
I still do iaido sometimes, but now I'm more into HEMA.
If there was a kenjutsu school with sparring I'd probably train that as well as HEMA.
The instructors I had didn't really call kendo a martial art as such, i remember one of them just saying "it's an effective way of fencing on a totally flat surface", a statement which (whether you agree with the effective bit or not), clearly says a lot about the realism in Kendo.
The whole thing is more about spirituality than actual martial application IMO.
If there was a Kenjutsu or a Kendo school in Wisconsin I would definetly attend but the only avaliable thing here is Hema and I would prefer Japanese sportsmanship over western.
After this video definitely Kenjutsu would be my prefrence
ua-cam.com/video/XGoZeL91P_8/v-deo.html
I watched a kendo club this year. All I can remind is:
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN
MEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN
TSUKIIIIIII MMEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN
I have been binging all your kendo/kenjutsu videos the past few days, great stuff metatron.
"In a real fight situation what happens if i lose my sword?" I usually draw my Glock in those situations. Its not a biggie.
Never bring a Gun to a Swordfight, or so they say.
Isshin? is that you?
*cry in everywhere that is not america or europe
Wait! What!? When did everyone get guns? So.... no bringing my katana to the bar anymore?
I once lost first place at a regional tournament to a guy who used gedan against me. Also, upwards kote (strike to the wrist/forearm) is a force to be reckoned. I've seen people be disarmed after an unsuccessful men (strike to the head) in tournaments. They automatically lost the match.
Many of your points are extremely valid, but one thing one of my sensei told me is that many of the forms are taught to keep you on a consistent mind set, and only after the basic forms are mastered to a point where it's all automatic, the student can start questioning or adapting them to be more risky, or unorthodox. Check out "Shuhari" and let me know what you think!
Also, awesome video! ;) Ganbare!
Thank you very much for your comment I really appreciate you sharing your experience :)
What is gendan? We just learnt kaishi do during my club's last practice, and I want to learn a bit more before the next semester of training. And also, how do people disarm after an unsuccessful men? Really want to learn for when I'm able to practice in bogu.
It's the "low guard" where the tip of your sword is pointing to the knee of your opponent. In kendo it usually points a little higher than that, depends on the style/school you're studying.
About the disarm, in my experience it really comes down to looking for good opportunities. After parried/dodged hits (nuki) opponent might have only one hand on the sword. At this point you can go for kote, close in to use your hilt to press against his guard, which will still be fragile, or go for a classic fencing disarm, applying force to the blade which should still be out of position. Each of them comes with their own risks, which is usually why people don't go for it as much in higher level competition (also the reason why chudan is so frequent in competitive).
That's just my perspective on it too :) I'm not high-ranked enough to be giving out advice, but I find this kind of discussion helps people look for new ways to use what they already know.
Does anyone ever use this stance? It looks bad ass but I've no idea if it's a viable stance in Kendo...
media.aintitcool.com/coolproduction/ckeditor_assets/pictures/8961/original/kyuzo.jpg?1347069840
abmong It's a waki gamae. Modern kendo uses it only for kata. In ancient kenjutsu it was used to hide the length of your blade so that your opponent would have problemns judging how far you could reach.
I use it quite a bit in combat with friends, and find it quite viable.
It's a shame you never see it in modern kendo.
Interesting topic my dear friend. I have practiced Kendo for the last 13 years and as a martial art I see it has become a sport for many people.
I like the metaphysical part of kendo. That is which makes it a martial art and not a sport. You must become the sword, control your opponent's mind and fears, play with your opponent's weaknesses and make them work on your behalf. That is easier said that done. You need to pass 4th dan to start having a glimpse of that.
You are more Kenjustu oriented and I am glad you decided to turn into it. Enjoy it and study it well it is undoubtedly a wonderful art.
Kendo is not a sword fight per se. It is a mind/spirit game. That's why many of the cuts and guards you talk about are irrelevant. Scoring a point is not the goal in Kendo (...although as I have already said most people think so as a sport...)
Enjoy!
Metatron im so glad that i found ur channel. So amazing content!
+Varg Thank you so much!
I am a Ni-Dan and your points are valid. It's like you're only allowed 1/2 the techniques so it is not fluid. Read the Book of Five Rings where musashi discusses the upstroke and the fluidity of the combination. There really is no reason for not having a 'scorable' upstroke with kendo. (kote for example)
With Kote, the lower position would make sense... it would also incorporate a part of Kenjutsu (e.g. muscles, motion etc) that is missed in current kendo.
i practice both kenjutsu and kendo and i wouldn't have it any other way. though if i'm to choose, i'd say i would rather keep kendo. It's a personal reason: i can find more people to relate to in kendo, the opportunity to meet new friends is also greater. Also, since there's a clear basis for winning in kendo, i find it a superior way of testing swordsmanship as you'd have to fight under the boundaries of the rules dictated for the sport. But kenjutsu has helped me a lot in my kendo, i won a lot of fights because of kenjutsu techniques i carried over to kendo, understanding their core idea and adjusting it to fit kendo. besides, i like the idea that we don't really have to kill anymore to prove our skills.
but that's just me, different men have different strokes. it's a perspective that i've acquired through a decade of kenjutsu and around 2 years in kendo :)
+Raven Flau Hey just curious what kind of kenjutsu techniques have you brought into kendo that have worked and against what kind of opponents? -->(Kyu ranks or Dan ranks for example)
Hard to tell which specific techniques were used, but you could say we were doing kaeshi waza and katsugi waza even before it was taught to us. We advanced to bogu class after a month of training.A senpai of mine from kenjutsu was even granted recommendation to take the shodan exam after only 6 months of kendo when morishima sensei(7th dan) visited our dojo. Techniques on how to manipulate an opponent's sword are especially useful, and they were fairly easy to execute too. All we had to do was shift our cuts to yoku datotsu(e.g. men instead of kesa).
Which opponent you ask? hard to tell looking back at it now, but it did gave us an edge against kyu holders back when we were still kyu-less :)
+Raven Flau If you are restricted by rules it is definetely not a proper way of testing skill with a sword.
Also, the primal aim of swordsmanship is to kill.
+TheMalitias Not in japan. Swordsmanship is not just about killing, it's also a means to improve oneself. To be a swordsman in japanese culture means to strike a balance between the art of killing and living a moral way of life; the way of the sword. A balance kendo strives to achieve.
Besides, there really is no real situation to test your skills anymore because we can't just kill people to do that. So for us practitioners of the ancient art, kendo is one way to test our skills as a swordsman because each cut should be driven with motivation, and not just random cut hoping to score a point
+Raven Flau Yes, even in japan, the *primal* aim.. was killing. There isn't really anything to debate about that. Having alot of rules, like limiting where you are allowed to hit or how you are allowed to move, causes the result of whom is a better swordsman to deviate quite significantly from the truth. It's not actually a test about who's the better fighter/swordsman, but a weird game of who touched whom first with a stick.
Metatron, I would like to make some comments:
Stances: There is further more not only migi-jodan, but also hidari-jodan. Actually you can stand how every you want. Furthermore you can change hands, if you would like to. Use waki, use hasso, use what ever you want. You could even use two swords. If you read the rules, there is now law how to stand.
Tsuki to the heart will be letal for sure, it's not just tipping. Actually it would destroy your spine easily.
In regards to footwork: you can "walk" how ever you want.
Left foot to the right: Let me give you some propper tai-atari and you will know that it's risky to turn your foot outwards. :)
All that said: If you are very far from the "norm" judges and examiners could have difficulties to give points or now dan grades. Good ones will know the rules and will be able to adapt. I know Kendoka with just one arm, with just one leg or even no legs at all - and still they can fight and are treated equally.
But still you are right: There are limitations in order to make it a "Sport" and to make it safe. For example we don't hit from behind, we don't hit upwards.
Please don't get me wrong: Maybe 3 years are not enough to get a deeper understanding of this very complex Martial Art, or Sport if you like. I practice since 15 yrs now, I'm godan and I wouldn't consider myself to have understood more than the basics - and a little bit more, maybe.
Give it a try. Go on with it and you will sooner or later feel the immense efficiency and freedom of the movements. But it takes time.
If you find a stance that works for you and let you still win: Tell me where to find you: I would love to fight with you! And you know in our small world of Kendoka this is not a threat, but the honest desire to experience something new and to find a extraordinary challenge.
Keep up the good work!
I think this is by far your best video. Few cuts and lots of info
keep it up :)
Metatron about the back foot rise, in MMA, boxing and kickboxing it is taught that it gives increased stepping/dodging speed and striking power. that's also why the term caught flat footed means caught unprepared.
It's been nearly 8 years now being a Kendo practitioner. I must say it takes a lot of patience and discipline. Then again, most of martial arts do.
After all these years of practicing, just recently, instructors around me are saying now I am striking the head effectively in correct terms. Now I accomplished one thing in Kendo and millions more to go. LOL.
Think Kendo as a very basic step towards to any sword fight. Some one already said here, all swords fights are components to each other. I think that's one good way to put to explain.
Now, some of you may wonder if I will ever study Kenjutsu to extend my swordsmanship any further, to prepare in realistic term? No, I won't. Why bother. I will just use my safeful of guns in reality if any physical force is needed. I am happy with just meditating my body with fast action of bamboo sticks.
So do you think kendo will help you using katana? Or sword fight?
@@auzyx6138 Yes, it will definitely help. But, if you are interested in sword fight sort of study, then you should pursue other swordsmanship study.
There are some errors that I would like to point out. Hasso opens your left Men for attacks, so while Kote is more proteced you open up another part for attack. At the same time you limit yourself with Hasso since cuts to the left side are far more difficult, you head is simply on the way. This makes Kote and Do harder to strike for you. So there is little benefit of Hasso over Jodan. Of cource you can use it freely there is no stance that isn't permitted. Also your footwork is wrong, you can use left foot in front, for example when doing a Nuki Men to the left side. It is rarely used, but perfectly valid. You claim that in Kendo only Hiki (the jump back) is possible is also wrong, you can use different methods to seperate from your Opponent. The suggested "half" step back with your left foot as you demonstrate will not bring you into proper stike distance. Loosing the sword does not mean the fight is interrupted immediatly, you will always have a short windows to strike until the refs will stop the fight, if you manage to score a valid hit it will count. And finally you point your foot towards the enemy, so your hips are straight and your can easily strike. Turning your foot like you did will turn your hip and will make your strikes to become far less accurate, especially center hits like Men.
