[Averti$ingGuru]

Found this at the Times Online: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/l...cle7128300.ece

Kind of cute but also interesting that, according to the owner, women stick to the program longer than men.

[HassFks]

So wha...we add techno music to kendo practices and that will up the retention right?

[mbaueee]

So wha...we add techno music to kendo practices and that will up the retention right?

You joke but, sadly, probably yes...!

[zibTefapparia]

This seems somewhat similar to (though apparently less pretentious than) the "Forza" program that sprang up in the US a while back.
I am not sure I fully understand what drives people to develop "Aerobic-Jazzercise-Throb-bass-Martial Arts-esque" franchises, when practically every nation has some form of historical martial art already extant which achieves similar or greater physical results. Then again, my perceptions could easily be limited by my own lack of experience. Maybe the lack of competition or general technical scrutiny is attractive? In my limited experience, it has been the 'perceived' perfectionist scrutiny that seems to drive many beginners out of Kendo classes.

I had to grin when I read the line in the article, "“When the class started, it was all men coming to symbolically cut the fat from around their middles,” said Mr Takafuji, “but they weren’t like real samurai, and quit. The women stick to it. They are Japan’s modern samurai.”" ~quite a remark from a fitness choreographer. ^^

[allmyflights]

You can tell the woman in front is a true lady. Pinkies up.

If I held my Iaito that way Sensei would strike me down

[tLO0hFNy]

You can tell the woman in front is a true lady. Pinkies up.

If I held my Iaito that way Sensei would strike me down

Or at least cut something off. There's a lot of work to be done if we're going to make a proper lady out of you.

[Terinalo]

Rather than men "being men" and quitting, it may have something to do with the fact that there are so many women. I doubt any man would NOT feel self-conscious doing some kind of sword-dance in a room full of women.

[PebydataFeents]

The "camp" part is certainly accurate.

[MicoSiru]

I was given a DVD of a similar idea devised by an 8th Dan Iai exponent from Japan (I forget his name). It is a Samurai workout performed in hakama and keikogi and holding a two foot staff. Music plays, they perform aerobic exercises with increasingly complex moves-its actually pretty cool and I would definitely attend a class like this-if only for the potential of seeing a lycra hakama-clad young lady going through the motions!

[allvideO]

Where can I sign up?!!

[themsrsdude]

seeing a lycra hakama-clad young lady going through the motions!

There's specialist websites and DVD's for that sort of thing... or so I've been told!

[SweetCaroline]

There's specialist websites and DVD's for that sort of thing... or so I've been told!

Perhaps you could private message me

[Immonnaornach]

Rather than men "being men" and quitting, it may have something to do with the fact that there are so many women. I doubt any man would NOT feel self-conscious doing some kind of sword-dance in a room full of women.

Same reasons most men don't attend aerobics classes. My wife has dragged me to a couple, and I didn't enjoy them. It didn't have anything to do with the women being tougher or more persistant than me, it's just a matter of taste. I'd rather just go for a run or go lift. Also the weight-lifting sections of these classes are useless for men. 40 reps with a 10 lb dumbbell is just making you tired, it ain't making you stronger.

[peakyesno]

Guys, the money isn't in teaching aerobics, it's in certifying instructors. I watched the whole movement grow up from a bunch of folks doing situps as a group, to thousands of dollars worth of qualifications just to be allowed to teach. None of it with any outside scrutiny at all.

Combine that with the boredom factor in aerobics and you get the need for a new fad (and qualifications to teach each fad) every month and you've got a lot of money flowing from those who need a bit of exercise.

Kim.