How do you see the future of your art?

**RaiNnyX4** · Posted On: 10/27/2007 2:16pm

Also, I'm not sure how common it is but it looks like Kendoka cross compete with Naginatadoka on occasion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE8F_8X6E6s

**krazy kaju** · Posted On: 10/27/2007 2:21pm

The future of my art will be hot man-on-man action, as it always has...

**NeilG** · Posted On: 10/29/2007 12:36pm

That kendo vs escrima video has been around for a while. The kendo player is pretty low level, maybe 3 or 4 years experience in my estimation. You can find another video of a good player against a fencer from years ago. Against naginata (we say isshu-jiai) is pretty easy to set up as the armour and rules are very similar. It's usually done as a demonstration, I can't think of any actual tournaments where this is done. We usually lose against naginataka of equal ability anyways. The point I'm trying to make is these are rare demonstration events and not in any way part of normal training. Most of the videos you find around youtube and such of people cross-training with shinai are either low-level or completely untrained but still calling it kendo.

MMA people often assume that everybody else in martial arts has the same goals as they do. Not everybody wants to be the biggest badass on the planet, to take whatever technique they can find and fuse them together in that goal. Many people are interested in becoming good at what they are studying. Kendo is a good example of that. It's very specialized, it's got no practical "street" value, and none of us are going to ever fight with a sword for real. So we just work on perfecting kendo, in and of itself, for our own enjoyment. It's a hard concept for people to accept.

**RaiNnyX4** · Posted On: 10/29/2007 6:52pm

Originally Posted by NeilG

That kendo vs escrima video has been around for a while. The kendo player is pretty low level, maybe 3 or 4 years experience in my estimation. You can find another video of a good player against a fencer from years ago. Against naginata (we say isshu-jiai) is pretty easy to set up as the armour and rules are very similar. It's usually done as a demonstration, I can't think of any actual tournaments where this is done. We usually lose against naginataka of equal ability anyways. The point I'm trying to make is these are rare demonstration events and not in any way part of normal training. Most of the videos you find around youtube and such of people cross-training with shinai are either low-level or completely untrained but still calling it kendo.

MMA people often assume that everybody else in martial arts has the same goals as they do. Not everybody wants to be the biggest badass on the planet, to take whatever technique they can find and fuse them together in that goal. Many people are interested in becoming good at what they are studying. Kendo is a good example of that. It's very specialized, it's got no practical "street" value, and none of us are going to ever fight with a sword for real. So we just work on perfecting kendo, in and of itself, for our own enjoyment. It's a hard concept for people to accept.

I don't mean to tell you that you are wrong, but I think you're making assumptions as well. Do many Kendoka know of any cross competitions? Has anything of the sort ever even crossed their mind? I think if there was a venue of sorts for them to compete in, many of them would be tempted to see just how good they are.

I know, that if I did Kendo (which I actually hope I have the chance to someday) I would love to test myself across disciplines. It's the same reason I like sparring with BJJ and wrestlers and whatnot. I just like grappling (and fighting) in general so any new experience is always welcome. There's got to be plenty of Kendoka with the same thoughts.

EDIT: And 3 to 4 years really is low level in Kendo? It must have a very steep learning curve because I think anyone with any level of athleticism would be at least average with 3 to 4 years of consistent training in pretty much any art.

**NeilG** · Posted On: 10/29/2007 9:41pm

3-4 years is low level in any Japanese martial art. That's typically shodan or maybe nidan, so I think of those guys as advanced beginners. The guys who play on the US and Canadian national team have 10 years experience, minimum and I think most of them are more like 20 years. I've been playing nearly 25 and I'm an instructor, but a junior one.

Anyways, kendoka don't need to see "just how good they are" against any other discipline when there is plenty of competition within their own discipline. It's not a criticism of anything else, it's just it's own world.