I always find it a bit strange when people with only basic beginner knowledge make videos like this.
Some of your points are certainly valid, Kendo is not fully realistic Swordsmanship. Mostly because the zones you can hit are limited to protect the practioniers from injury which would happen if your go with full force sparring without a full armor. I would also Love to see stikes to the Legs, which would make Gedan more usefull, but I'm not sure how the knees of the practitioners would react to a full hit if a stike to the thigh misses. A lot of your "problems" simply come from errors or misunderstandings.
Finally Kendo is not only about spiritual growth, but more about to learn how to deal with an opponent, how to apply pressure and create an opening. Something you will not learn in Iado for example since it is only done in solo Kata.
Right. He's a kyu- knows only the beginning.
Thank you, I do not know you, but I value your sharing of your experiences and opinions and it has influenced my understanding of tojutsu. Thank you
I never had the impression that Kendo would bring me closer to being a samurai. I understand it as a sport, perhaps derived from earlier sword arts. But it's a modern sport, like boxing - there is a certain amount of real fight sitations in it, but when it became a sport, their own rules developed.
I'm glad you made this video. Im currently writing a story where my main character practices kendo so Ive been looking at a lot of books, articles, and videos on it and rarely do I see find anything that talked about the cons of the sport.
What I liked about Kendo, was the mindset, the mental discipline. I'm not simply discussing the etiquette, but rather understanding the restrictions of the fighting system (many, because you're not meant to win actual fights - this really is a sport).
I only practiced for six months, so I'm far less of an expert than the Metatron - I likely don't even count as potty-trained in the Kendo world. Yet, the way I understood my sensei(s), these are tools in the toolbox. As one who practiced for six months, I was learning the rote motions required to build a strategy, with which to defeat an opponent playing by similar rules. *This is the important part - I was not learning to fight to the death, but merely to learn to play the game half-competently, and in a non-dangerous way.*
Could these building blocks be adapted into techniques to defeat a real opponent? Yes. As the Metatron (and others) note - Kendo is actually a distillation from the Kenjutsu, it's the watered-down little brother.
That being said - and maybe I'm the crazy one - the point of Kendo for me wasn't the capacity for violence, or even necessarily a historical study, but rather the opportunity to hone my thinking, to understand how best to channel aggression, and to learn some of the many, many things I just don't know. For what it's worth, even that six months was a total success - I think I, if not totally, achieved those goals, at least learned things that are constructive and can be applied to a non-violent lifestyle.
Put differently: Kendo is not a Japanese HEMA. If you want to learn to fight, there are disciplines that teach you that, and Kendo can be a great supplement I'm sure. The point of Kendo is the discipline, and control, and limitations - when you learn to overcome the limitations, due having the discipline that grants near-perfect control of your situation. Kendo allows one to pursue self-improvement, through learning violent techniques, but not succumbing to them. Thus, the practical nature of the Kendo is entwined with the spiritual nature of this system. To master one may help you master the other, but it's not a sure shot.
And, it's not for everyone. It aligned, and does align, to my goals/wants/needs. If you need something different out of an activity, seek an activity that gives you what you need.
For what it's worth, if I am physically able, I intend to pursue kendo in the future. I still have my shinai, hakama, and keiko-gi. I'm confident I can find a good deal on an entry-level bogu set. Right now, it's not something that can be a priority due to other considerations. Nonetheless, I met great people - especially my sensei - and it opened my eyes to a great many things.
Someone who actually understands Kendo
nice video ^_^. i think you expressed your points clearly and demonstrated an appropriate amount of research and respect. keep up the good work!
Kendo is a form of sport fencing, hence why the restrictions and teaching to compete rather than to fight.
I just came across you channel and subscribed. You offer a ton of information, history, and a wealth of sword fight terms. I have been collecting swords and practicing forms and cuts informally in the privacy of my home. I have well over 20 katana and some really nice handmade swords from Nepal. Thank you very much for your insight. I have been wanting to get into Kendo for awhile now, but I think Kenjutsu might be the way to go. I plan on watching all your videos to gather as much of your knowledge as possible. Thanks again for some very insightful and informative videos.
Hello Metatron,
I wanted to know what style of Kenjutsu are your training? I am training Katori Shinto Ryu for almost 18 months now. We learn to fight with Bokken, Bo, Naginata, Kodachi and Ryoto (bokken and kodachi). We would alsow learn Yaro but we train i a schools gym and yari's are to big for transport in a car of bick. We alsow learn KSR iaijutsu.
I choose this over Kendo because i really wanted to learn how to fight with a katana but alsow for spiritial growth because my sensei alsow teaches this. And KSR is the most complete style that i could find here in the Netherlands.
Greetings and loved the video. Jeffry.
+Jeffry Katori shinto ryu :)
Metatron Nice! Would you be aloud to make kata video's? I want to see if the style is diffrant from my own. Otake sensei and Sugino also are 2 really diffrant styles. (Sorry for my english.)
Jeffry yes but I have only just started so I'll need some time to learn properly ^^
Metatron yes thats sounds like a plan. Haha
+Jeffry Hello Dutch, the Naginata is stigma of being a " woman's" weapon. A cheap home made one(H.M.O.) can be made from a Machete blade and a two inch/ 5 cm oak dao rod that is between 4 ft- 6 ft long. Call it Two Meters long._____ Train slow and watch your feet., a dull blade can still break toes.
My Irish/ Dutch grandma practiced Karate, ju-jituse, aikido taught to her by her Half-Sicilian son, my Uncle. Now how much of my Close Quarter Combat (C.Q.C.) came from Dutch/ Irish Wop Boxing, WW2 "C.Q.C." from grandpa, my Kungfu/ Japan martial studied Uncle, and my German/ Prussian- Russian Grandpa 1960's Navy "C.Q.C." ?
I was Surprised to learn at 13 years old that the " Kick/ Slap Boxing" my family uses is the same of the Movie Actor- Steven Seagal uses.
Do to All Of the Fights I was in between 9 ish to 23 years old. By the time I was 24 years old, I thought Eastern Martial Arts to be Over Hyped.. Still do and I'm about 40 ish.
Growing up I had a lot of 20 to 30 ish adult Men bloodieing me, to prove to me that I can be OUT " Steven Seagaled". 3-6 on 1 is not a Fair fight B.S. What Gave me My edge was Shield Guard Bashing and Spear thrusts / jabs boxing. Thats right, tried and true Europe Round Shield Bashing. Try doing some boxing techniques with a Large 1 meter shield.
Also the Over Hyped Long Sword / Katana isn't good fighting with if you are in Shield formation, in a thick hedge row of tress, Ship fighting, or Close building / narrow streets.____ True Thrusting Blades are better.
Even the Samurai used Strait blade "Sword Canes" for "civil" defense.
Honestly the Only Real thing that matters, Is that you are Training. The Right to Bear Arms.
B.s.--" Zen out"
Love your video. Good critical analysis of your experience and indepth brief overview of Kendo history.
Yes I would like to see more videos on Kenjutsu. Oh yes, and It be nice to see some videos of your kenjutsu sparring :)
i think this is interesting, ive been training kendo for 6 years now and i also like to study kenjutsu on an academic stance more than practical.
but i think kendo also makes you effective for combat to an extent, it makes you a perfectionist on hitting vitals, so much that every miss will probably be a serious hit.
I have put this to the test with some guys at my local Hema/softcombat schools and with the freedom softcombat give i feel like im wrecking everything. so many of my mistakes are valid when paired with other representations.
I agree that kendo is not samurai fighting, but i think it just encourages focusing on having super strong basic cuts, mastered to an extent when you can fight anybody and find a way with them
(this comment is so late tho)
Competition always denatures the original art...because of rules and safety issues.
ya nadie casi pelea a espadas realmente como antiguamente se hacia
If you don’t compete then your “art” is horseshit and doesn’t actually work
@@legrandfromage9682 he means for sport with rules doesn't have the same nature as the death duels
@@legrandfromage9682 Compete in tournaments and competitions is very different compare to compete sparring with mutual rules agreed by 2 fighters and no one else. Tournaments and stuffs made restricted rules that eventually degraded every martia art if that art start only focusing on tournament competition (which already happened to sport fencing, Kendo, Judo...), that's the kind of compete OP was referred to. Compete between only 2 fighters with their own rules to keep things as realistic as possible is a very different thing, something must have in every martial arts, which is the kind of compete you were referred to
You make absolute sense, and I like your analysis! Molto interessante, ho sempre voluto fare Kendo ma non ho mai avuto l'opportunita. Facevo Thai Boxing a Milano, e dopo la nostra lezione di Thai, c'era una lezione di Kendo, mi siedevo per tutta la lezione a osservare, e che all'epoca mi allenavo molto in Kikcboxing e Thai che non avevo il tempo e l'energia per iniziare il Kendo!
Grazie per i tuoi video sono molto dettagliati ed altamente informativi!! Buona continuazione!!
I have studied aikido for a couple years too, which is a martial art that gets a lot of hate because of its high emphasis on philosofical teachings and how exaggerated and unrealistic the techniques you practise look. I really like it, and I wasn't blind and could understand the body mechanics at work under that fancy jumping around. We had a very good master, who always built knowledge from the base, explaining all reasons and making us demostrate points with the use of all kinds of weapons or even only with balance.
I know this peace philosofy is not for everybody. But I also think that a particular mindset is a very important think in a martial art. If you are trying to get closer to an idea of perfection, that idea has to be well defined. People who just want to fight with swords are usually, in my experience, disrespectful aggressive guys or knowitall nerds.
Now I have been getting a lot into HEMA, studying source material and reading historical records of the period. It's also another cool part of it - that also isn't for everybody - and allows me to learn more about the history of my country. And I can understand most of the writing! Which from japanese not a lot of things have been translated and most of the knowledge is passed through different schools only.
