AArdvark wrote:How much practice does it take to get to that skill level?
Two to three, two hour sessions a week for twenty plus years (those were 5th and 6th dan fighting, who are at the higher half end of the ranking system (the highest being 8th dan) but the gap between 6th and 7th dan is arguably, far greater than that of 4th to 5th or 5th to 6th).
Aardvark wrote: Seriously, I bet they start when they are four years old.
Five to eight being the median years... Anyone starting in middle to late high school are to my knowledge, considered late bloomers.
Aardvark wrote:Ever seen them use real swords? Like on a melon or something?
Rarely... A very arguable point is that while Kendo is an art (and a sport, lets not get into that) based around the Katana, the implement we use (called a Shinai) is a little different from the more accurate practice weapon called the bokken (the grip on the Shinai is round, when a real Katana is oval) and kendo doesn't explicitly teach drawing and handling the sword, apart from kata (choreographed movements) and another form called iaido which is more in-tune with how to handle (in a sort of non-contact sense) a real katana.
But no, cutting melons is more a "Bob's Japanese Sword Fighting Dojo and Emporium" thing, and it can be chalked up to the idea that to survive, sword fighting had to transition from being an explicitly "I'm learning to cut you in half!" to "I could cut you in half, but we have a whole system created so I can fight and not have to, so why bother?" Plus, its only for a spectacle or to interest a wider audience who see it as weird or sensational (the History Channel's special on Tom Cruise's film Samurai film (urgh) featured extensive tatanami mat cutting, which is all fine and good (and is a real demonstration of the quality of a sword and the skill of the kendoka) but for an even casual practitioner, a little barbaric).
Occasionally, someone does cut a helmet to simulate killing someone though!
http://www.shinkendo.com/kabuto.html
Aardvark wrote: THE
HI-KEEBA!
AARDVARK
The loud "scream" they make is called a kyi (or however you spell it), and is meant to throw the other opponent off guard and serve as a vocal exclamation of your "spirit" (another topic that I have a rant about). The idea being drilled into my head, is that the vocal, physical / movement (the stomp) and the strike itself need to be timed in unison for full effect (forcing all your "energy" at the target).
Pinback wrote:Also I do not understand the rules of this game. Apparently jamming a stick into your opponents throat is good, and gently nuzzling your sticks against each others' necks while tiptoeing around face-to-face is also proper and well-liked.
When you get to a certain skill level, it is rare to actually have any openings in your form or stance. The "nuzzling sticks against each others' necks while tiptoeing around face-to-face," serve as mental sizing up, intimidation, waiting for an opening (while hopefully not giving one yourself), and a point that is easy to miss is that it is very difficult to actually see your opponent's face through their mask. Getting close up allows them to eye each other and look for obvious signs of weariness (among other things).
But the hits themselves are only called if they meet certain criteria. The most obvious being skill and the accuracy of the strike but also timing of the whole body, "spirit" (aka Zanshin, or how you end the strike and return to challenge your opponent) and other factors that are arguably subjective and mystical. At the rank we were watching, any good hit will follow the proper etiquette since they have been drilling in all of those aspects for over a decade.
[quote="AArdvark"]How much practice does it take to get to that skill level?[/quote]
Two to three, two hour sessions a week for twenty plus years (those were 5th and 6th dan fighting, who are at the higher half end of the ranking system (the highest being 8th dan) but the gap between 6th and 7th dan is arguably, far greater than that of 4th to 5th or 5th to 6th).
[quote="Aardvark"] Seriously, I bet they start when they are four years old.[/quote]
Five to eight being the median years... Anyone starting in middle to late high school are to my knowledge, considered late bloomers.
[quote="Aardvark"]Ever seen them use real swords? Like on a melon or something?[/quote]
Rarely... A very arguable point is that while Kendo is an art (and a sport, lets not get into that) based around the Katana, the implement we use (called a Shinai) is a little different from the more accurate practice weapon called the bokken (the grip on the Shinai is round, when a real Katana is oval) and kendo doesn't explicitly teach drawing and handling the sword, apart from kata (choreographed movements) and another form called iaido which is more in-tune with how to handle (in a sort of non-contact sense) a real katana.
But no, cutting melons is more a "Bob's Japanese Sword Fighting Dojo and Emporium" thing, and it can be chalked up to the idea that to survive, sword fighting had to transition from being an explicitly "I'm learning to cut you in half!" to "I could cut you in half, but we have a whole system created so I can fight and not have to, so why bother?" Plus, its only for a spectacle or to interest a wider audience who see it as weird or sensational (the History Channel's special on Tom Cruise's film Samurai film (urgh) featured extensive tatanami mat cutting, which is all fine and good (and is a real demonstration of the quality of a sword and the skill of the kendoka) but for an even casual practitioner, a little barbaric).
Occasionally, someone does cut a helmet to simulate killing someone though!
http://www.shinkendo.com/kabuto.html
[quote="Aardvark"] THE
HI-KEEBA!
AARDVARK[/quote]
The loud "scream" they make is called a kyi (or however you spell it), and is meant to throw the other opponent off guard and serve as a vocal exclamation of your "spirit" (another topic that I have a rant about). The idea being drilled into my head, is that the vocal, physical / movement (the stomp) and the strike itself need to be timed in unison for full effect (forcing all your "energy" at the target).
[quote="Pinback"]Also I do not understand the rules of this game. Apparently jamming a stick into your opponents throat is good, and gently nuzzling your sticks against each others' necks while tiptoeing around face-to-face is also proper and well-liked.[/quote]
When you get to a certain skill level, it is rare to actually have any openings in your form or stance. The "nuzzling sticks against each others' necks while tiptoeing around face-to-face," serve as mental sizing up, intimidation, waiting for an opening (while hopefully not giving one yourself), and a point that is easy to miss is that it is very difficult to actually see your opponent's face through their mask. Getting close up allows them to eye each other and look for obvious signs of weariness (among other things).
But the hits themselves are only called if they meet certain criteria. The most obvious being skill and the accuracy of the strike but also timing of the whole body, "spirit" (aka Zanshin, or how you end the strike and return to challenge your opponent) and other factors that are arguably subjective and mystical. At the rank we were watching, any good hit will follow the proper etiquette since they have been drilling in all of those aspects for over a decade.