Kendo experience?

[Ky-Fi]

Kendo has interested me for a while, and I'd like to hear of anybody's experience with the art. Thanks in advance.

[8stepsifu]

Anyway it's a greuling sport. Wearing your To (headgear) is like working out in a heated box. You get faint and the kendo teaher I had was of the old school mentality, (If you haven't fainted, your not trying) Its a cool samurai connection and you can easilly kill somone with a boken, but for martial sports I'd suggest wrestling. They also have more gear than hockey players and experienced Kendo players can still knock you out by hitting you on the back of your headgear. Also a good kendo player can bruise your wrist through your wrist guard with a bamboo shinai!. Definately not a sport for the weak at heart. Also the cardio needed is intense you may have to charge 30 times before getting a hit on an experienced player and people make fun of you for wearing a dress. It's less pansy then western fencing because when your in close it's a pushing match and whomever get the best hit wins. Of course there is no electrical equipment (last I heard) so politics are involved. Also hitting the (do) stomache is often easy, but it has to make the right kind of sound for it to be counted. It trains (spirit) yi well and overall it's worth doing. I sound negative because I had a stepdad that wanted to live out his world champion dreams through me. Maybe other teachers are more lax about it

King of the Assyrians

[Ky-Fi]

Thanks for the info, 8step,

I'll be doing my Taiji forever, but I'm interested in doing something a little more external while I'm still not over the hill, and the full speed sword sparring/sport competition really interests me more than other forms of martial sports. I'm just trying to gather some opinions before I make a committment.