Do you reccomend some source for investigating on kenjutsu, or iaijutsu maybe? I have already read "go rin no sho" and a couple of modern books that are useful and explanatory but not the based-on-the-period source I would like.
+Klavak Khazga
If you're looking for more historical sources, have you read the "Heiho Kadensho" by Yagyu Munenori? There are a couple of English translations available of the "Heiho Kadensho" available: one by William Scott Wilson called "The Life-Giving Sword" and another by Hiroaki Sato called "The Sword and the Mind." Having read it myself, I must warn you that it's not a technical manual on swordsmanship that teaches you step-by-step on how to fence; it's a treatise that is more concerned with the general art of strategy and the "Yagyu Shinkage Ryu" mindset behind swordsmanship. IIRC though, those translations (or at least the William Scott Wilson one I've read) does include an illustrated mokuroku (i.e. technique catalogue) of some techniques in the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.
Thank you for the suggestions!
+Klavak Khazga Aikido is the "Old Man's" fighting style. Because of,
1.) He Was an Old man when he develop the form, and his body was broken down. and he was still wanting to Practice.
2.) If you don't want to have a broken down body, and to practice as long as he did. You should follower what he has done.
3.)Look at Professional Athletes, Wrestlers- server back pains, Football- legs and back screwed together, Basketball/ Football- twisted out Ankles/ knees.
4.) I grew up learning Aikido, this Is all Old B.S. to me. My Uncle was a good teacher, an Egotistic Prick, but a good child teacher.
5.)I have twisted out ankles, bad knees, and a bad back for the pass 20 years.. I'm 40 ish. now.
Aikido is "Like" Swimming in water, if you have never truly been in water, you can talk All About Swimming you want ; but you still don't know anything about swimming.
6.) Water in a sallow swimming pool is very useful to train in. It teaches how to relax, flow with the roll. Very low impact to the ground.
+Klavak Khazga "gets a lot of hate because of its high emphasis on philosofical teachings and how exaggerated and unrealistic the techniques you practise look." Eh, only a little. The main criticism of Aikido (and I've practiced it a bit myself too) is that it doesn't have real sparring, with fully resisting opponents trying to hurt you.
Aikido largely works "in theory", but the majority (not all, just a lot of it) of techniques are far too impractical to actually use in a real fight.
If you train Aikido from a Budo point of view, almost more like meditation with some health benefits added in, by all means go for it. Awesome.
But I just wanted to add, that "it looks unrealistic" isn't the main reason people criticize it.
I also used to practice Aikido a few years ago, back in high school. And yes, unless you've really had a lot of practice, it probably won't be as efficient, as say, a martial art with both offensive and defensive techniques (such as karate). But even if you forget a form or two, or the exact names of the techniques, the philosophy of the Aiki will still remain in you.
But if people just want to learn how to spam punches, kicks and how to go berserk, then yes, it is a bad Budo.
dude i belive that martial arts are the truest expression of humanity. you are projecting your will to live, the only interpretation to be realized is your life against another. truly beautiful in the end. so i would love to learn more of kenjutsu
Hi Metatron, thank you for this video. I'm currently thinking about some refreshment and wanted to try Kendo for the first time. To make it clear, I practice Katori Ryu for 5 years now but there are no sparring matches there - mostly because nobody wnat's to be hospitalized even while we use bokuto not shinken. Nevertheless this video makes me think that Kendo wouldn't be a good choice for me. I'm used to perform every single action with an intention to kill and I have to disagree with you about the general understanding of martial arts - no offense please. I understand that modern teachers see various schools of fighting as martial arts simply because there is no use for them today, people are not dying daily in combat with swords, spears, arrows, etc. People die from the bullets and bombs mostly. But the thing is that the teachers want to preserve the teachings of their schools so they transform the deadly art into a martial art - it's more attractive to the students this way and if you add a spiritual element, people may even think that it's useful in their normal life, family life, business, etc. But we have to remember that nobody ever forged a sword centuries ago just for the pleasure of forging a beautiful object. People forge weapons to fight. And kenjutsu - in general - is not a martial art, it's a raw, brutal combat system like nowadays krav-maga or filipino martial arts. Every move, strike, stance was designed to kill. Maybe designed is not a good word, more likely observed. When you stand on the battlefield with mud and blood up to your ankles and look at the corpse of your friend or enemy you don't think about the beauty of the world nor about the glory of warriors death. You think about what you've just seen. About the strike that took down the dead warrior. You try to understand why it was this effective. You carefully consider it, lear it, design a stance or a strike or a kata that may be shown in the dojo, than you teach it to your friends so you would have better chances in the battle to survive. And that's it, there is nothing more to add to kenjutsu. It's a soulless, vicious methodology of killing. All of this spiritual stuff came later and nowadays we have to respect that but we must not forget hundreds of thousands of lives taken to make those fighting styles come to life. I hope it all makes sense more or less. Kind regards.
I am a instructor in Kenjutsu, iaijutsu, tantojutsu, jujutsu and Kobudo well as modern military combatives. I am noticing that even the way you grip the sword, stances, footwork and cutting movements are completely different. I respect kendo as a sport providing fitness and I am sure it is a lot of fun. The thing with a lot of kenjutsu and iaijutsu that exist today is that they only do kata...maybe tameshigiri but that's it. There are still some schools, that I was blessed to have become a part of, that deeply study the science of kenjutsu / iaijutsu and applies it to all the other arts such as tantojutsu and jujutsu etc... Samurai were very proficient because they completely eliminated excess movement, maneuvered and cut with juntai ho and this is what enabled them to move very smoothly at what appears to be blinding speed. Few systems practice the drills that enabled samurai to overcome bruit force with soft redirection leading straight into a cut. Also very important is the randori or free movement drill (which is always done very slowly) that helps build intuition and deal with unplanned attacks. These old and nearly lost kenjutsu principals have been making a come back a bit because military, general citizens and law enforcement see the value of them. Are they carrying swords around? Of course not. But when applied to jujutsu or any martial art you can very swiftly and efficiently drop people and decide how much bodily damage you want to deliver based upon the level of threat. It's not at all impressive to watch but it just works so well. Oh, and instead of a sword, I generally carry a flash light, pen and occasionally my folding knife. ;-) Thank you for another informative video!
I'm super interested in Kendo..but i'm 16...so...i'm interested in it because of the mind and stuff like that.
DevAero Same bro, I feel ya
You're neither too young or too old to practice. You can start right now and have fun and learn. :) You're never too old or too young to start!
Muikkunen 2k16 I'm gonna look into it...
I'm 15 and practice HEMA, the younger you start the more time you have of practice in your life
Dev let me be upfront and tell you I am a hardline existentialist and *very* much a 'spirituality sceptic' BUT if your interest lies in the direction you say then you might find Akido considerably *more* engaging.
- And at least with Akido you learn a useful (but rapidly pretty complex) skill set. (For everyone else there's Jitsu (but not the Brazillian 90% groping about on the mat version unless .......))
But Muikkunen has the right of it - do start something rewarding and
the evidence is the younger you start the higher you eventually peak.
Plus, as DragonSlayer says, you can do it for longer too .... Provided you select one which doesn't damage you.
The main cause of people quitting the 'hard' martial arts (most, not all Karate styles, and I think some Taikwondo styles) is knee damage from the twisty 'footwork'.
Research is your friend. Its well worth a bit of digging before you commit to a Martial Art. That way you find the one right for you.
I think a lot of points you make are valid regarding some places where kendo is lacking, but there’s also a great deal of misunderstandings and lack of knowledge. You’ve been doing it for three years which isn’t long at all. I think one of the biggest points that you miss is simply the purpose of kendo. It’s not about winning or losing as in a sport or even a real fight. It’s about strengthening your body and your mind. It’s about cultivating the spirit and mentality required to fight in sword combat. It’s about learning to read and understand your opponent. To understand what they’re going to do before they even know that they’re going to do it, then reacting to it. It’s about pressuring and controlling your opponent in a mental battle. You’ve been doing kendo for three years, so you haven’t even mastered the basic strikes, not even to start speaking about your form in Jodan.
Younger kendoka and middle aged kendoka in their 20s, 30s and 40s usually are the fastest and strongest. They have an excellent speed and mastery over the moves, and they move at high speeds in very aggressive plays. Most of the world champions and winners of shiai are that group of kendoka. They are strong, but even they have yet to fully grasp the purpose of kendo. The real kendo comes out with the old guys. The guys who can’t even do a full sonkyo anymore. They move with such slow and relaxed movements. They don’t have the endurance or energy nor do they need it because they don’t waste any movement at all. They move with the bare minimum speed and not anymore than they have to. Do you know why? Because they are fighting with their hearts. They are fighting a mental battle with pressure and openings and strength that only people at their level can sense. That is the level of kendo that is truly the top.
And yes, I fully understand your problems with kendo when you compare it to real samurai combat. Mixing arts like iaijutsu, kenjutsu, and kendo are essential if you truly want to come close to mastering the sword as a whole. That is something that you can’t inherently do just because you are a strong kendoka. The point is, the truly strong swordsman of the samurai era were not people who simply trained by swinging a sword around. They were warriors and they fought to the death in duals and wars for years. The ones that became strong were simply the ones who didn’t die, and lived long enough to get that combat experience. Their minds and instincts were sharpened through actual fights to the death. If they lost, they died, and even if they won, they might be missing body parts. Even losing a single finger would severely hamper a swordsman career or end it outright. Replicating this is something that we’re aren’t capable or willing to do now. (At the very least I don’t know anyone willing to die for kendo or any similar hobby/undertaking.)
Using blunt swords and armor in fights like kendo are the closest we can come to cultivating that mentality. No flashy moves, no unnecessary actions. Just a very quick bout of movement between two players and the match is already almost decided. We put everything in our heart and mind into each strike, imaging that it’s the only strike we’d ever be able to do. We strike fully with our entire being, prepared to follow through regardless of if we are also struck. We don’t think about the realism, because we can feel it through trial and error. Through literal thousands of fights the movements become second nature. Our reactions become second nature. The limitations on our sword force is to focus on limited parts of the body because we must expect to only be able to strike a single time. We must follow through with everything we have, prepared to die.
