Has anyone here studied kendo?

[groundhog]

Hello,

        Yes i know this is a FMA forum but I figured  could get an honest answer.  Do you guys feel that there is any self defense benefit to studing kendo,I know it is a sport  (ith protective gear ) but so is boxing, and boxers are pretyy bad-ass to deal with.  A friend of mine took it years ago and it seems pretty cool,but I am lookingfor something that would be a sport and good for self defens..."why dont you take FMA?" well I dont wanna say where I live : but I went by 2 schools that taught them and the instructors weren't very friendly, they kinda acted like they were doing me a favor to just let me into their school to watch, nothing personal , I'm sure these guys were exceptions to the rule, but i think i'd rather take kendo ..

                                                        Thank you in advance,

                                                         groundhog

[David]

Groundhog,

I practiced Kendo for a couple of years in college with a Japanese exchange student who had his first or second dan.  He wasn't an instructor otherwise, but as far as he related them to me, the rules and allowable techniques were fairly simple to learn.  I was teaching an empty hand system at the time, and did get something out of the Kendo training other than having a good time.  

For me, training with a "long" weapon made the outter ranges that the Dog Brothers talk about, "before contact" and "weapon contact" much more apparent.  It is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't look to it for self-defense training unless you've already got a solid base in empty hands.  

David

[Crafty_Dog]

Woof David:

  Tail wags for the kind words, but may I request a slight change in terminology?  "That band of sweaty, smelly psychopaths with sticks" known as "The Dog Brothers" is not the same thing as that "system of many styles dedicated to smuggling concepts across the frontiers of style" which is known as "Dog Brothers Martial Arts".  

The concepts to which you refer are part of DBMA.  

TIA,
Guro Crafty

[linda]

Hi Groundhog,

Kendo is a fun sport.  I studied it for awhile in college and enjoyed the time I spent doing it.  However, what makes for a great sport doesn't always make for great self-defense training.  Is it better than polishing off a Costco size sack of chips and a bottle of scotch every night? Absolutely.  Then again, a lot of other sports fit that bill too...  (Heck, you could even try rugby!)

So if you want a fun activity that'll give you a decent work out, go for it.  Or if you've already trained extensively and want to try it to experiment with or enhance specific elements of your fighting, it might be interesting.  However, in terms of studying it primarily to develop practical fighting techniques and sensibilities for today's world, I'm *very* leery of its utility.  You could try posting something at www.kendo-world.com/forum/ for thoughts from people who still practice it.  

In either case, I hope you find a good group of people to train with.

Good luck,
Linda

[groundhog]

Thanks for yor reloies!

Yes  I thought it would be beter to do as a social event /sport  rather than as anumber one choice for self defense...I think kendo people (from the few I have met) are lik,e a lot of judo people(yes this is a generalization) thyey are out to have fun at class as opposed to(or in addition to ) becoming a great compeititor/fighter..everyone including the sensei is friendly and laid back,hell,they have  X MAS PARTY !

                                                            THANKS!

                                                                    Groundhog

[David]

Thanks for the correction Guro Crafty.  I'll make note of it.  

David