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I did a summer course of kendo when I was a kid. I learned a lot about physical and mental discipline, and it was overall a fun experience I got to share with my siblings and cousin. Beyond that, I agree that there isn't much connection to samurais and medieval martial arts.
During Karate sessions, I noticed something similar. There was a point when crying at our home you would be bashed by our dad. HOWEVER in karate, it was not bashed, but encouraged to work through it without stopping the kid or making them feel bad. That day, I realized, while I did not like karate, it did help reinforce things.
I had a friend who practiced kendo and offered to teach me so he can have an easy training partner.. he immediately retracted his offer the moment I, as a pure leftie, held the shinai with my left hand and foot forward, that was completely ridiculous to me..
I being left handed have used that to win many duels in HEMA and very very many skirmishing solo flanking manuvers because when they face to meat me they get confused and dont realize in time that I will stab spear to spear not spear to shield. Altho while in the middle of a formation in a skirmish I will for the purposes of a holding a proper shield wall hold by weapons as if I was right handed.
@@Thesandchief The dominant hand is always on top for swords. Sliding your hands and changing them is only if you use 2 hands on a pole weapon. And if you do sword and spear its a formation set up where everyone needs to hold the spear and shield in the same hands to not leave any gaps in the line.
The irony is that if you had choosen judo, it would be closer to sumurai training. It is modern but the roots from unarmed combat training are there. The main reason that there is pretty much zero stricking is that it is usless against an enemy wearing armor.
I don't totaly agree with you : they are some area (less protected) you can strike to make dammage to the opponant. It won't incapacitate him but can be usefull.
@@sebr9974 With armour , its risky. If you miss, even a little, you could break your hand. On the other hand if you hoist your armoured opponent over your shoulder and slam him on the ground , he 's going to be sorry he came after you. If you don't use your tanto to finish him off.
@@justtetsuo7175 You are propably refering to Atemi Waza, even without competition they were very specific and for the most part complentory to the grapling. Leg graps is a different issue but still a thing in Kodokan Judo which you can learn in Japan.
You are absolutely right! Kendo is a lifelong mental challenge so it's not for those who just fell for it watching anime. Kendo emphatically is on a simple idea - an opponent can teach you about your weaknesses in 3 minutes what you would learn by 3 years practicing alone.
@@metakarukenshi that's not a generic statement. it only talks about the place or dojo you are training. for example low level are high on ego but as you go higher it disappers. like in japan hardly ego is an issue with people (its strict rules that wears people out). anyways you should be ready to go to a new dojo until you find someplace you can call home (dojo or place). just step in, enjoy the kendo and go home. no time for BS.
@@sid25s I did kendo in australia where finding a new dojo involves moving entire towns away. and I know that in Japan it's different and it comes down to personal experiences, but for my personal experience I found the opposite, the Lower you are the less ego and the higher you go the more ego is involved. Kendo in my experience even if you were on holiday to another town and stopped into a new dojo even just to watch is considered rude as you need permission from your current sensei. the higher ranking Sensei in my life that werent japanese always had an unbearable ego and would happily tell you how you should disreguard the instruction of a higher ranking sensei cause they dont know anything.
@@sid25s The fact japanese have ritualized everything, even ego, does not mean it does not exist.. THey have developed literally dozens and dozens of rituals in all kinds of things that are actually made to stroke someone's else ego...
I did kendo and foil fencing briefly. Left them both because I got fed up with the focus on sports rather than practical swordplay. I wanted to learn how to be a swordsman, not a sportsman. I was researching how to learn real swordplay when I discovered Kenjutsu. So I wanted to learn that, sadly there was no clubs anywhere NEAR me. So I couldn't do it. Then whilst on RUclips about a year later I looked up "how to use a sword" or something similar and discovered HEMA. I knew instantly this was what I had been looking for. That was probably 6 or 7 years ago now. Haven't looked back since. Though I would still do Kenjutsu if there was a local club, preferably one with sparring.
I feel ya man. those sensieas and their secrets keeping it in the Dojo. Though to be fair a living tradition is preferable. Nothing against the reconstruction tradition that HEMA is but I fear for HEMA's quality control in the long run
@@alexanerose4820 Can't really do much about HEMA not having living tradition for the most part aside from a few systems like Military Sabre. Reconstruction is our only option. But to be honest, most "living traditions" are "stuck" *in* said tradition at the expense of personal progress. As for HEMA's quality control, well I don't know what you mean.
This is why I got into HEMA. I'm completely new to martial arts as a whole but I was drawn to HEMA because it was the closest application to actual sword/weapon combat I could find. For the large part nearly everything is a target and most techniques are legal in competition, depending of course on the competition, with some even including grappling/ringen should the situation arise. The school I've been studying with focuses less on the "historical" aspects of HEMA (ie adhering to plays and techniques found in the manuscripts from the masters) and more on the ideals of studying actual combat techniques which has been a bit of a change compared to the past year I spent learning from a friend. I enjoy HEMA though because from my understanding it's pretty accepting of the multitude of styles and techniques and I've even seen it branch into practicing against other weapon focused martial arts. I hope that as it grows it develops into something akin to MMA in that it's focused on combining multiple styles and practices to create an effective combatant.
Interesting note though, Kendo lets you pressure test your skills while most kenjutsu schools have let go of sparring. Also, modern kendo is highly influenced particularly by Hokushin Itto Ryu which influenced the specific footwork and grip of the shinai.
I love the approach you take with this! Too often I see people who get very tribal and seeing you break down practical reasons for your preference without just taking a dump on kendo is very refreshing
@@markkrousos5011 It's a reference to an older video on the channel, where Metatron discusses reasons why you wouldn't want to attack a knight's horse in a charge.