I know that I’m not able to do that. I’m not prepared to die, and beyond a very very small percentage of people, I doubt any martial artist is. It’s simply the mentality that we strive for and cultivate . The point is that the real warriors of that time, and throughout all time we’re prepared to die. The samurai were prepared to devote their lives to prepare for battle. To expect every single strike to be their last, and put their life behind each strike. If you want realism, that’s it right there. And without actually going to war, it’s the closest we can get to it. (And I know that for certain because the kendoka that I know where fought in actual military conflict and sometimes police as well have a unique pressure that many others are unable to replicate.). Sorry for the long comment, just some ramblings of a weird person who decided to dedicate himself to kendo until the day he dies.
Five seconds in: *completely discredits himself by holding his shinai like an anime character.*
At least he not holding it with his mouth
How dare he hold an imaginary sword in an incorrect manner while introducing a video!......you REALLY need to relax, life is too short and nobody except you gives a shit.
You have encountered the same problem I had when I studied Olympic Saber, Foil, and Epee. Many of the rules limiting targets, foot work, strikes, and stances and the focus on offence only seems to be lacking to me. That is why I switched to historic fencing for rapier and saber. I eventually became enamored with the Spanish and Italian schools for the sword and Sabre as practiced during the 1800s. I found it to be very rich and rewarding. And as I learned more I learned a little about the saber practices from Eastern Europe and Russia. Needles to say I have found it to be very rich and rewarding and it deepened my level of understanding. I believe that once you leave the constraints of Kendo and start walking your own personal path of martial study, you will learn a lot and your understanding will become richer. Good luck!
A video showing the differences beetween Kenjutsu and Iaijustsu would be great :)
Search his channel. He has a video entitled "Kendo, Kenjutsu, or Iaido? Understanding the Differences".
+bjmccann1 Oh, I missed that. Thank you! :)
+Xevi Corral No problem.
+Xevi Corral The difference is not difficult to understand. Iaijutsu is about quickly drawing the sword from the scabbard and cutting with. It was very useful in street fights to perform surprise attacks or to defend against surprise attacks. Kenjutsu is the swordfight (fencing) that follows if you couldn't immediately disable your opponent with iaijutsu. They are often taught together as part of a sword fighting system.
taijutsu=body fighting (kick,punch,bite[kidding]). kenjutsu=weapon fighting
I've done Kendo, Muso ikiden Eishin Ryu and Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu since around 2012 now. I can say that kendo was very helpful, for both the physical health benefits (gives you ALOT of stamina), muscle memory, distance, timing and for cultivating zanshin. Hopefully back to it after a period of illness soon. I think it HAS to be paired with a form of kenjutsu or iai, or at least a very solid amount of practice in the kata element of ZNKR indulged in. I feel the kata element of Kendo is not up played enough.
4:42 is when he actually says his peace
I'm a Yudunsha in Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. I have also studied Ona Ha Itto Ryu, both with the Japanese masters. Why do I mention this? Because what many do not know is that Kendo, came mainly from Itto Ryu. In that style, the downward cut is considered all powerful. That is why they stress it so much. FYI, Kenjustsu is the art of fighting once the sword is drawn, Iaijutsu is the art of fight with a sword sheathed. They are separate arts to the Japanese. There are over 200 different styles of swordsmanship in Japan and yes they are registered. As for Kendo itself, many of the Koryu arts look down on it as a watered down sport.
Doing Kendo to be a Samaurai....wrong reason.
Kendo to improve your life...right reason.
Hello and nice to meet you. Want to start by saying the way you introduce your videos is so classy and approachable, and I always enjoy watching. I would usually never do this, but since I have enjoyed your other videos and learned loads of new stuff about our mutual interests from you, it would be great to give something back to you. I've been pursuing Kendo for 11 years now in the United States and several places across Japan, and wanted to offer a few small (but certainly not all-encompassing) experiences that have happened to me personally:
I have been hit across the menbuton intentionally many times by sensei in kesagiri.
I have been tackled and had my bogu ripped off, and been choked out at least once.
I have punched a senshu in the face from tsubazeriai with my tsuba in shiai and not received hansoku
I have had my feet swept out from under me intentionally
I have headbutted a rokudan sensei with my mengane, right after he did it to me.
I have received tsuki in the shoulder from people trying to physically hurt me (so many times), not as a nice thing but to actually harm me in a not friendly way. Have done it back too (much to my shame.)
But the keiko never stopped for either me or the other party to talk about what happened or bring up "would either of us be dead." We just kept fighting. Tournaments have rules and so do dojo to keep people safe and coming back, but good teachers know exactly how to do what you're talking about. They just don't because it's not (for better or worse) part of the standardized curriculum anymore. And lastly, doing those things to people with full intent, without stopping to laugh it off or explain the larger purpose of the violence turns people away because it's abusive. I've seen lots of HEMA practices and love the grappling and fighting involved, but whenever that stuff happens to me in Kendo with intent, it isn' t all that fun. They're not trying to teach you, they're trying to hurt you enough to break your spirit. Just my two cents. I really do like your videos, so I hope what I said was at least interesting.
Much respect and again, nice to meet you.
kendo makes plenty of sense for modern day applications. it is a sport and a martial art and has very clear rules to regulate winners/ losers of matches. what good is kenjutsu really as a martial art that makes it better than kendo? how often are you walking down the street with your katana and meet an enemy samurai, then proceed to duel? if the answer is "often" then by all means then kenjutsu is right for you. for me i would rather pick kendo for full contact duels with clear rules designed for tournaments. NOTE. i would love to be able to practice BOTH kendo and kenjutsu! there is only kendo in my area. but if i had to choose between one i would pick kendo.
First, I just came across this channel, so much interesting here I'm going to be spending weeks watching stuff as I have time.
Second, as someone who used to practice both Kendo and Fencing this video has rather hit on why I moved away from them both over time. Much as I like the sport scoring systems in both as a driver to constant improvement, they reinforce bad habits in relation to historical combat practice. That isn't bad thing per se, but when what you're really interested in is actual historical practice it is very much a problem.
Check out Unified Weapons Master, they're developing a suit of armour made for full impact combat sparring. The armour can measure impact strength and location. They're gonna have a competition March this year. Hopefully this will spread and allow for warriors of cultures from all over the world to gather and fight epic duels with more realistic rules.
+Moosehound I'm cautiously optimistic about the UWM. If their armor works as advertised they could have something incredible on their hands, but I've heard nothing about the quality of their weapons simulators, and what I saw in their demonstration videos was not encouraging. Plastic swords do not behave like real swords. Again, I'm not hating on them, just reserving judgement.
+G-Man From what i understand, their first event will utilize blunt metal weapons (don't quote me on that). And synthesized swords are available cheap, durable and weighed realisticly. The point is the armour, it takes care of protecting and measuring impact location and force, what they hit with is irrelevant. Promising, but I understand your skepticism.
but theyre suits only measure blunt force though
i don't care how pretty a style looks if the flashiness comes at the cost of practicality. i mean, i learned Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo. Hapkido and Aikido in middle school. but the Street Brawling i taught myself in elementary school as a response to being bullied, was actually a lot more effective in a real chaotic unscripted fight. i mean sure, i have multiple blue belts, but the techniques were all stuff i already knew how to use and most of it, i had to remove or modify to compensate for flaws like joint strain or lack of hand eye coordination. i always put up a powerful beat down, generally downing larger opponents in seconds. because real fights are decided in seconds, not minutes, hours or episodes. but i admit that i am what RPGs would call a Glass Cannon.
A friend pointed me towards this video, and though there are some valid points that you make, the main thing I get from your video is that you want to change spaghetti Bolognese by swapping out the pasta for rice and be disappointed to find it's no longer spaghetti Bolognese.
You mention the absence of certain techniques and/or the lack of use of certain techniques that would generally be used in kenjutsu. Now, I, as a practitioner of not only kendo, but medieval European martial arts as well, am the last person to deny kendo has changed in this way. But, I don't think it's appropriate to say kendo "lacks" these things, because they are simply not a part of kendo, as they do not directly contribute to the ultimate goal of self-development in kendo. It's not kendo anymore if you add those old medieval techniques. I.e. spaghetti Bolognese is no longer spaghetti Bolognese once you change the spaghetti to rice.
So I guess my question really is, what is it that you want people to understand from this video?
That you shouldn't start kendo when you believe you're going to learn kenjutsu?
If so, why mention an arbitrary number of differences between kendo and an arbitrary number of kenjutsu schools?
Then again, if you want to experience the mental struggle samurai went through on the battlefield kendo might actually be one of the greatest ways to experience that. No you might not be using the same techniques as they were, but that's just a superficial part of the martial struggle anyway. You can't experience this at the same level through most other forms of martial arts, especially ones that focus on medieval techniques, because people would actually die from performing them.
It really is a shame you have never participated in a tournament, or trained more than once a week. Because if you did, I'm pretty sure this video wouldn't have existed.
He's just saying he's problem with Kendo, nothing more.
You literally brought back some ptsd that I didn't know I had from tournaments. The worst were promotional exams! Fighting twice in a row all alone without any peripherals. God, those are some of the scariest memories I have. Doing the Kata portion of the Dan Promotional exam O.O
Amen to this comment ;)
+Zimujova - Martial Arts You do make an interesting point about whether kendo and kenjutsu should be treated as distinct from each other, and that your expectations should not overlap between them. I genuinely find that an interesting perspective. But you have to understand that Metatron and his audience are people mainly interested in history, and from that perspective you just can't deny the historical continuity between one and the other.
Kendo is historically a simplifcation of kenjutsu, aimed towards making a sword-based martial art that can be practiced as a sport. If Metatron makes some criticisms over the restrictiveness of the rules of kendo, he's not saying its therefore bad, but that it just does not suit him and others like him who wish to be able to get as close as they can to the historical way samurai used to fight, where fair and balanced competition matter less than simply what would work to win a fight. It's entirely reasonable to advise his audience not to expect kendo to be kenjutsu in this regard.
