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**HotboTgameR** · 09-08-2007, 07:09 AM

Here's a brief description of the arts your asking about, Silo. You can find more in depth info browsing the forums, and nothing beats visiting a good dojo.

Kendo has sparring. None of the other arts really have sparring, although some koryu kata look like it. Kendo only has four targets, the head, wrists, torso and throat (men, kote, do, tsuki). You're right, all of the cuts generally come from the top, but the throat is a thrust. Kendo also practices long and short sword kata, adapted in the early 1900s from different koryu kata, designed to teach aspects of and maintain a connection to actual sword combat.

Iaido is practiced alone or with partners, often with a katana replica called an iaito. You practice drawing the sword and cutting down one or more imaginary opponents. Iaido is generally attached to a koryu style, and it could be said the cuts are more varied than in kendo, i.e. they come from different directions, strike different targets, etc. Many on this forum practice Iai, there's a whole section you can browse to get an idea of how it works and what people think of it (they tend to like it).

Koryu sword arts are styles passed down for hundreds of years and still practiced with the idea of martial application. They tend to involve kata, which are series of pre-arranged moves practiced over and over, designed to teach you how to react to likely situations in combat. Koryu in many ways is closer related to the "battlefield" than kendo or iaido, but there is no live sparring, and schools are comparatively rarer.

As others have already said, the bottom line is in 2007 none of these arts are really practiced to learn how to use a sword to kill. Unlike hand to hand styles, you'll never defend yourself from a mugger in an alleyway with a razor sharp katana. But people still find important reasons to practice these "useless" arts, ranging from, as Sutemi said, character improvement, to competition, to physical exercise to plain enjoyment. From this perspective none of these arts are inherently superior, it's all a matter of personal preference.

Once you get interested in an art, ask around here and someone will be happy to reccomend a respected dojo in your area.

09-08-2007, 07:09 AM	#9
HotboTgameR Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 378 Senior Member	Here's a brief description of the arts your asking about, Silo. You can find more in depth info browsing the forums, and nothing beats visiting a good dojo. Kendo has sparring. None of the other arts really have sparring, although some koryu kata look like it. Kendo only has four targets, the head, wrists, torso and throat (men, kote, do, tsuki). You're right, all of the cuts generally come from the top, but the throat is a thrust. Kendo also practices long and short sword kata, adapted in the early 1900s from different koryu kata, designed to teach aspects of and maintain a connection to actual sword combat. Iaido is practiced alone or with partners, often with a katana replica called an iaito. You practice drawing the sword and cutting down one or more imaginary opponents. Iaido is generally attached to a koryu style, and it could be said the cuts are more varied than in kendo, i.e. they come from different directions, strike different targets, etc. Many on this forum practice Iai, there's a whole section you can browse to get an idea of how it works and what people think of it (they tend to like it). Koryu sword arts are styles passed down for hundreds of years and still practiced with the idea of martial application. They tend to involve kata, which are series of pre-arranged moves practiced over and over, designed to teach you how to react to likely situations in combat. Koryu in many ways is closer related to the "battlefield" than kendo or iaido, but there is no live sparring, and schools are comparatively rarer. As others have already said, the bottom line is in 2007 none of these arts are really practiced to learn how to use a sword to kill. Unlike hand to hand styles, you'll never defend yourself from a mugger in an alleyway with a razor sharp katana. But people still find important reasons to practice these "useless" arts, ranging from, as Sutemi said, character improvement, to competition, to physical exercise to plain enjoyment. From this perspective none of these arts are inherently superior, it's all a matter of personal preference. Once you get interested in an art, ask around here and someone will be happy to reccomend a respected dojo in your area.
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