I've started studying Kenjutsu (ryushin shouchi ryu, a form of jigen ryu, which itself is descended from Katori Shinto Ryu) in New York and I really love it, your channel has inspired me to pursue japanese martial arts, and I can't thank you enough
I foil fenced in high school and when I got older,having not fenced for many years started sabre fencing which I thoroughly enjoyed and all three of my sons and my granddaughter practice, but in my old age I discovered Iaido and I must say for pure concentration physically, mentally and spiritually I, from my own experience have never encountered anything to compare. My Iaido practice has helped me maintain my sanity during the Covid lockdown as needn't leave my home to do it. Thank you Metatron, your videos have also been great for helping me maintain my equilibrium in these times, again thank you and be safe.
Very interesting and informative to watch. You did a good job in explaining the different styles techniques, philosophies and then added in your personal beliefs with experiences. After 15yrs of Nagareru, I've subscribed
I started kendo about a year ago and I love it. This video makes all very valid points though, its a sport with some roots in sword fighting, it really is not like how the samurai fought. Although I feel what it does offer in a modern setting is the mindset of sword fighting, well sort of as we aren't actually using a sharp object of course. It teaches how to perform under pressure and what it meant for a samurai to have a sharp mind because any mistake could mean the end of your life. Its sort of keeping the spirit of samurai battle alive in a modern and safe setting.
Yeah, I understand that kendo initially developed as a standardised kenjustsu system used by the Meiji era police since conscripts were performing poorly against pro-Shogunate samurai. After swords fell out of favour it developed into more of a sport. Especially after WWII since it's practice as a martial art was initially banned during the occupation.
I practiced Kendo and Iaido, both for 2 years. For me, kendo is good for stress relief, you go to the dojo, you scream and slap others in the head and in the end you feel relieved at peace. Iaido is more reassuring, the series of strokes, all ritual and tradition that comes with art. In short, there are 2 arts that complete each other.
(I know this is a old video but i hope you read this comment) Ive been practicing kendo for about 20 years now (or something like that, I dont even remember) and Ive had a somewhat successful kendo "career" if you will, never been the best around but I had my share in tournaments, even been selected for some international tournaments a couple of times in my days of young, Im not saying this to brag or anything, this is nothing to brag about really compared to my teammates that really are strong and dedicated kendo guys, not like me haha, I say this to put my comment in context as someone that has never been the best or never have put the most dedicated effort in to it, im FAR from a kendo fanatic as many people are, but at the same time had my share of winning a couple of medals and shared keiko (combat practice) with literally hundreds of different people from all around the world and top-ranked senseis. in kendo my philosophy is just to say "yes" to anything (that I can afford) and just go with the flow, and trough the years that gave me some experience after all. anyway, I agree a lot about what you said, specially about the importance of actual combat practice, and the fact that kendo and kenjutsu are very different in all the aspects you mentioned, specially in the "sport" deppartment BUT they both share the same fundamentals (also koryu or "old" martial styles, many other armed and unarmed MA and even european MA) like timing, centerline and distance so what you learn in kendo CAN be applied in kenjutsu and vice versa even if, as you said, the techniques, movements and ruleset are completely different from one another, BUT to understand that and being able to apply that takes many many years and I understand that after just 3 years of practice you see both as disconnected. Ive known kenshi that won medal after medal (mostly young people) but dont know and couldnt care less about kendo kata or even proper footwork, but that only last until you are about nidan or sandan, but why? why is it in kendo that a 70 year old or even older sensei can beat a 20 year old kid without even breaking a sweat? is this somewhat related to the BIG difference there is between kendo and kenjutsu? Ive asked this question many times to many high ranked sensei that at the time, I tought I understood but now I know that I didnt. the answer in a nutshell is that kendo and kenjutsu (as many other armed ans un-armed martial arts) share the same fundamentals like the center line, timing, distance, all that sort of stuff, and I said aha! ok thats why a kendo master can beat a younger, stronger and faster opponent, well... yeah but no. the answer, I think, is in "seme", I know you know what seme is, is putting pressure in to your opponents guard and spirit, and thats there I think the link between kendo and kenjutsu (and mostly all MA) lies. since the begining of my training I heard about it and read about it but I never knew enough to start to understand it, this is why I feel that my kendo "career" started 5 years ago when I passed 4th dan, after more than 10 years of practice and started to really focus in seme, the first time you do it RIGHT you realize that every previous time you THOUGHT you were doing it right you were actually FAR but FAR from it and. thats when I realized how FAR FAR FAR away I am from being good at kendo. so at the end it all comes around to the fundamentals of kendo and kenjutsu, Im not talking about how to do proper footwork or how to grip the shinai, but the fundamentals of "seme", so from this point of view what we know as the "basic" fundamentals is actually the hardest to learn and the most "advanced" stuff like the waza is actually the "easy" part (maybe not "easy"but rather the "less difficult" part). so yeah it is true that you wont be able to apply most of the kenjutsu techniques in kendo, but the fundamentals like center line, distance, timing and "seme", are mostly the same. "seme" comes first and THEN the tecniques and stances and everything else, if your seme is strong you will cut. Is like when Pele (the soccer player) was asked about his goals and he said "I first make the goal and then kick the ball" in kendo is the same, seme is the what makes the goal and your attack techniques or oujiwaza (counter-techniques) is just kicking the ball. so yeah is absolutely true that most kenjutsu waza cant be applied in a kendo match, but its also true that it doesnt really matter. now I know why my sensei tought me so many years ago that it was so important to go to tournaments and "in a tournament your objective is to win", not becouse winning is important, but you can learn so much about a real sword combat if you go to each combat with your mind set for "live or die" instead of "win or loose" even if, as you so rightfuly said, the kendo scoring system is super restrictive and with scoring points in mind, but that doesnt matter, you will still be learning the swordmanship fundamentals and ALSO the MINDSET you need to have to face an opponent and this can ONLY be learnt trough combat, regardless of how different the basic movements are from kendo and kenjutsu. you can argue that kendo is not "real" combat and that is true, but such thing as "real combat" really doesnt exist in ANY martial art, not even kenjutsu. the only way to experience real combat is to pick up a sword and to have a "live or die" combat with someone else and that hopefully will never happen, what kendo does is to acknoledge that reality. no real sensei will tell you that in kendo you will learn to fight a katana duel, but what you will really learn are the technical, physical and psychological fundamentals of sworfighting that can only be learnt trough full-contact combat. and thats what discourage many new practitioners, like yourself, but sadly to understand this and go beyond it takes more than 3 years of practice. people comes with unrealistic expectations of what kendo is and this discourages them to keep going. Ive seen this many times and usually this happens around the first, the third year or fifth year of practice. Ive seen MANY times people quitting kendo following exactly the same argument that you just said in your video. even I had the same toughts and when I asked my sensei about this he said that I didnt understand because I needed to do more combat (keiko) practice, and he was absolutely right. metatron I really like your videos, they are fun and in many ways we have a very similar way of thinking, I also try to keep everything as objective as I can, I had to give it a lot of thought and even had to dust off some old kendo books to come up with this comment, also sorry about my grammar English is a second language, anyway, I hope you read it. keep it up noble one!