There's no right and wrong here. It's just matter of what you want out of your martial arts. Making this video does not in any way attempt to invalidate you or others like you who choose to practice kendo and are passionate about it.
The problem arises when Sensei and the "organization" sell kendo as an ancient art linked to Samurai culture. Heck, they call it Kendo (the way of the sword) and then package it with so much nonsense, when in fact there is not really that much swordsmanship in the sport.
Alas, I love it even though there is so much hypocrisy and baggage.
Kendo is not a simulation or reenactment of samurai katana combat. What it is, is a survival of a training modality that was, in a similar form, used to actually train samurai to fight with katana.
Once again a great video from the Metatron.
Personally, I'd love to get to see some content about ancient Kenjutsu.I'm planning on starting to practice HEMA, but I don't practice any japanese martial arts. However, I am quite interested in the historical aspects of Kenjutso, but not so much in the sporty Kendo. It's the same as with european sport fencing; It may be a great sport for some, but the simplified, abstract movements just don't fit my taste. So yeah, Kenjutsu gets my vote.
+gargoyleex Kendo is closer to a martial art than the sorry state of modern western fencing. Kendo doesn't use orthopedic grip hilts and electronic scoring.
Malcolm Powless-Lynes
I hold the stance that classical fencing teaches martial skills, much more than Olympic fencing. (But obviously HEMA and kenjutsu both do so even more.)
+Noah Weisbrod The weapons may bare little resemblance to their antecedents but the same could be said of a shinai save for the grip which is not that much different from a katana. As for electric scoring, I don't see how that's a big deal, it simplifies things a lot, esp. in epee fencing where it completely eliminates the need for a scoring judge since there's no right of way. In a way modern sport fencing is less limited than modern kendo, sure the foil and saber have limited target areas but both are less limited than with kendo or at least no more limited, with foil anywhere on the front of the torso and below the neck (minus the arms) is a valid target, and with saber anywhere from the hip bones up (front of back) is a valid target.
+gargoyleex If you want to learn how to fight with a Katana , then Kenjutsu is the way to go, one problem there arent many schools that teaches it.( srry for bad enlgish, im from Norway) im lucky to live in Bergen in Norway. we have a Martial art school that teaches Koden Enshin Ryu Kenjutsu ( only shcool that teaches Kenjutsu inNorway i think)
If you don't have a Kenjutsu club where you live, then il sugest a HEMA club, have checked out some HEMA videos and thinking about basic like footwork and stances it is much the same. What i like about the School / ryu that i train is that it is not just all about how to use the sword, but also how to fight and and defend without a sword. ( Ju-Jutsu)
Don't know if you do that in HEMA aswell :P but if you don't have anny Kenjutsu clubs, try out HEMA :)
Samurai Yoshi: +gargoyleex Bravo someone who finally mentioned the logic and the reason for the very existence of Kendo.
I'm impressed. I studied for at least 12 yrs regularly and achieved 1st Dan and I would agree with you. You are very knowledgeable more than others I've seen on youtube. The concepts and basics like timing and precision etc. that can be used no matter what you practice. I fought in full plate and chain and used various weapons and shields fighting in heavy combat in the SCA. Again it is different when you fight in large groups and against a variety of weapons. I did a little olympic style fencing but more SCA style fencing and again the concepts are all different and the targets you can hit are greatly widened. The foot work varies too when you are in a field on uneven surfaces. A lot of fun.
+Steve McQueen Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and it's cool you have 1st Dan :)
Yea it was some work to get. Learning different styles and tactics and weapons and you learn a lot. It was all fun while I could still do it. It's funny how people limit themselves to weapons and styles rather than learn from everything. Great job
3 years is nothing in "budo". They are called "do" for a reason.
Aikido is religious-philosophical system implemented in movements (yes it is somehow related to martial arts of samurai era, but in a very indirect way), has nothing to do with real grappling. In other words, it is a type of yoga ( in a traditional meaning of the word, with all respect to yoga), but performed in the martial-like way. I'm sorry for you friend and other millions of Aikido practitioners, who newer even read wikipedia article about o-sensei. If they need to grapple -they better learn something else, or maybe they will like Aikido even more (realizing what it really is).
The school that I've been practicing with since 2007 in Utah, Unites States, was founded by Dr. Kotaka Satao whom was one of the founding members and Vice President of the US Kendo Federation. As a 9th dan he recognized that modern kendo was taking a turn in the wrong direction so he left it behind and began The US Classical Kendo Federation teaching Sakurai-ha Kogen Itto Ryu. He renamed it after his teacher Sakurai Fumitake, a surviving member of the Shinsengumi. We practice live blade iaido, Seiza no bu, Kiza no bu, and Chudan no bu, Nippon Kendo Kata and Kogen Kata, and Keiko sparring every session. It was Kotaka's belief that only by understanding all three could a kendoka truly grow. When we spar there is no Ippon point system and we fight in every kind of kamae. Also we heavily practice kiriatoshi and how to execute it properly. I'm preparing for my 1st kyu test this June, and it is as brutal as taking a 2nd dan test in modern disciplines.
If someone stabbed your in your mune in shiai and it was permitted, but you then struck them on the shoulder, that would mean they lacked zanshin, so it wouldn't be a valid point,
As for the value of using smaller fewer targets, I always thought this increased one's accuracy.
Also, plenty of people do use a torso thrust at 4th dan and above - it isn't a valid point but it does break the other's zanshin, so it is trained for (at the dojos I have been to anyway).
Also, the gedan at full knee depth and the use of hasso are in kata so people can use them in keiko - people do it all the time. In kendo, you learn the basics solidly first, so maybe your only having done kendo for a short period is why you didnt get onto these techniques. Or maybe you just had a very sport-style dojo?
Frankly, I always assumed that the targets in kendo were there to allow one to execute the basic cutting directions, while not injuring your partner.
Fewer targets means you have to work on seme.
and seme trumps all
Hello Metatron! I am a student of Kenjutsu, and we practice Keiko betwen us like in Kendo. But the footwork its different in the high Kyu (or grades). In the firsts Kyu, we learn to move like a kendoka do it, with ashi-sabaki. But in the highs kyu, we learn to move walking. This is because when you move in suri-ashi, okuri-ashi or other form like this, you learn to move through the "Hara". And that its the essential of the movement in real combat. When you learn that, you can move walking through the Hara. I hope that this help to understand this.
Thanks for your videos!
but... but we are the noble ones... hello...
+Kazakh Gamer
Hah, yeah, I feel the same way.
+Kazakh Gamer I wonder what happened...?
*****
Lol !
+Asd 123 No he's just honest about his heritage. We all should be.
+ilyriandevil go back far enough. my name comes from greece & germany, with relatives (back far enough) all over the world. the list is to long to type here
I have been Practised Kendo now for 6 years now and I'm a 3rd Kyu, after 2 years I started to get Bored of it, and I almost Dropped out Completely, but I Started to do Larping, and I could now used some of those Sword Skills outside of the Dojo, and gave me a reason to stay ! Kendo teaches you Pain, and Life, Because Life is not Easy and Reality Hurts, Kendo Teaches you to be, & Live at Peace with it !
I wish I could practice, but there are no dojos near me during the week. :(
I enjoy your videos. Very informative and easy to understand. Arigatou gozaimashita. 😊
Kendo is pretty obviously a sport rather than a martial art. You may as well make a video about why boxing isn't effective compared to over fighting styles.
J Borg the difference is that boxing is very effective. :)
@@christianbagge609 Against untrained people, sure ;) but so is kendo, if you happen to have stick/pipe/sword.
Before the video I didn't have any idea about such a big differences between this two things. Very interesting. Many thanks, Met.
Of the three martial arts, I would prefer to study Kenjutsu, especially after hearing how limiting kendo techniques and stances can be. I would prefer to keep my options open. My second choice would be Iaido, a stark contrast to Kenjutsu and kendo but it would (in my mind) complement Kenjutsu rather well; similar to how some martial artists practice sport based arts like karate or kickboxing along with the much calmer tai chi.
If you wouldn't mind, I would very much like to see a video describing/demonstrating the various kamae, footwork and techniques of Kenjutsu, that has been removed from modern kendo. Also, how did modern kendo settle on a standard length of a blade and grip, which school of Kenjutsu used a katana of identical or similar proportions?
I'm glad I came across this channel, I have zero experience in any of these arts, I do however find them fascinating.
I do practice all three.
Understand this.
1.Alot of people who study Iaido have studied Kendo, vica versa .
2. Alot of people i met in Kenjutsu Want to study Kendo !
One of the main reasons is that the combat style is never experienced in Kata movements. You will do repetitive kata weather solo or partner in Kenjutsu and iaido.
However funny enough. A time will come where you will beleive your stagnating. And wish to go an extra mile and go to combat. Kendo is unpreditctable.
All three are parts of the same wheel . However Kendo will make you face your mental fears more than Iaido and kenjutsu. Your competing, your in a postition where you dont know the outcome. Your made to work hard and endure pain physically and mentally. The social aspect is huge. You can travel and face anyone in the world.
It all depends on what you want as an individual. Practice all three if you can.
If you dont like fighting or competition, or physical pain then Kendo might be an issue.
Iaido and kenjutsu are turn based Kata. Where the focus is on mental and timing and distance. Kendo is where you put them in practice.
Yes Kendo has been sportified no doubt, but the budo elements of zanshin , mind focus, spirit and knowing waza without thought exisit.
The guy who made this video , i beleive didnt dwell enough into kendos spiritual and mental aspects. However all three martial arts are great to study, but it all depends on the individual.
Kenjutusu also has many different styles of ryuha, their are some on youtube. But beleive me only a few techniques have been taken from kendo . Not many.
Mr P Your comment is completely correct
They are all components of the same art, And all are somewhat incomplete without the others.
The way I've always felt is that Kenjustu and Iadio teach you the physical moves.
And Kendo puts you in combat and helps you develop the mental mindset needed to overcome the stress and the pain, and to give you the reflexes and stamina to actually win.
