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**Rinkeliacasse** · 11-13-2007, 10:38 PM

That's a cliché and is as false as saying that showing respect to your teacher in kendo means never bother him with questions. I tried fencing for three months, and that's enough to say that you're wrong. Preferring kendo to fencing as I do does not mean that fencing is a "reiho-less" sport.

Hey, easy fella, I also took three months of fencing (in college)! I had a ball doing it and met some nice "reiho-type" folks. My remark was directed at Olympic fencing, the highest level of competition I presume. Have you seen the embarrassingly in-your-face, self-absorbed theatrics of those competitions? The victors could teach Tiger Woods a thing or two about over-the-top, rip-your-helmet-off, fist-pumping. That behavior is diametrically opposite of the respect, humility and honor you find in every kendo competitor from those at the highest levels and at every level of competition down to beginners.

...i know practitioners of stick fighting arts that would disagree.

Short of the matter is though, these fights tend to be approached as shinai kendo vs XXXX.... like a stick fight. A shinai is only a stick because it looks like a stick, everything else about it says sword.

With all due respect to escrima or other stick-fighting disciplines, I believe they are mostly about combat weapons training and sport. I am unaware of any underlying ethos like that which is at the core of kendo. Kendo may have historically been derived from the practice of the sword but it is not today a combat weapons training course. Kendo is about YOU, not your sword or shinai. All this "whoop @ss" comparison is meaningless unless you're an adolescent anime and/or video characters fan.

11-13-2007, 10:38 PM	#36
Rinkeliacasse Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 563 Senior Member	That's a cliché and is as false as saying that showing respect to your teacher in kendo means never bother him with questions. I tried fencing for three months, and that's enough to say that you're wrong. Preferring kendo to fencing as I do does not mean that fencing is a "reiho-less" sport. Hey, easy fella, I also took three months of fencing (in college)! I had a ball doing it and met some nice "reiho-type" folks. My remark was directed at Olympic fencing, the highest level of competition I presume. Have you seen the embarrassingly in-your-face, self-absorbed theatrics of those competitions? The victors could teach Tiger Woods a thing or two about over-the-top, rip-your-helmet-off, fist-pumping. That behavior is diametrically opposite of the respect, humility and honor you find in every kendo competitor from those at the highest levels and at every level of competition down to beginners. ...i know practitioners of stick fighting arts that would disagree. Short of the matter is though, these fights tend to be approached as shinai kendo vs XXXX.... like a stick fight. A shinai is only a stick because it looks like a stick, everything else about it says sword. With all due respect to escrima or other stick-fighting disciplines, I believe they are mostly about combat weapons training and sport. I am unaware of any underlying ethos like that which is at the core of kendo. Kendo may have historically been derived from the practice of the sword but it is not today a combat weapons training course. Kendo is about YOU, not your sword or shinai. All this "whoop @ss" comparison is meaningless unless you're an adolescent anime and/or video characters fan.
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