@@hbkusi from my point of view absolutely, and not only that, when I was young I also practiced karate, taekwondo, aikido and kickboxing, all of those unarmed combat systems share the same fundamentals, I mean even if the basic movements are completely different from different MA, even if they are from different backgrounds i.e. western v/s oriental MA, they all roughly follow the same basic fundamentals: distance, timing and center line. they also have different names for concepts that in the end are pretty much the same like what we call in kendo "seme" or "zanshin" and stuff like that. and that goes for European martial arts too. if you are in a sworfight and you manage to take control of the center line, with proper distance at the right moment you WILL make the cut, regardless if you are an Olympic fencer or a kendo or kenjutsu guy or a HEMA practitioner, fighting with a rapier or a longsword or a shinai or if you are in a tournament with X or Y set of rules, with or without armor or whatever, the same goes for unarmed fighting styles. thats why I criticize the argument against competitions or rules in tournaments, people generally have that opinion because they are not experienced enough in martial arts to look beyond a given rule set or fighting style. thats why in a tournament your objective is to win, not for the sake of winning but for the sake of learning. please dont get me wrong, with this Im not saying that all fighting styles are equally effective, we all know thats not the case. Im just saying that they roughly share the same fundamentals. ps: Im sorry about my bad wording in the previous post, I read it now and even I found it very confusing, I think I had too many things to say and ended up saying nothing. I edited it to make it a little bit more clear, I would be glad if you could read it again.
You are talking about M-1 Medieval. I prefer this once more than HEMA, HEMA score system is bad, they treat swords like instant kill lightsaber which 1 gentle touch is gameover.
@@hoanglinhle4468 Search for HEMA continuous fencing, that's HEMA but without the hit-stop part, pretty much the two combatants continue to fight even if they get hit and the points are revealed at the end.
@@hoanglinhle4468 Not the kind of grappling you do in Jiu Jitsu.... Perhaps something like Judo would serve you well, where you learn to throw or trip your opponent, that would allow you to pull your dagger out and stab the throat perhaps but Jiu Jitsu isn't going to help you against a knight in plate armor lol
Very good and concise overview about the comparisons between classical styles of Japanese swordsmanship and kendō but, as a long-term practitioner of kendō, iaidō, and jōdō (been getting into HEMA over the past couple of years), I would add a couple of points. Firstly, while the vast majority of kendōjō do indeed focus heavily on competition and the sportified style of kendō, there are sensei out there who focus more on good, solid technique and (relatively) old-school kendō. Of course, they won't teach the breadth of techniques and stances that you'll find in traditional ryūha (it's still got to be usable for gradings and competitions) but their focus will be on strong and effective technique. Secondly, although kendō will indeed not teach you to use a Japanese sword, if paired with a traditional style, it will provide an excellent sense of timing, distance, and pressure that you can import into your koryū training. Just my two yen.
Yes, kendo is a martial art because the idea of yuko-datotsu is striving the perfect strike: creating the opportunity, making the strike with correct form, then finishing the attack with zanshin (be out of danger and ready for the next attack). At the beginning, you spend all of your focus on making the fast strike possible (and hopefully improving form), but later you realize it's all mental. You eventually learn how important breathing is to your timing. You become focused on the opponent like a poker player. You find their tells, you pressure them (with seme) and they show you where the opening is to strike. I've won kendo matches in 3 seconds; I've lost them even faster. You will be humiliated in front of a crowd by younger people, older people, men, and women. I'll keep going until I'm physically unable :D
I practiced Aikido, Kendo, Naginata and Kyudo at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto for about 3 years, some 12 years ago. Kendo and Naginata's fun, cuz like you said, there's full-contact sparring. I did look around for Kenjutsu schools, and found a few, but they were very niche compared to the others that I was learning.
I totally agree!! Thanks for sharing your opinions. I started my swordmanship life with Haidong Gumdo and I loved it until i was unable to afford the Dan Grade examinations. After a while, the management of the Haidong Gumdo federation became just a business and started giving away certifications even to unprepared practitioners. Then I stepped into Kendo and didn't really like the "sport" aspect of it, even if they say it's not a sport. I am only sharing my opinion but being into other martial arts, the sensation of stepping into a Kendo dojo is 100% competitive. Nowadays I'm a Yoga and Taichi instructor and something that I can relate with what you say is that I found out that what I really liked is just the philosophical aspect of martial arts (not Kendo itself). I was debating myself about whether I should go back to Kendo or not because my girlfriend is a Kendoka and has being offering me to join in. After this video I'm glad to have a clear mind and will be in touch with Kendo just from an spectators view. 🙏🏿
Very interesting. I've never thought a lot about that, but that explains a lot about my experience. I played kendo for more than a dozen years (and I would do for more and more, if I hadn't some personal problems that forced me to stop), but I never cared about samurai or Japan, I don't even know a lot about that. I started and went on for years just because I wanted to practise a sport where there was an actual sparring and I found a wonderful sensei to learn from (and he wasn't Japanese, too, by the way 🙂 !!). During the years I practised kendo, I saw tons of boys starting to train that were totally into this samurai and Japanese things, but they often didn't last long.