Ideally you'd want to learn all 3. But otherwise people should just find the one they get the most out of.
Mr P very well done, sir!
I would add , please research before doing any of these martial arts. I know people who have been putting off by kendo s sports influence. Kenjutsu is the way samurai fought in real life. Same with Koryu iaido. Kendo is a sportified version, which still has Budo elements.
The main advantage kendo has over the other two is the kendo is "full contact". The physicality, the exhaustion, pushing through the fatigue, the intensity and chaos of sparring . . . it's incredible and provides an entirely different experience that cannot be captured otherwise.
I wish kendo preserved more versatile techniques---certainly a lot of HEMA-style protection could be added and suddenly the entire body would become a target. But doing kendo, you will find that there is quite a lot you can learn despite the simplified technique set.
I was interested in kendo when I was a teen, but I found it did seem a bit stiff and sporty for me so I never started. Iaido sparked my interest more, but in the end it didn't seem quite what I wanted either. Several years later I was researching martial arts, particularly ancient ones, for a creative writing project and was absolutely thrilled to find Kenjutsu. That's something I could commit to. I'd rather theoretically be able to manage a real fight well than really practise a sport well.
You keep saying "in a real fight situation". Yet you know kendo is a sport.
No one will ever be in a real sword fight. I'd take Kendo over the others every time. Because at least it actually has a modern day application. 🙂
I don't get what Kendo could offer in modern day application that other non-japanese weapon based martial arts could not. All the basic stuffs like timing, distancing, body movement.... exist in every practical martial arts. Yea, it build up the fighting spirit and character development of the practitioners but that's where it stopped as a martial arts
Just look at HEMA, it's just as competitive like Kendo with big difference such as no uptight nonsense restricted rules and practical sword techniques are applied in the match
And yes, there's almost zero chance that a swordfight would happen in modern day BUT in your hand, a stick is a sword, an umbrella is a sword, a crowbar is a sword, a machete is a sword. Now that's the application of practical techniques that weapon based martial arts provided you in a fight that would happen in modern day. Kendo doesn't help you with that, it's whipping cutting techniques are inefficient compare to the cutting method and techniques are taught in iaido/kenjutsu/HEMA or any practical sword based martial arts out there
Nice video, I really liked it.
I had already looked for the difference between kendo and kenjutsu, and definitly, it was kenjutsu that took the first place. I found one thing interesting in kendo, it's the fact that it's easier to find an opponent. It comes from my own experience but, all the kendo practitionner that I know though that kenjutsu was a barbarian martial art. But, kenjutsu is so full of bushido (what is logical) that it's an incredibly noble martial art (I'm not saying that kendo is not). It teaches you, the way of saving your life, the way of feeling great in your body and your mind, and finally, to respect the life of your opponent in his death. All is in honnor. And your katana is at the same time, the protection of your life and a way to increase your self confidence, body and mind but also, the weapon that will take the life of your opponent. All is respect and effectiveness. Simple and complicated at the same time. Beautifull.
Iaijutsu and iaido have a bit the same comparison excepted the fact that the only difference I found between them is the research of effectiveness for killing that iaijutsu has and not iaido. Iaido is more for the beauty of the move. I did not make a choice there. Both making sense for me. It's to see new horizons that I decided to chose iaijutsu.
So definitively, I chose the old martial arts. I find them much nobler because of their origins and teaches. Kendo is a sport, a martial sport but still a sport, kenjutsu is a martial art. And I definitly prefer art than sport. It's my point of view. Please don't feel insulted, it's not the objective.
An excellent explanation for your reasons.
When you look at a sport like Kendo from a martial arts perspective, you always have two major flaws:
1) in a sport, you only fight opponents who fight honorably.
2) competitive sports need win conditions and a killed opponent just isn't an option.
That said, a sport still is a very useful way to hone skills which are useful in an actual fight. Furthermore, there is a valid way to see how good your are at those skills.
“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
Please do correct me if i'm wrong but it seems to me that in those 3 years in Japan you have been absent in the dojo most of the time, did not REALLY listen to your teachers because like you say yourself; you have "problems" with kendo, and thus your kendo never took off in the first place. In other words you never really committed to begin with. I can simply tell by the way you hold your shinai and your posture and your strikes that your movements are extremely ineffecient and you have never REALLY trained beyond your comfort limit. I think we both know it's true. I also think this is a real shame since you've had 3 years(!) of training in Japan which is the most favorable environment to study kendo by a huge margin and also a privelege some people can only dream of. If this is what you come up with, i am inclined to call it a waste of time. Not YOUR time mind you, i mean the time of the people that have put effort in trying to teach you. I really mean no offence, but i simply have stood in their shoes too often for it not to be personal.
Anyway, you argue more or less that Kendo is not realistic, oversimplified and restrictive, and you have quit. I've seen it a hundred times and shrugged it off most of the time, but i really felt like i had to put in my two cents here; Kendo is complex and has more depth beyond your imagination in contrast to your explanation of (your problems with) it, which i find to be rather shallow. This is not how you should be quitting kendo, or quit anything for that matter. Here's why:
In my opinion, you either commit or you do not even start at all. It is the only way to get something out of it because only then will you understand what you are quitting. Do not go into anything half-assed. If you commit fully and still decide it is not for you, at least you are quitting for the right reasons.
So what about (mental) strength, (mental) endurance, speed, willpower, agility, self improvement by experimenting, finding your own style, how to cope with pressure, never giving up, how to fully commit, and strategical decision making? I am quite sure you would have a "problem" or two with those aswell against any well trained kendo practicioner. If your dojo in Japan was anywhere near moderate level you know this is true. They would dominate you easily in any physical activity let alone in some kind of fictive, hypothetical duel no matter how much "real samurai combat" you practice and no matter how many years you theorize about it. Merely saying that it "makes no sense" or calling it "stupid" and what you find effective sparring with your friends is never going to cut it. Pun intended of course! :D
If anyone here is contemplating to practice kendo, please have a thorough look at the following video playlist and you should be able to understand what i am trying to explain. It is part of the All Japan Kendo Federation channel which contains some of the highest level kendo in the world. (Edit) The really good video's are those of the All Japan Kendo Championships and the slowmotion video's thereof. Just scroll down untill you find them.
ua-cam.com/users/ZennipponKendoRenmeivideos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=1
Hi there and thank you for watching and commenting.
Since I made this video I have received a lot of insults from kendoka, I don't mind personally because I am only sharing my opinion, so people can agree or disagree, the only thing I don't understand from some kendoka is that it almost feels as if I'm attacking their religion and how dare I even speak.
I believe in freedom of speach and opinion, if your points are more valid them mine so be it, I accept that of course, but I think anyone has the right to have and form an opinion and of course to share it with the world.
I do realise and I have infact stated that I am no expert and that my level of experience in the style is very low (as you can see), but I think you are over judging me stating things (such as me not putting the effort, my sensei wasting their time) that you clearly have no idea of, and that's a shame because by the way you make your points you sound like a person with a solid background in the style and you also sound like an intelligent viewer, not one of those who worship kendo and insult me for no reason.
I went to the dojo under rain, snow, scorching heat, always carring my equipment and riding my bicycle on the long uphill slope that took me there, so I did put a lot of offort, but since I had to work full time to live in Japan I could only go there once a week, my sensei knew that and appreciated the effort. (also I could never participate to any tournament or competitions because of my job).
So I do lack a lot of experience, but not because I didn't want to commit, in that you have misjudged me.
Also keep in mind I had to learn and understand all explanations in Japanese, which it wasn't a problem anymore after the first year, but I was slower at first because I had to learn a whole new vocabulary. (and no, the tale that since they use Japanese words in dojos in western countries you would be able to understand a whole lesson in Japan is false, I had to study like crazy to fully understand them, now I do, but it took a lot of time).
So as far as your points are concerned, I'm sure you are right when you say that there is more depth to the art, but I still feel that there are also too many rules. Again as a discipline I totally agree with you, kendo is fine the way it is, but too many people are drawn into kendo because they are attracted by samurai combat, I only wanted to point out that kendo is quite far from real samurai combat, that would be kenjutsu.
In my opinion if you take a kendoka and you put him in a battlefield he wouldn't perform as well as a kenjutsu practitioner, because of all the limitations he is used to have, IMHO.
Hello, thankyou for your comment I agree with everything you said, the video is arrogant, and from a complete novice. I enjoyed very much the battles on the link you gave and it was honestly the best "sword" fighting I have ever seen, amazing speed and simple effective and precice techniques, I can see kendo is a martial art to be respected very much. Good luck with your life long practice.
I agree with you Metatron on this one. The main thing that sucks about Kendo is the rules on what does and does not count. Hits that would kill with real blades not counting as points and others counting in areas where they would not be lethal with real blades. These "Kendo practitioner" guys are simply insulting you brother, trying to cover it as "professional critique". You know full well how hard you train. They are simply butt hurt that you are calling out the facts of how Kendo unnecessarily limits real and lethal sword technique. Kenjutsu and Iaido are the way to go for both training and sparring, hands down. Designed for BLADE combat to the core.
+kndk Your comment is presumptuous and mean-spirited. You never really addressed anything in Metatron's argument, you just decided to insult him instead.
Well, without insulting anyone (most art martialists who insult others or play "my martial art is better than yours" arts are just beginners), you should not have made a video. What i've been taught is 1st dan : you havn't start yet ; 2nd dan : you barely begun. Mochida, the last 10th dan said it tooked 50 years to learn the basics of kendo...
You make several mistakes, such as keeping you shinaï on your shoulder (it's an arrogant posture). You speak about jodan, but it's an advanced technique you can't master if you don't have a perfect chudan. So I don't think you can properly understand what is behind this. And you talk about footsteps limitations but there you are the problem, not the martial art. Humble 1st dan here : it's was natural for me now but it took me some years of practice :)
You compare kendo and kenjutsu, but neither are more efficient than the other : kendo is a martial art but a competitive sport too, where the learning progression is slower than most of other martial arts. I've not practice Kenjustu, only talked to a friend who practice it. There are not real fights in kenjustu (what is prejudiciable I think), but yes, it's more like samourais than kendo. But ! Samourais did not use katanas as their main weapons. Bows and halleberds were. Personnaly, I wouldn't do Kenjutsu for 2 reasons : it would give some bad reflexes in kendo (what seems to be your problem), and I want some real fights :D
Sorry for my language, if I made mistakes ! Peace !
