As a Sikh I applaud the respect and discipline of the Japanese towards the sword. Sadly our new generations have lost the understanding of why we worship weapons and their purpose. When you visit any Sikh temple you can see an assortment f weapons to which everyone bows before being seated.
Wow, lots of comments here bashing him for being white. For your information, there are Westerners, Africans, and Polynesians all over the world that have spent decades studying Asian martial arts and are dedicated to them.
Can anyone explain why they "hold" bow softly, so that bow rotates to other side of arm, when arrow is released? I have noticed this detail and curious why. I though that you should grip the bow strongly, so it does not move.
Most people don't get that kendo isn't going to teach you how to use a katana. If you want to learn to use a katana you want to practice kenjitsu ( the art of the sword). Kendo ( the way of the sword) is a budo and was created to help refine it's practioners as a person through training (builds confidence and self esteem). But unlike it's fellow budos of Judo and aikido, it's doesn't really translate as a way of self-defense. Maybe if you found a broom handle but even then it would be hard fetched to call it a way of self-defense.
Why do most bows throughout history, and from all around the world, look similar and are held towards the middle? Because it's better. If it wasn't, they would have evolved to look more commonly like these. Period.
I think one of the biggest concerns I’d imagine would be is that all sparring would inevitably devolve into brawling, as that’d be the only certain way to get your opponent to give up (through pain of choking out) Implementing some sort of rule set for winning would be useful, atleast for shiai. If this variant even has Shiai. The strong spirit of the practitioners wouldn’t necessarily encourage them to concede unless forced through tough brawling.
As a practitioner of Iaido with three katana next to me right now, it is VERY hard to watch this video as he keeps touching the blade with his hand. Every time you touch the blade, you put salt from your sweat on it, and these blades rust very easily. That blade will have to be cleaned after this demonstration or it will be damaged by his fingers.
His name is Alex Bennet. He’s ranked 7th dan in Kendo, 5th dan in Iaido and Naginata, 3rd dan in Jukendo and Tankendo. Dudes dedicated his life to Japanese budo. He’s probably aware of what happens when you touch the blade. At the same time it’s not like you have to “never touch it”. You just need to clean and make sure it’s properly maintained afterwards