Remember reading a spy book in the 80's about the lack of defending. The spy who knew how to actually fight with a katana overcame all the kendo practitioners by doing all the illegal moves, and more, that you pointed out. Got talked out of Kendo and into Jujitsu instead.
@SpaghettiToaster you might not be in a hairy situation and have the luxury to have a sword but you can easily obtain a wooden stick or stick like objects(possibly everyday work tools) and the same techniques you do with a sword will apply to those too!!!!
@@al-imranadore1182 Hardly the same. Sword technique involves tons of draw cuts that don't work with a stick. Probably the most useful parts will be stance and footwork. But really, if that's what you wanted to train for, you'd take a self defense class that deals specifically with those situations. Practicing a martial art is not about winning fights, but enjoying the art itself. If it also happens to be a competitive sport, then sure, it's also about winning fights, but again, that has very little to do with self defense. I feel like people conflate the ideas of martial arts, sports, and self defense ability. Yes, they overlap, but each is valuable on its own, regardless on how well it translates to either of the other two.
@SpaghettiToaster don't underestimate the sharpness and pointiness of a square shaped stick or 2/4, plus you could always hammer some nails and other small metal shanks on a wooden bat or a plank.
I really like this video, it just make things clear for everyone, I practice kendo and i can confirm that kendo is good for doing excercise, relaxing and having fun, its like a hobby, Of course if you are looking for something really serious and historical accuarate Kenjutsu or HEMA are a better choise.
Good on you for being open and honest about your initial motivations to start, why you stopped, and most of all, not dissing kendo! "You should do kendo because it's going to make you a better person. You should do kendo because it's a physical, mental, and even spiritual activity. You shouldn't do kendo because you want to know how to hold a katana or because you like the samurai. If that's the reason, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons."' ^^^Great statement!
I started for the same reason you did. It was 34 years ago. I still do it. I agree with you about the relation with the "samurai world", but the need to improve myself, and the feeling of satisfaction after a good training, and the friends I met in the many dojo I practiced were good reasons enough to keep going. But you made a good analysis.
This sounds SO familiar. I've never been to Japan but I had pretty similar experiences years ago. (Basically didn't find kendo satisfying because it was sportified and had to find an instructor in kenjutsu and iaijutsu.)
the full samurai experience is found in the combination of kendo and iaido. Kendo gives you the sparing iaido gives you the traditional use of a blade. Also all the kendo practitioners i met know how to hold a katana unless you think bokuto are a modern thing and not made for simulating the katana to train with so you dont end up sliced up. kendo will teach you controlling space and distance.
That covers the sword part of the samurai experience. A samurai needs to be proficient in sword, spear, bow, and riding. So the full samurai experience would be something like Kenjutsu + Sojutsu + Kyujutsu + Bajutsu. Or, more easily accessible: Kendo + Jukendo + Kyudo + regular riding lessons.
I got lucky when I tried Kendo. I had only been in Kendo for about 6 months when the instructor was addressing the class explaining that Kendo is not learning how to fight with a sword, but that it was more about inner development, this explanation was tied to some larger point he was making. I don't know if I would have figured it out on my own at that time. I was glad for his explanation, because I wanted to learn how to fight with a sword.
Totally agree with Metatron here. Kendo is the sport version of swordfighting, hence a lot of techniques were taken out and how to defend in actual fighting. You can still defend yourself with it, but the bad habits of training in a rule based sport for street defense is just asking for trouble. It's the same with olympic fencing tbh. Same with Aikido, the founder said so himself that you're not to use it for competition but for honing your spirit/mind. And yet western practitioners still try to make it work in a competitive environment, fail, and get disillusioned by it. In short, training with a different purpose than the philosophy of the discipline they are trying to master. If you want to learn actual Japanese swordsmanship, learn kenjutsu or iaijutsu not kendo. If you want to learn western fencing, don't do olympic fencing but study HEMA instead. Same with FMA, if you want to learn for fighting with blades go traditional Arnis/Kali/Eskrima and not WECAF (sport version). Edit: Just know what purpose you're training for and choose the appropriate discipline. You don't train with a slingshot to learn how to fight with a gun.
I started practicing Kendo like 2 weeks ago, so far I have been liking it, I like that it has an sparring component to it compared to other japanese sword martial arts, tbh with I started Kendo because of Samurais, which will only let me with Iaido as an option in my city, but I really want to prove my self and be competitive, while Iaido is more personal. Kenjutsu is not available here in Colombia and I would distrust someone saying they are a Kenjutsu master over here.
@@Ianmar1 I have no idea but I will be going this saturday to check out, maybe I will end up practicing both Kendo and Iaido although Idk if that will affect me competitively speaking in Kendo.
@@andresgallego5727 It probably won't help, but I don't see it hurting either. The Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei promotes kendo and iaido as "two wheels on a cart". A cart with only one wheel is not a very useful cart. Iaido has a sword but does not have an opponent, thus the emphasis is on control of the sword. Kendo has an opponent but does not have a sword, thus the emphasis is on control of the opponent.
That's a pretty sweet O Yoroi you have there! I like the kabuto too. What I am interested in learning about are the various martial techniques of historical samurai - Bujutsu, I believe is the correct term. People forget that samurai did not use katana/tachi exclusively but also practiced kyujutsu, bojutsu, sojutsu, etc.
