Kendo

Umm... no, not really, thought about taking it up though, but it was way too expensive for lessons, so I took up surfing instead.

I''m very active in the martial arts (and similarly, dancing) communities, though not swordplay, but I''d recommend that while books are good aids you definitely get your hands at least on a video if not on a real person somewhere. It''s all fine and good to read it, but nothing gives a clearer example to be followed than watching someone do it. Cheers and good luck with that.

Yeah, I''d like to try it out a bit and then pursue lessons if I like it. If not, at least I''ll have a bamboo sword laying around to wack my friends when they reach for the last beer.

Surfing? This must have been when you were in Cali right? Because I didn''t think there was a whole lot of surfing in Canada. I need to avoid sports like that right now anyways. My injury was the result of a really big snowboarding jump. Well, not big enough actually. I over shot the landing by about 15 feet. Oops.

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Original post by OctDev
Surfing? This must have been when you were in Cali right?

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Yeah, surfing scene isn''t that big in canada. I mean, it may be possible in PEI, but unfortunately, the only place I saw with good enough waves lead right into a rock face.

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"I will nuke your bowels into oblivion"
"What you think you see is only as real as your brain tells you it is."

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Original post by OctDev
Spine recovery is progressing and I can start doing things again, to some extent. I was thinking that sword are neat, so I''d buy a bamboo kendo sword and start practicing my 37337 ninja skills. Anybody ever do kendo? Any good books/videos to get a beginner started with basic movements/balance/excersises?

I really can''t afford class instruction right now.

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Dunno the beginner book, but the ultimate book is the book of five rings.

I read part of Five rings a couple of years ago; if I remember cortrectly, it was more mindstate and philosophy rather than actual sword technique...am I mistaken?

I like books of that nature alot, but at the moment its not what I would be looking for (I have a few others to finish on my bookshelf).

Kendo isn''t the actual martial art, kendo it self just means "practice." I took a kaipo class years ago, and have self taught myself Tai-Kawn-Do, Ninjitsu, Jujitsu, and am in the process of learning Iaido.

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Necro-File
I will devour your soul, drink your blood, and use your skull as a bedpan, while I digitize your mentality. You''re the one who wanted to be immortalized, not me.

I am also interested in Kendo. Does anyone know any places for training in London?

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Original post by kordova It''s all fine and good to read it, but nothing gives a clearer example to be followed than watching someone do it.

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Drill a hole in the wall and peek? .sen

Books and Videos can give you the general idea of the techniques involved, but class instruction by a qualified instructor is recommended.

The problem lies in that though you can learn the techniques, you need an objective viewer who has taught before to point out mistakes you make. The worst thing you could do is learn the art incorrectly, either because the instaructor is not qualified or misinformation in the the book or video.

I have learned that when you are taught incorrectly, you keep a habit of making those mistakes. Through practice, action becomes automatic and so will the errors you make. It will deter you rather than help you. You must learn the techniques right the first time and avoid practising wrong techniques.

Quite a few years ago, I took kendo for a semester while at university. I had to quite after I broke my bamboo sword over another guy''s head. (couldn''t afford a replacement) It seems that my technique was a little off resulting in a broken sword for me and a mild concussion for him.

Still, what can you expect from a drill requiring you to hit a guy in the head 100 times as fast as you can go?