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Old 01-27-2006, 07:16 AM   #19
EspnaConCam

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
365
Senior Member
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Hi folks,

I have been wanting to take up Kendo for some time now, and I'm visiting a local dojo next Wed. for the first time. I'm 30 years old with lots of athletics under my belt, a few years of fencing and a bit of traditional Taekwondo as well (second degree green belt back in high school).

Anyway, I've seen Kendo sparring and while that interests me a little bit, I'm mostly interested in the slower, more meditative aspects of Kendo such as the katas.
Wlecome to the forum,

I've you want to keep in shape, kendo is your thing. Iai is a lot slower and some folks have called ZNKR iaido a form of "moving meditation". I don't see it that way, maybe I'm not advaced enough. If you want to meditate, take up Zen. My sensei (both of them go to a Zen meditaion class once in a while) As metioned by other some kendo dojo do a lot of kata, some don't do them at all.

I'm certainly looking forward to a bit of sparring, but using a metal sword in a slow and methodical kata is more what I'm after.
If working with a metal sword is what you want, iai is your thing. You start with a bokuto (also known as bokken) a wooden sword. Once you're sure that it's what you want to continue doing you can buy an iaito and after several years you can use a shinken (a live blade). Iai is all kata, no sparring. Some of the advanced kata are partner based. But it takes a long time before you do these. In the two years I do iai I've done it once. Sometimes you do solo kata in partner form to see why you make certain moves within a kata, but this is also rare.

Ooops, forgot to post the link to the Cambridge dojo:

http://www.neaikikai.org/

Anyone know of this dojo?
A lot of aikidoka also do iaido. So it is not surprising they teach iaido and aikido. Can't tell you if they are the real deal though (haven't visited the USA yet). However, aiki-ken (aikido sword) and iaido are different things. Please keep that in mind.

Good luck on your search.

It’s sad that not more aikidoka do iai, because a lot aikidoka use the bokken like a “glorified bat”. Before some aikidoka get angry, I’m talking from experience here. I may be a beginner but it was pretty easy to spot some of the terrible sword handling. However, that’s a different discussion.
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