I did "kumdo" for like a year. It was supposed to be the Korean version of samurai.... i think it's mostly made up. It was kind if a side class at the Taekwondo dojang I went to, it was just like 5 of us, so it was actually a lot of fun. The instructor split the lessons between forms with the wooden sword and some sparring with the bamboo sword, and for halloween we chopped pumpkins 🎃
Haidong kumdo? Goryu kumdo? The kumdo which I usually think of is kendo minus sonkyo plus two kata and some mythology which has since fallen out of fashion about it not being the sport of the Japanese occupation.
If you can found 1 school of kenjutsu anywhere that allows you to duel (training), please 100% send me their info. And If you really believe those cowards who refuse to duel can teach you about "Fighting", you have an extremely low standard.
@@hoanglinhle4468 I mean, you can look up "kenjutsu sparring" here on RUclips and see plenty of people doing it. I don't know how many of them come from a super-official kenjutsu lineage, but they're there, and Metatron mentioned in this video that a few schools do sparring.
@@InSanic13 - Send me 1 video of Kenjutsu school doing sparring and you win this conversation. Please don't send me videos of 2 random dudes playing around with bokken. - It is not "FEW schools", it is "ZERO schools" that do sparring.
@@hoanglinhle4468 yes, there is a lack of sparring in kenjutsu(as in many traditional martal arts) But i'd say that kenjutsu will still give you a better knowledge of actual sword fighting than kendo which is too focused on scoring points and not delivering effective cuts. It's not like you'll need kenjutsu to defend yourself anyway, so in this case i don't think sparring is that important, it's more about preserving the tradition.
I had been doing kendo for about 2 years and I had similar experience. Kendo is fun, it helped me to improve my reflexes, speed, physique, reading distance etc. All of that are very important stuff (maybe the most) for any fighting but Metatron is right, kendo went a little bit different way. Btw. there is a place in Tokyo called Castle Tintagel, where people train kenjutsu but also HEMA, european martial art. They have sparring every week and tournaments and they do also armor sparring like buhurts etc. That is right, you can actually try fighting long sword vs katana, halbert vs naginata (plastic, cuz Japan is very strict about cold weapons), finally find an answer to a question who is better - knight vs. samurai? (imho none, it depends on the fighter).
Good point! Katori Shinto Ryu is the way to go. But it takes a long time and a good teacher to understand and learn to apply the techniques outside of kata.
I came into this ready and expecting it to be some random person complaining and was very happy to see otherwise. Good breakdown, keep up the good work!
This is a perfect video for me, because I've been looking to get into japanese swordmanship, and I think I will learn kenjutsu. But you said that even the most traditional kenjutsu is not exactly how the samurai fought back then, is there any sources on how the samurai really fought?
Most traditional kenjutsu trace their roots to those times, but due to the living lineage, they will all have changed some parts of it over time. At least that's what I think he meant. There are treatises written by samurai, but most of them haven't been translated, so unless you are fluent in archaic Japanese, it's gonna be a bumpy ride trying to get anything out of them. Kenjutsu schools usually preserve the original techniques in scrolls or books, but those are all still "secret" texts, so most of them aren't publicly available the same way as European treatises are.
I once watched a program on NHK about sports and there was an kendo 8th dan examination and i think it's got one of the weirdest atmosphere. At that point in 8th dan it becomes a mind game. Not only that you have to compete against people with decades of experience you also have to put up with everyone's bullshit, judges included.
Well, this was a very interesting insight in japanese "martial arts culture". (Yes, I realise that this generalising term isn't acurat) I don't really know much about japanese culture and history, but I'm certainly open minded and interested to lern more. Thank you again for this interesting Video. 👍
I remember trying kendo for about a year once and quitting for these very reasons- years later I returned to it and love it for what it is instead of my original expectations Something my sensei said to me: doing iaido is great to learn how to use and handle a sword; but kendo is important so that you learn how to lose, more of a test of skill and discipline -also for what it’s worth, precursors to kendo did exist during the tokugawa shogunate as he had strict regulations on war
I also studied Kendo, but I got hit by a car and had to quit. Too much brain slosh after the accident, After I healed I did 5 years of Aikido, till the brain slosh interfered and for the last 13 years it has been Iaido. I still love it.
@@DomgrathPW Impact trauma, after the big hit to the head (I was wearing a helmet and got hit on my moped) I couldn't take a "men uchi" without becoming too dizzy to continue. I could do Aikido for a while, but after 5 years I couldn't do myokemi rolls any more without vertigo either. Nothing in Iaido hurts me head, I can do this.
@@DomgrathPW Shit happens, I'm over 60 now anyway, kendo wouldn't be a good idea at my age anyhow. Iaido is good. One has to do something and I love swords enough to want to know how to use one without embarrassing myself before others who know. I have seen too many idiots with blades from BuddyK who lacked even the most basic clue...
Before COVID-19 I was practicing Kendo for 4 years and i was preparing for my 2nd Dan examination. I probably started for the reason you mentioned as the reason you stopped which i get. At some point the idea of Kendo for me changed to a seperate sport that i enjoy to both to watch and particiapate for the competition in it with all the rules and mindset rather than a martial art dedicated for real sword combat. I still want to practice Kenjutsu for that previous reason but sparring problem kept me more in the side of Kendo.
From what I understand, the roots of kendo go back to about 1700. This is a mere century after the battle of Sekigahara. It was developed as a adjunct to training by a kenjutsu school. So it isn't a reenactment of samurai combat, but it has many elements of a training technique used by some samurai. I suppose that's why they ask you to hit the target that you are supposed to aim for (men for instance) but ignore the angle of the neck, as you mentioned. If a samurai can hit one target in practice, he could certainly adjust and hit another target in combat. By the way, Metatron, did you study kata in your kendo studies? How different are they from the kenjutsu kata that you are currently studying? Thanks!
While I was practicing kendo someone took haso in our club and based on modern kendo rules it doesn't work well. Every target is open and every move is telegraphed
Hasso is basically applied as jodan. I saw someone win the sandan+ division in a local tournament win the tournament about 13 years agodue to an injury he suffered that day and he played hasso. You have to be just as physically and mentally aggressive as a jodan player to occupy the space.