I am 2 dan in kenjutsu but recently i found that kendo techniques are way more practical in full contact sparring and hence i have been picking up a lot of kendo techniques.
I found that the chudan no kamae is super practical in fighting cos I closes off the centerline and disallow the enemy from just walking in and striking u.
Hi! I've been practicing kendo for almost 15 years now and I would like to react a little bit on this video.
I understand that Metatron is just expressing his own opinion about why he prefers kenjutsu over kendo. There is a lot that could be said but as a start, I will just say that this is probably typical of outsiders coming to martial arts and not realizing a few important points :
1) Kendo and most of the "-do" martial arts, are very recent forms of combat that have been synthesized during the 20th century. Kendo as we can practice it nowadays has little to do with real swordsmanship of the Bakufu era when using a katana was a vital skill to defend oneself and one's own important ones. Kendo is a mixture, if I may say, of various techniques from various schools of sword, theorized by, mainly, the police forces who are still deciding even now, how kendo should be taught.
2) Comparing Kenjutsu (which school of kenjustu, btw?) and kendo (a unified martial art) is like comparing a knife and cissors : both cut but they are used for different purposes. Kendo is not aimed at making you a fighter but, as Metatron says very correctly, a better person. The many schools of kenjutsu teach a genuine legacy of techniques from the times when killing the opponent efficiently was crucial. Yet, I have a serious doubt as to the importance of such thing as etiquette (reigi) or the emulation and the special relationship that can bind a young kenshi to a master.
Overall, I think that the author of the video is showing too little knowledge about the variety of forms that sword fighting has taken in Japan. Swordsmanship in Japan has evolved through a long history and there still are a huge number of schools in Japan that teach these techniques. Kendo must not be considered an art to become a samurai but a path to become a better human being by sharpening your mind and manners through sword fighting. IMO
Did you get the meaning of my comment? I said that martial arts in Japan (the ones that are called "do") are not supposed to make you a warrior but to help you become a better human being. Of course you don't need to be a good individual to use a sword efficiently! But that's not the point with kendo in my opinion. If you want to wield a real sword, kendo is definitely NOT the martial art to turn to. I'm saying this because the author of the video is criticizing kendo techniques with being inefficient in combat. I'm just saying that it's not the point with kendo.
Sadly even within yodansha in kendo there are people who truly believe they would be effective in a supposed sword fight in reality. Too many people doing gendai budo who don't understand their own arts (some having practiced for 10+ years!!). OP was emphasizing the same points you're defending, Ben, just in a slightly different manner.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that it's easier (and more attractive maybe) to get started in kendo as opposed to the stricter and more selective koryu dojo's, that a part of the wrong crowd of people get in.
My Sensei taught me to keep both of my heels at least slightly risen above the ground, not much. But he says it also will practice balance, and for me, I find it to be a unique way, to move swiftly only on the toes, and the general area of where the toes are located rather than the entirety of your foot.
Another thing, is that, he included is your sword is your soul, it's apart of you, and to never disrespect your sword...
Kenjutsu sounds more interesting and effective.
It depends of what you are looking for
+LORD VOLCOS
effective as in... what exactly? When the zombie apocalypse comes and we run out of bullets?
Have been in many swordfights lately? ;)
+Suyamu its not about that the mindset is what counts evrything is a weapon to a trained person :)
Kenjutsu is the actual style the samurai actually used. Kendo is a branch of the umbrella of Kenjutsu. What I mean is that there are styles like Iado, Iaijutsu, (and believe it or not Jujitsu was part of it for an introduction Grappling). This was identical to how Europeans sword fought. The reason for these many different styles is so that if a Samurai wanted or needed more work in a subject, they would just choose one of the styles to better perfect it and then move on to the next style. The first form of Kendo was closer to the older style of Kenjutsu but started to become more of a sport during the Meji Restoration.
@@Suyamu more effective than tapping a zombie with a broom stick... XDD
I am in Japan right now and i went to a kendo training, because i want to start some sort of Sword-Martial Arts. But, from just watching the other students practicing, i could already tell that Kendo is not really an option for me. It's just to much sport in it. Your video was great because you said specific things that are limited by the rules, so now i can understand my own observation better. Im looking forward to do iaido now. I hope i can start it soon. Nice video, you got a new subscriber ;)
I believe you are missing the entire purpose of doing Kendo.
and.......?
I took a Kendo class two years ago, and it was a mixed bag.
On one hand, as far as I could tell, the only "spiritual growth" I achieved from Kendo was a growing distaste for my primary instructor, whose "insult them till they practice more and get better" teaching style did not work for me. It got to the point where I was glad when a group project spiraled out of control and required my personal presence to salvage (who writes a history paper in present tense?!), just because it gave me an excuse to skip class.
I also found my diabetic, sweaty feet stuck to the floor like glue making practice with sock a must (also diabetics really shouldn't practice w/o foot protection as the feet don't heal well at all). One of the few classes in University that has reduced me to tears.
I did get what I wanted out of it though: rudimentary sword knowledge, enough to spar with my friend who is a HEMA practitioner. I also picked up an added bonus: shared experience, as when I went to Japan for the second time and got a chance to speak with some girls in the advanced English class at Nanzan University I was able to commiserate with one of them on the subject of mean Kendo instructors!
I should also point out that said Kendo instructor had an alternate, I think she was his wife, who sometimes taught class, and she was a wonderful person, much more paintent and skilled as both an instructor and practioner. Even when she wasn't teaching, but only assisting, the primary instructor was more paintent and kinder towards students. I guess Kendo is another thing in life that takes a woman's touch to do properly? ;).
Anyways, Metatron, loving your videos, I am learning so many new things from kenjutsu and can't wait to practice them all with my friend!
3 years of kendo experience doesnot explain anything
...except that you forgot the true point here that is: when you are in right momentum of killing someone with the tsuki into his torso, the moment when you start piercing his armor and penetrate his belly, his momentum is completely disintegrated because if it is not, you can't kiill him and that is the true meaning of ippon moment and kill cut synchronicity ...
Hey is there anywhere in the west that teaches actual Kenjutsu? cuz im interested in katana fighting but most places only teach kendo and honestly after 3 years of fencing i´m watching videos of kendo and finding it pretty boring. is there a contact type of kenjutsu with helmets on and stuff? nice channel btw
It's true, that Kenjutsu isn't common in Europe. And if you find a school, they rarely do armored sparring. But if you're interested in a school in Switzerland, you could go to kokuryu.ch We do sparring there, but without armour, because the feedback of a hit is more accurate.
Thierry Donzé Switzerland is a bit far off from where i live, but thanks for replying, nice to hear that there are people in the west practicing anything other than the kendo/Iado cerimonial crap
not to disrespect the art, i find it beautiful but it ain´t much of a swordfight is it? more like art than sport
I do Kenjutsu and kendo and Iaido .
Let me ask you a question .. when you do you plan to get into a real swordfight ??? ... Kenjutusu will teach you turn based kata ! , Which literall means you know whats going to happen. Its Kata with a partner not sparring. And i dont know any legit places which do that.
Their probably are some.
The closes thing your going to get a samurai sword fight is Kendo ..
why ?
Unpredictable, timing, oppenent ability, technique choice, fighting mind, speed , strength, and pressure ( seme). Dont forget , most of the samurai descendants practiced Kendo in its modern form and still teach it. If you havent practiced or been in a dojo for Iaido or kendo , then you simply havent got a clue.
Heres my honest advice. DONT come to youtube and ask. Read a book on Budo in general . I can reccomend some really good ones that will give you more knowledge on the matter than any youtube video. And these are authors who have studied these arts for years in Japan.
Mr P thank you for your answer, i do appreciate the values built into modern day kendo. i just don´t get why they´ve left out the action. so it is only an art designed for self improvement?? i get that it´s cool to learn the values and better yourself but why is there not an actual dueling? i found one modality that consists of the art of drawing your sword. drawing. your. sword. nothing else. no wonder most ppl interested in swordfight fence. as interesting as traditional japanese culture and bushido are, how come they didn't come up with a better sport?? no offense i do find it facinating from a learning perspective, it´s just too boring for my taste
antonio you can't say it's boring unless you have done it. so much goes in to making the perfect killing cut which scores ippon,
the current striking positions are those that would Instantly disable your opponent. yes hitting the head is both sports element and post sengoku era combat.
movement of the sword and technique is 30 peecent of what's required in a real sword fight or kendo as a sport. the rest is a combination of body attacking and mental resolve! . kendo teaches attacking as soon as opportunity becomes available, not hesitating. But yes the sports element s have taken more priority lately.
the other techniques which were left out... as mentioned.... hassle has been used I've seen it. some of the technique mentioned in the video have been used. using the tiger tail ,or hiding the sword behind your back would have no effect in kendo. in nito ryu we use it . But it was only used by musashi because the opponent didn't how long the sword was, or what musashi was going to do . in modern day you would need to be up against a person who has no clue about swordsmanship for it to work.
you can't score in kendo by just hitting, it has to be a valid cut done with body work , the cut should be able to be lethal if used with real sword. But Kendo wasn't just prep for swordfighting, it was get you combat minded, efficient in technique without thoughts. It had become more sport because it's competitive. I recommend watching the videos by Alex Bennett or books by him . search him , he has done all three kendo being his main.
I was watching this in class and as soon as you said "mouth of the tiger" my teacher played eye of the Tiger without my interference.
Atleast it's less of a disgrace than modern fencing.
Pyrobaconstudios , Depending on the school of competition you're in, epee fencing is not a disgrace. I have yet to see a sabre fencing incarnation that wasn't embarrassing. HEMA most definitely allows sabre fighting to flourish with much greater realism.
I would really like it if you were to make, as you said, a separate video to demonstrate the different stances in kenjutsu, and what is their purpose.
