Dose anyone here do kendo? I want to learn kendo cause learing to fight with a sword would be cool. But I would only use the sword if I really needed to. So you can stop worring now, ok. :P

I think there was a Kendo thread.. somewhere... oh well

I have practiced Kendo for a few months, but I cannot afford the bogu (armor) just yet. It's great excercise and a lot of fun, and learning the way of the sword is certaintly much cooler than some of the other martial arts, although maybe not as useful!

My only word of caution is that the equipment is very expensive. Plan on spending about $100 for the outfit (Hakama and Kendogi), $150 or so for USKF dues, and $35 for a shinai (bamboo sword). This will be enough to practice in a Kendo dojo for a few weeks. Once you have mastered the basic footwork and hits, plan on $400-600 for the bogu. You might be able to spend a lot less if you buy used equipment. Just make sure it's top-quality, because this is what is protecting you from a shinai to the head!

Good luck!

I'm a fencer, does that count?

(lol i strarted the old kendo thread) anywhos

first off, fencing is not kendo, sorry... kendo is the japanese art of swordfighting, fencing is well.... fencing. yeas the armor is expencive, but compared to other serious sprts, like hockey (if ur canadian like me) the total for hakama keikogi shinai entire 4.5 mm 60 stave bamboo do bogu set came to 750 canadian dollars. as to hockey, 3000-6000 easy. its easy math!

woot i had my two first full bogu sparring practice! its very hard. its doest hurt very much, as long as you keep the hit on the respective armors. the its stings a lot.

Fencing is French isn't it? Poking eachother with thin needles with a piece of rubber on top of it =p

i know... i dont think its very effective either, but it appears, some of the best in the world are actually dangerous.

Well, remove the rubber tip and you can easily stab someone to death after all. Musketeers anyone? But enough on fencing, this is a kendo thread ;)

I actually looked into it but there's no place near here where I can practise kendo. Shame.

the thing is, kendo taches you techniques to ether see or make an opening. like when you are both in kamaite, "en garde" of kendo, its almost a reflex to push the other dudes shinai with lost of force and speed then hit him on the head. no image if a fencer was in front of you, and his like 100 gram tin foil got wisked out of the way by a practiced powerful one pound shinai. one an getting stabbed may still prove to be dangerous, one man with his brain on the sidewalk may prove to be dead.

what im tryin to say is the kendoka can use the fencer sword's flexibility to his own atvantage, like when you do a circle with the tip of your shinai in kamaite, and it sends the other shinai out of the way (proven method, effective) now image a flexiblee sword... the effect would be grater beause it would just ''hold'' on more to the shinai...

Heheh my hubby does kendo...but he's not here...saddness V_V

Hmmm, i've never seen a Kendo in my area, but there's a lot of Kumdo. I think it's about the same. The korean version of it. Anyone know if there's any difference at all or just a language thing?

well if it helps at all
i did kendo for like 3 years :shifty: but i had to stop this year because i was really busy and what not, but i'll probably continue it next year and atm i'm 7th rank, i think :think:

oh and if this post died, sorry for digging it back up :sweat:

oh and the korean version of it really doesn't matter, not as far as i can tell
just the language is different