Wow, my kendo class didn't have a waiting period. Though they were probably not in a position to be picky. I miss those classes. I wish I could have stayed with them.
A form of Kendo was already introduced in the Edo era as a form of practicing sword fight and as a nice past time activity. It's the sport that closest comes to Samurai combat as there is no sparring in kenjutsu.
Nice comment! Reading all these other comments, I think a lot of ppl have never done research on kendo lol. They don’t realize that it literally came out of the necessity fir sparring in kenjutsu, that kenjutsu schools created what later evolved into kendo lol...
@@estevanelmariachi1457 Exactly, and they modified these days that it has become a combat sport with rules that give each competitor the same chances. It's not meant to be for self defense as nobody carries katanas anymore. But it's still the sport that comes closest to Samurai combat with full contact sparring.
I got into Kendo years ago for similar reasons , a general love of Japanese culture at the time and Anime of course . I lost interest after 4 years , again for almost the same reasons that you mentioned , and left around the 5th year because my Sensei left the Dojo and i didn't feel like continuing . Kendo is overall too rigid in my opinion , the way you have to move , the very few authorized hit zones , it's just not natural at all . That's why i picked up HEMA . I had to stop after a year , but when the pandemic is "over" i think i'll pick it up again , and be *that* person who brings Eastern swords into Western Martial Art :P
Hi there! I used to practice Kendo as well (well, I still do but my mindset for it then was that I'm doing a martial art, now I still practice it but keeping in mind that it's more of a sport ESPECIALLY after finding out the changes made to Post-War Kendo). When I started cross-training with other practices, I realized that it didn't really give me any foundation or any additional skills and mechanics that would supplement my cross-training. In fact, it even impeded my progress because of how it messed up my body mechanics. All that said, I still really respect the philosophy, discipline, and sportsmanship that comes with Kendo hence why I continue to train it today as my sort-of-martial-art sport :) Just wanna add in as well that I'm in Kenjutsu and Eskrima now hahaha
Aikido and Judo both came from traditional Jujutsu. Morihei Ueshiba studied Daito ryu jujutsu and used his peaceful approach to create Aikido. Too bad that was a mistake because taking out the violence aspect of Aiki jujutsu made Aikido a joke in martial arts community now days
@@jaketheasianguy3307 A joke? It's an extremely enjoyable art to do. The only aspect of it that is a joke are the people who think that it is a practical form of combat, the same as in judo, kendo, boxing, wrestling and really any martial art except mma and actual military, police or self-defense combat training, which is a completely different thing from a martial art.
@@SpaghettiToaster It became a joke in modern martial art community because alot of Aikido practitioners keep calling their art deadliest self defense system, calling it better than other art...etc....Hell, i like Aikido, i even successfully used some of it's techniques in MMA sparring but the attitude and the approach to it of some practitioners turned it into a joke
Helpful video! I, too, think iaijutusu and kenjutsu are much more representative of "the martial art(s) of the samurai" and modern kendo is a "combat sport" (a bit of a pejorative term for me, currently). Love you, love your channel (as the idiomatic greeting to an American call-in radio show goes, mutatis mutandis #Bazinga)
Goddamnit Metatron ! I made a bet that your next video would be about Age of Samurai, the new show on Netflix. Just kidding, but Age of Samurai deserves some serious debunking !
@@jeffreygao3956 I am no expert, so I believe the facts presented are accurate enough, I could be very wrong. But the battles were so small ! Just some struggles into randow woods, only Nagashino and Sekigahara were portrayed as huge field battles. Okehazama looked like a brawl in a small camp, and not the bloody massacre it was. The houses and castles looked all the same and most actors were forgettable. But that's just how I feel. If you like it, great ! I just could not like it as much, but I surely did not hate it.
@@jeffreygao3956 I liked it as well but wished they would have started earlier, around the time of the Kamakura/Ashikaga shogunates. Instead it was basically just about the three unifiers at the end of the sengoku jidai
That is a good and honest video. I trained Kendo for 10 years with graduating on Dan-Level. But the motivation was as you say, but many started it like this and liked it for that reasons. So I also started it, because I liked the samurai, Japanese history etc. However this interest did not fade AND I started to love kendo for what it is for itself. But I disagree a bit, Kendo has still many aspects of swordsmanship in it and you see that if you stay longer in kendo. Especially when you dive deeper into kendo kata and understand the connection of kata and Jigeiko. Maybe it is my experience, because I did start parallel to explore Iaido, koryu and other aspects of Japanese martial arts. Especially as I started to find out more about the history of kendo, pre-war kendo, gekiken etc. Now why did I stop to practice kendo after 10 years? Because I did start to explore Hema and decided to dive deep into the Cateran Society‘s Highland Broadsword training program. I never looked back, but that is not entered true. Now doing Backsword etc. also for over 10 years now, I always found connections of principles and even techniques from my kendo times. After such a long time I still see myself as a Kendoka (not active though), as I see myself as a Backswordsman. So to sum it up: if you really are interested in Japanese history and culture and want to learn a proper budo discipline connected to the sword, you definitely should try out kendo, but you need to see if it really fulfills your desire of doing something connected to the samurai history (which it is), but went another way of practice due to the changes in time.
I saw the title and was like "didn't I watch this 5 years ago ?" but the timestamp was like 5 minutes ago. Who here E A R L Y ?
You Belkans are always up to no good!
@@sephiroth903 BELKA DID NOTHING WRO- *this message was removed by the Osean censorship association (OCA)*
@@jefflei215 OCA, their weakness is ███ ████, with ██████ ███████ ███████ And Extreme ███ █████ ███. Don't forget ██ █████, plus ████████████! **TOP SECRET** **REDACTED FOR YOUR PROTECTION ** EYES ONLY ** BY ӨƧΣΛП ᑕΣПƧӨЯƧΉIP ΛƧƧӨᑕIΛƬIӨП (ӨᑕΛ)
I did a summer course of kendo when I was a kid. I learned a lot about physical and mental discipline, and it was overall a fun experience I got to share with my siblings and cousin. Beyond that, I agree that there isn't much connection to samurais and medieval martial arts.
