[YTmWSOA5]

Ladies and Gentlemen...

A visiting sensei mentioned that in his experience, most people come to Kendo having previously studied a martial art.

So, out of idle curiousity - is this true? What did (do) you all study prior to Kendo. And why is Kendo better for you?

To get the ball rolling - I did a year of Shaolin Kung Fu. Very enjoyable, but I ended up with a jaw problem that lasted about 5 years after one very light-contact sparring session. (My partner started the session by saying "ok, dont hit me any harder than >this< and whacked me on the jaw ) Plus it was a bit impractical to get to, and not cheap (in todays terms about £20 UK (30 bucks US) per lesson - and you had to pay a whole term in advance!)

And I never got anywhere near as much peace / control / focus / meditation or just _fun_ that I get from Kendo. And the people in my Kendo dojo are nicer. And we all go up the pub after

Over to you......?



Dave

[lionsiy]

Originally posted by GeorgeMcCall

Long story : Monkey Magic->Aikido->Judo->Shotokan Karate->Wing Chun->Shorinji Kempo->Kendo + [later] Iaido/Koryu

I am still preeeety handy with a broom handle to this day... ..ah yes, but can you produce one by plucking a hair from your ear?

[Gymnfacymoota]

I have no prior experience in MA's before Kendo. In fact, i was pretty much a couch potato before i took it up.

[MpNelQTU]

Originally posted by chidokan
Used to do karate and taekwondo 30 years ago but stopped it all for kendo, and the iaido just came along about 2 years later... Hey, you are not that old! When did you start karate, as a toddler?

[medio]

Thai boxing, European Fencing, European broadsword and a little Kabbaddi (I know its more of a sport but you still have a few indian martial moves thrown in... try the kiai for kabbaddi...!)

Kendo beats all of these for all round fullfilment

[Lidawka]

i have been doing karate since i was about 4, i also did some aikido and about a week of judo cause i could not stand it. I have been doing kendo for ah few months now, still do karate though.

[toponlinecasinoer]

yellow in aikijiujitsu, 2 months of kung fu, and a summer of karate and kickboxing. Boy, kickboxing was fun ^_^.

[altosburg]

I used to do more kendo than iaido but had a crash so my knee's a bit dodgy. Still do both but the emphasis has gone from 3 kendo/ 2 iaido to 3 iaido/ 1 kendo sessions. I had to drop a nights kendo because the floor is solid and I cant even walk off the dojo aftera good bash! I consider one complements the other, and would love to balance my time a little more evenly. Used to do karate and taekwondo 30 years ago but stopped it all for kendo, and the iaido just came along about 2 years later...

[tgs]

I wrestled in high school and college and had to take up Judo in college to improve my throws. I liked Judo and would have switched over to it after graduation. But I trashed my knee in Junior year and had to choose between walking for the rest of my life and wrestling/Judo for another year. That's when I picked up Iaido, and eventually Kendo.

Funny how things work out. I never would have had the time to do Iaido if I hadn't gotten injured.

[largonioulurI]

I love martial arts of all sorts. I started in Tai Chi because it was my calming influence and really slowed down the pace of my day to go to class early in the morning.

Then when I came to Japan, it was my chance to learn from where these arts originated so I am going budo crazy. I feel like my Kendo and Ittoryu practices compliment each other. I am also learning Kyudo, but that doesn't confuse me with the others. Granted I don't go to official practices everyday. I go to each separate dojo one day a week. I do practice at home though. I use the separate locations to separate the different styles in my head. I sort of think like, "in this dojo I use this style, and in this other dojo I use this style" and it helps me to separate them. The more I practice, the more I don't confuse them anymore now as well. At home I rotate what I practice each day so I can focus on one or two without blending all of them together and messing them all up.

[freddystone]

are you from the past?

[flienianO]

Nope I'm the future

[yqpY4iw6]

hahaha that hair bit is going to replace the wale in my nightmares

I did a bit karate then moved in to judo and loved every min of it but the dojo closed down with sensei being ill, then in to kendo iaido years after judo closed, soon to do jodo when my sensei’s have time to do the lessons

[durootrium]

I have been actively involved in Karate for over 20 years and I am also a beginner in Kendo. I do not consider either one "better", just different. I find that Kendo is adding new perspective to my Karate and that is a good thing. I do not know what effect Karate has on Kendo. That is a question for my sensei!

[shumozar]

I've tried quite a few diffent MA's.

The first one was Judo, which I really loved. I practiced for several years but had to give it up due to my father being in the forces and moving about alot. I finaly tried to start again when I moved to Yorkshire but couldn't find a dojo I liked. So started looking for somthing else. I tried Aikido and decided it wasn't for me. I think it was the sempai on my first night. when he was teaching said "You've seen Nico with Steven Segeal well this is the move he used to kill that guy !!!" this really turned me off to Aikido, I was forced to try TKD & Karate by my friends, which again stopped me from really enjoying it.

Then I found Kendo, and my current Dojo in England which is great !!!! I love it. I now practice about 3 - 4 times a week. It great.