can kendo be a self defence?

Question

like if i knew kendo and i had a katana or something and some guy with another nongun weapon attacks me will kendo help defend or is it just sport?
just curious lol

Answer 1

It would help.. Kendo would teach you the proper stance and how to hold a blade in preperation for an upcoming battle. But i always had total respect for a katana. For a Samurai , to expose the blade of a katana meant that you would use it to kill. It was not an empty threat.

The moment you do not respect a katana, the katana will not respect you and you will get hurt. Katanas can be easily broken if mishandled or someting struck it at strong direct angle. Kendo will help in delivering a swing designed for one strike one kill.

Answer 2

No.

Kendo doesn't really teach you to use a katana. Traditional kenjutsu is the sword form.

All kendo does is teach you how to snap and hit with a shinai or bamboo stick.

Some of kendo does in fact translate into sword training or other weapons, but it is not like you can just substitute a katana and expect everything to be the same.

The way you cut with a live blade is very very different than the way you "snap hit" with a shinai. with a katana you are cutting and want to cut through the target, with a shinai, you are taught to snap hit, then return to a defensive posture, this may work with a blade but will not deliver a fatal cut and likely it will result in a very piss poor cut as the blade is not controlled to stay straight with a shinai, nor do they have to worry about the arc to perform a proper curved blade "draw cut".

At best a kendoka will be just chopping not cutting.

I don't think a shinai would deter any attacker over the age of 5, and realistically you aren't going to be carrying a live blade on the street.

Kendo and sword might be fun, but if you want realistic (in today's society, not feudal japan) self-defence, I would suggest you look elsewhere like a CCW permit, knife fighting or a small blunt stick that is concealable like the jutte or possibly cane fighting (although you would look pretty stupid carrying a walking stick with you),

Answer 3

I agree with every nuance with what bluto blutarsky says, after kendo was being taught as a sport, the actual combat effectiveness of kendo basically dropped to nil. there was a long struggle for traditional kendo and the study of the sword, but don't honestly know if there is any left, probably somewhere in china or japan, but happy hunting if you plan on finding it.

Answer 4

Kendo is most certainly a useable fighing art. I have used it myslef for quite sometime and have had much success. It also aloows you to use things in place of the katana (short sticks, poles or rods and the like) as weapons by applying the kendo techniques to them when one does not have their sword with them...fiding a teacher like me that will teach the more practical combat applications of the weapon, as well as how to used them against other weapons is difficult...but some do...they are just hard to find...

Answer 5

Sure, you have a better chance to defend against his attack if you practice kendo. After sometime practice kendo, you will develop some good speed, flexibility, and reflex. Furthermore, with your kendo skill, you will understand the correct distance (mai), and the correct timing to strike while he/she don't. All of this work toward your advantage.

Your chance to win even greater if your opponent is someone who never do routine physical exercises which make him/her sluggish and slow.

At the end, you may even win without fight at all. I think someone with good kendo skill, standing in jodan-gamae, is enough to detter any attackers.

Answer 6

Out of those options I like Judo, wushu or jiu-jitsu, check those 3 out see which ones you like mosty. Kendo is using a sword not going to have that with you all the time. TKD is alot of high kicks and I agree not best for self defense. Judo is fun, most teach sport oriented now days, the place I learned from wasn't sport oriented it was fun. jiu-jitsu is like judo but you normally learn to throw people on there head, bit diffrent still very effective. Wushu is just a general term for Chinise kung fu so thats good to check out as well.

Answer 7

Kendo is more of an "offensive defence". But you don't necessarily need a katana. You could use a ninja-to, wakazashi, quarterstaff, the random metal pipe in the junkyard where you get attacked... :PP

Answer 8

1) Yes, it can be used for self defense.
2) But only if you are carrying a sword.

I prefer to learn empty handed techniques for that reason.

Answer 9

Knowing some techniques might help you defend yourself but it's certainly not the most practical form of self-defense (unless you expect the other guy to play by your rules :)

Answer 10

swords arnt usually self defence... but ey u could kill em... y u plannin on walkin round with a katana? the cops ill give u crap bout it... does kendo use live swords? i know iaido does......