During Karate sessions, I noticed something similar. There was a point when crying at our home you would be bashed by our dad. HOWEVER in karate, it was not bashed, but encouraged to work through it without stopping the kid or making them feel bad. That day, I realized, while I did not like karate, it did help reinforce things.
False
I had a friend who practiced kendo and offered to teach me so he can have an easy training partner.. he immediately retracted his offer the moment I, as a pure leftie, held the shinai with my left hand and foot forward, that was completely ridiculous to me..
I being left handed have used that to win many duels in HEMA and very very many skirmishing solo flanking manuvers because when they face to meat me they get confused and dont realize in time that I will stab spear to spear not spear to shield.
Altho while in the middle of a formation in a skirmish I will for the purposes of a holding a proper shield wall hold by weapons as if I was right handed.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 do y'all not practice both sides in HEMA?
@@Thesandchief Depends on the school/club. As another left handed, I drill with both hands, but when I can I'll spar as a left handed person.
@@Thesandchief The dominant hand is always on top for swords.
Sliding your hands and changing them is only if you use 2 hands on a pole weapon.
And if you do sword and spear its a formation set up where everyone needs to hold the spear and shield in the same hands to not leave any gaps in the line.
@@Thesandchief that's HEMA, but Kendo is strictly right handed..
The irony is that if you had choosen judo, it would be closer to sumurai training. It is modern but the roots from unarmed combat training are there. The main reason that there is pretty much zero stricking is that it is usless against an enemy wearing armor.
I don't totaly agree with you : they are some area (less protected) you can strike to make dammage to the opponant. It won't incapacitate him but can be usefull.
@@sebr9974
With armour , its risky. If you miss, even a little, you could break your hand. On the other hand if you hoist your armoured opponent over your shoulder and slam him on the ground , he 's going to be sorry he came after you. If you don't use your tanto to finish him off.
@@sebr9974
Koshiki No Kata
Look it up
Traditional kata practised against *armoured* opponents
Hit them with the heaviest thing around.....
The Planet
Judo actually initially had striking, but like leg grabs, it was removed to make judo more of “its own thing” rather than like wrestling or karate.
@@justtetsuo7175 You are propably refering to Atemi Waza, even without competition they were very specific and for the most part complentory to the grapling. Leg graps is a different issue but still a thing in Kodokan Judo which you can learn in Japan.
You are absolutely right! Kendo is a lifelong mental challenge so it's not for those who just fell for it watching anime.
Kendo emphatically is on a simple idea - an opponent can teach you about your weaknesses in 3 minutes what you would learn by 3 years practicing alone.
agreed, I did kendo for 10 years and it was fantastic, it is however unfortunately riddled with Ego and people with supperiority complexes
@@metakarukenshi that's not a generic statement. it only talks about the place or dojo you are training. for example low level are high on ego but as you go higher it disappers. like in japan hardly ego is an issue with people (its strict rules that wears people out). anyways you should be ready to go to a new dojo until you find someplace you can call home (dojo or place). just step in, enjoy the kendo and go home. no time for BS.
@@sid25s I did kendo in australia where finding a new dojo involves moving entire towns away. and I know that in Japan it's different and it comes down to personal experiences, but for my personal experience I found the opposite, the Lower you are the less ego and the higher you go the more ego is involved. Kendo in my experience even if you were on holiday to another town and stopped into a new dojo even just to watch is considered rude as you need permission from your current sensei. the higher ranking Sensei in my life that werent japanese always had an unbearable ego and would happily tell you how you should disreguard the instruction of a higher ranking sensei cause they dont know anything.
@@metakarukenshiagree the higher the more ego
@@sid25s The fact japanese have ritualized everything, even ego, does not mean it does not exist.. THey have developed literally dozens and dozens of rituals in all kinds of things that are actually made to stroke someone's else ego...
I did kendo and foil fencing briefly. Left them both because I got fed up with the focus on sports rather than practical swordplay. I wanted to learn how to be a swordsman, not a sportsman.
I was researching how to learn real swordplay when I discovered Kenjutsu. So I wanted to learn that, sadly there was no clubs anywhere NEAR me. So I couldn't do it. Then whilst on RUclips about a year later I looked up "how to use a sword" or something similar and discovered HEMA. I knew instantly this was what I had been looking for. That was probably 6 or 7 years ago now. Haven't looked back since. Though I would still do Kenjutsu if there was a local club, preferably one with sparring.
I feel ya man. those sensieas and their secrets keeping it in the Dojo.
Though to be fair a living tradition is preferable. Nothing against the reconstruction tradition that HEMA is but I fear for HEMA's quality control in the long run
I did epee and Kendo, but the longsword in HEMA is just where I landed as well and have similarily never looked back.
@@alexanerose4820 Can't really do much about HEMA not having living tradition for the most part aside from a few systems like Military Sabre. Reconstruction is our only option. But to be honest, most "living traditions" are "stuck" *in* said tradition at the expense of personal progress.
As for HEMA's quality control, well I don't know what you mean.
@@alpenjon Aye, Longsword is my fave, though I do some I:33 as well and I want to take up some polearm stuff, like Spear and Halberd.
This is why I got into HEMA. I'm completely new to martial arts as a whole but I was drawn to HEMA because it was the closest application to actual sword/weapon combat I could find. For the large part nearly everything is a target and most techniques are legal in competition, depending of course on the competition, with some even including grappling/ringen should the situation arise.