Seems like you do not understand the difference between cutting (which was simplefied), and attacking (semei, which wasn't at all). And your kamae is pretty bad for a 3 years of practice.
+JCH Nanaya thank you man, you say everything to all this children
+Alvaro CasaMadrid I'm not sure I get your point. Could you explain a little bit more, please ?
+JCH Nanaya im a kendo student and i found many comments for this video very offensive, but the worst thing its many people here doesnt have a fucking idea about kendo, and they are just saying bullshit. Thats my point men
+Alvaro CasaMadrid LOL ! That's the exact reason I point out theses mistakes, without any other kind of jugment. Actually, I'm a sandan level (I'm currently working hard for my yondan already), training with the NT. So if you have any question, feel free to ask. And if your stronger, I won't forget either. ^^
thank you men
Just seen my first Metatron video. I cannot argue with any of his logic in this vid. He is correct ! I am not as knowledgeable as him but have come across some of these issues. I was practising Iaido for a while. One day a guy turned up and demonstrated Iaijitsu . He wiped the floor with all of us as he was practising the real deal rather than a `sport` or an `art`. A humbling experience
I'm sorry but what the hell are you even talking about... You literally are talking nonsense related kendo. There are so many mistakes you made and youre talking about 'advanced techniques' when your basic knowledge of points stances and footwork is has tons of incorrect information. And you're explaining to people who don't know the difference. I questioned how much keiko and sparring you've really done...
How have you studied for 3 years...
Sorry nothing against you, I appreciate the love of sword sports from everyone but you really should get you facts straight...
I wish I was able to go back in time and just see how samurai and other swordsmen actually fought in real life, movies are utter bullshit when it comes to that, and even sports. There's no feeling like the feel of fight or flight, when you know you might die and your body becomes many times stronger, your sense becomes finer, and there's a rush of energy you have, and your actions are very clever, as if your mind does most of the work on it's own. I don't know if many people experienced that, I did a few times, hopefully will never go through such a thing again, but it is truly fascinating.
I wanna give an example, I never thought I'd be able to jump over a moving car, but I did without even thinking about it, I just jumped over it only my fist touched it, if I didn't do that, I'd be probably dead or paralyzed now and yet I can't even claim I did that, it's like my body did all the work on it's own. Now, that kind of unbelievable thing I wanna see, where people who fought were in real danger, and heir bodies and minds worked many times better than normal.
+Silver Mirai The human instinct is truly incredible indeed. Combined with a disciplined spirit/mindset.
I understand your point, but i do think you are trashing (non-Hollywood) movies too easily. If you have never watched the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movies, i suggest you do. To me, personally , it conveyed alot of that "fight or flight" spirit, alot more than most Hollywood movies could ever do.
RogueAndroid I've seen all Rurouni Kenshin, both movies and anime, and they are very entertaining, close to 10/10 for me. But the fighting is not really accurate to be honest. Something that comes close to real fighting are some of Kurosawa's movies.
I know nothing of these martial arts but it sounds like kendo is a very unrealistic combat form. I always go back to what Bruce Lee said, be like water. No form is form. Maybe I'm just too uninformed to know the subtleties.
roger Rumble styles and forms do hold a fighter/warrior back being married to a certain style is limited physicaly and mentaly...thats why mma is so effective
Thank you for explaining Kendo for all of us watching this video, after all we are like you, that's why we are watching this video.
your problem is that kendo is something that needs years of hard practice ...
you dont need 6 stances and 10 valid cuts...
the thing is you have many many options for strikes in kendo ... its just sth you have to study and try... in competition there are no strict rules how to setup your strikes... as long as you perform it properly with the key points being correct
what i realize hearing you talk about kendo is the following:
- you are a smart person thinking out of the box
- you most likely looked into different sword related sports
- you most likely are still on a very, very low level
my complaints:
- you can chose whatever you like to do but you didnt really realize why things are done in a certain way in kendo
- you learned and remember the stuff you are told but again you most likely didnt participate in many competitions and most like didnt reach any notable higher level skill
--> you dont understand nore master the skills and techniques in kendo
+Corey91666 those 3 years he tells he practised weren't effective. I have 2 years in kendo and i see he does not understand what kendo is about.
+Corey91666 I am shodan (3 years practice) and I am hardly a beginner! what I don't understand about this video I why he has spent 3 years practising when its clear he doesn't enjoy it?
+alan ferrier Why do people try things they don`t enjoy right away? Because it is human nature to explore. Everyone has things they like right away and things they want to learn to explore before they decide whether they really like it or not as much/at all.
I`m actually kind of amazed that in 3 years of kendo and whatever your age is, you never realized that?
RogueAndroid I understand what you're saying however in the video he talks about how another art would be much better and that's his right to think like that :) I just have to wonder why after 3 years he has all these problems and really doesn't seem like he enjoys it but he still practices it? it's entirely up to him what he does with his life I just can't understand why you would choose to do something you don't seem to enjoy? especially after 3 years of it? I mean I could understand 6 months or even a year (allowing you time to get into bogu and experience shiai and jigeiko) but 3 years seems excessively long to decide if you like something or not?
I'm fully aware of that (I'm 18 btw) and totally understand it I'm simply questioning why he'd spend so long practicing kendo when he makes it clear he wants to practice other arts? It's nothing against him or his choices :)
alan ferrier in germany you will never be shodan after 3 years...
you need almost 3 years for all kyu grades and another year to shodan... also i started kendo 8 years ago (had a 2 year break though)
all i can say is ... you might be not too bad but on the other hand i know enough people who barely represent what i expect from shodan, nidan or sometimes even sandan...
I agree with this video. A lot of martial arts are not geared for actual combat, but only for form and discipline. That's why I prefer to learn hand-to-hand combat instead of any specific martial art.
train My Sharingan and Kenjutsu and Taijutsu Now i am Going Mangekyou bye.
I completely agree with you dude. And i do the same thing with people at the Dojo. If it's not an actual tournament we spar with a full body target available including legs as well. I rarely ever sparred with anyone using the actual Kendo fighting rules unless it was for an organized event, practice or a tournament. Also when i sparred with people and my father(he's been practicing way longer then me and he also trains Iaido.) we fought hard, as in slight little taps didnt count where we were armored. Basically when in full gear we sparred trying to simulate as much as possible a real Samurai duel. Little love taps didnt work for us unless we manages to strike the throat or something. We also tried the same thing with a Bokken, don't do that lol. It was a bad idea.
Another amateur complaining because he didn't get a participation trophy. XD
I have to agree with you on all your points. I wanted to practice kenjutsu for 11 years now, but only last year I've had the opportunity to finally get Kendo, and it's either that or nothing. I really like it and have fun with it, but it's the same problems I've had with tae kwon do: too much simplicity, too much sportyish logic, not actually practical in a real fight (although how often are we going to swordfight nowadays other than training?). My all-time favourite stance is the lower right stance, and I'm usually mad as hell that I can't use it, because I cannot do upward swings, but on a sporting side, I do agree that leg-hitting would be "too easy", it allows for practitioners to try and take the most effective approach to hitting any body part, instead of trying to actually duel in a disciplined manner (which is a big problem I have with most competition duels, because that's exactly what they do, in any martial art).
But my biggest concern of all is the total lack of freedom, one has to follow all the stances and swings with little to no freedom of improving it, as if it was a god-given technique, flawless that should never be questioned. The greatest martial artists won big because they ignored an absolutely unmutable formula, take for instance bruce lee and musashi, they won because their techniques involved adaptability, flexibility. I know I'm speaking from almost utter ignorance, but it's natural logic. It's an essentialist phiolosophical approach that does not reflect reality, as if the original formula was perfect in its essence, and any questioning it would be simple heresy; I know that only 5th dan and onwards should be allowed to do this, but still... I don't agree with being taught that you should never question what you're taught.
Thank you for reading this, if you did. And interesting points raised in the video. I now need to play some sword of the samurai to alleviate frustrations.
Silly arbitrary rules is what makes Kendo a sport rather than a martial art.
+Luke Boland
There's nothing wrong with Kendo being a sport - though really I think it's got elements of sport and martial art to it, so saying it's either one or the other doesn't do the whole thing justice. That said, I personally don't practice Kendo, so this is my outsider impression.
Suyamu No, there's nothing at all wrong with Kendo being a sport. It is what it is, and it has it's place.
the real problem is not taking the pommel off and ending your opponent rightly.
I have no interest in Kendo for the reasons stated in the video. I do however have an interested in Kenjutsu...again for the reasons stated in the video. As far as the spiritual aspect of either or both goes; having years of martial arts experience I can tell you that the spiritual development that can and should go along with martial training is not BS or mumbo jumbo. The mind and body are one in that they are two sides of the same coin. When one is overdeveloped in total disregard for the other, then an imbalance or internal conflict is created within the in practitioner. Why is this bad? Well at some point the battle and the war is over and when the warrior returns home he must do so with a calm spirit if he is to gracefully reintegrate back into peaceful society. The lack of recognition of this reality manifests itself today in all forms of combat related cognitive disorders, socialization problems, and high suicide rates among soldiers returning from combat zones. And the opposite is also true. Picture the spiritual man who eschews and ignores all physical martial development. This highly spiritualized individual is poorly equipped for any kind of combat or war situation. He has no inner "metal" to bring to bear in his own defense much less the defense of others and his homeland. He will end among the pacifists who will be the first to die when the tide of war rises around him. Now think about the more "rounder" individual; one who is well trained to survive and be effective in a combat situation AND with sufficient spiritual and personal development to be able to cope with psychological aftermath of having been to war.
i think you are the most differentiating person on youtube i've yet seen. Really good work!
Gomenasai, my name is Ken-Sama.
I’m a 27 year old American Otaku (Anime fan for you gaijins). I draw
Anime and Manga on my tablet, and spend my days perfecting my art and
playing superior Japanese games. (Disgaea, Final Fantasy, Persona
series)
I train with my Katana every day, this superior weapon can cut clean
through steel because it is folded over a thousand times, and is vastly
superior to any other weapon on earth. I earned my sword license two
years ago, and I have been getting better every day.