The school I've been studying with focuses less on the "historical" aspects of HEMA (ie adhering to plays and techniques found in the manuscripts from the masters) and more on the ideals of studying actual combat techniques which has been a bit of a change compared to the past year I spent learning from a friend. I enjoy HEMA though because from my understanding it's pretty accepting of the multitude of styles and techniques and I've even seen it branch into practicing against other weapon focused martial arts. I hope that as it grows it develops into something akin to MMA in that it's focused on combining multiple styles and practices to create an effective combatant.
Metatron: calls me a noble one
Me: he cares about me
rare Metatron: doesn't call me a noble one.
Me: huh? I though I was a noble one...
surprised Pikachu face eh? :D
Didn’t watch till the end? He says it... lol
@@RX7FDfreak I'm not talking about this video but the rare times he doesn't like in his first vids
You have displeased your idol! No more spell slots ...
Interesting note though, Kendo lets you pressure test your skills while most kenjutsu schools have let go of sparring. Also, modern kendo is highly influenced particularly by Hokushin Itto Ryu which influenced the specific footwork and grip of the shinai.
*I wholeheartedly love this content here, cuts right to the point!* ⚔️
Thank you for clarifying the difference , amazing video , and I learned a lot from this , thanks.
I love the approach you take with this! Too often I see people who get very tribal and seeing you break down practical reasons for your preference without just taking a dump on kendo is very refreshing
I can relate with what you said, i personally had the same "problem" with kendo, although it was really fun practice it
Because while we goofed around you studied the blade...and now have moved on?
Sorry had to.
Where is that from?
@@markkrousos5011 It's a reference to an older video on the channel, where Metatron discusses reasons why you wouldn't want to attack a knight's horse in a charge.
@@Anino_Makata Thank you my good man.
@@markkrousos5011 Just a noble one helping out another noble one.
I've started studying Kenjutsu (ryushin shouchi ryu, a form of jigen ryu, which itself is descended from Katori Shinto Ryu) in New York and I really love it, your channel has inspired me to pursue japanese martial arts, and I can't thank you enough
Thank you for making this video, it’s very helpful.
Impressive! Thank you! 🍀🙏
Well put. I think you should always practice something because you love doing it.
Short answer: he started practicing kendon't.
I foil fenced in high school and when I got older,having not fenced for many years started sabre fencing which I thoroughly enjoyed and all three of my sons and my granddaughter practice, but in my old age I discovered Iaido and I must say for pure concentration physically, mentally and spiritually I, from my own experience have never encountered anything to compare. My Iaido practice has helped me maintain my sanity during the Covid lockdown as needn't leave my home to do it. Thank you Metatron, your videos have also been great for helping me maintain my equilibrium in these times, again thank you and be safe.
Very interesting and informative to watch. You did a good job in explaining the different styles techniques, philosophies and then added in your personal beliefs with experiences. After 15yrs of Nagareru, I've subscribed
I started kendo about a year ago and I love it. This video makes all very valid points though, its a sport with some roots in sword fighting, it really is not like how the samurai fought. Although I feel what it does offer in a modern setting is the mindset of sword fighting, well sort of as we aren't actually using a sharp object of course. It teaches how to perform under pressure and what it meant for a samurai to have a sharp mind because any mistake could mean the end of your life. Its sort of keeping the spirit of samurai battle alive in a modern and safe setting.
This is why I chose kenjutsu. Still very much a beginner though.
Metatron thanks!
I had this concern for like really long and I know you gave me a really good answer
Thanks
Yeah, I understand that kendo initially developed as a standardised kenjustsu system used by the Meiji era police since conscripts were performing poorly against pro-Shogunate samurai. After swords fell out of favour it developed into more of a sport. Especially after WWII since it's practice as a martial art was initially banned during the occupation.
I remember having 2 kendo stick when I was younger, all they were used for was me and my brother hitting eachother with them, it was fun
Every kid should get to learn to play with shinai (responsibly). Some of my fondest memories of my youth were spent with one in my grubby little hands
I practiced Kendo and Iaido, both for 2 years. For me, kendo is good for stress relief, you go to the dojo, you scream and slap others in the head and in the end you feel relieved at peace. Iaido is more reassuring, the series of strokes, all ritual and tradition that comes with art. In short, there are 2 arts that complete each other.
casually showing off his warhammer army on the background. love your vids
(I know this is a old video but i hope you read this comment) Ive been practicing kendo for about 20 years now (or something like that, I dont even remember) and Ive had a somewhat successful kendo "career" if you will, never been the best around but I had my share in tournaments, even been selected for some international tournaments a couple of times in my days of young, Im not saying this to brag or anything, this is nothing to brag about really compared to my teammates that really are strong and dedicated kendo guys, not like me haha, I say this to put my comment in context as someone that has never been the best or never have put the most dedicated effort in to it, im FAR from a kendo fanatic as many people are, but at the same time had my share of winning a couple of medals and shared keiko (combat practice) with literally hundreds of different people from all around the world and top-ranked senseis. in kendo my philosophy is just to say "yes" to anything (that I can afford) and just go with the flow, and trough the years that gave me some experience after all.
anyway, I agree a lot about what you said, specially about the importance of actual combat practice, and the fact that kendo and kenjutsu are very different in all the aspects you mentioned, specially in the "sport" deppartment BUT they both share the same fundamentals (also koryu or "old" martial styles, many other armed and unarmed MA and even european MA) like timing, centerline and distance so what you learn in kendo CAN be applied in kenjutsu and vice versa even if, as you said, the techniques, movements and ruleset are completely different from one another, BUT to understand that and being able to apply that takes many many years and I understand that after just 3 years of practice you see both as disconnected.
Ive known kenshi that won medal after medal (mostly young people) but dont know and couldnt care less about kendo kata or even proper footwork, but that only last until you are about nidan or sandan, but why? why is it in kendo that a 70 year old or even older sensei can beat a 20 year old kid without even breaking a sweat? is this somewhat related to the BIG difference there is between kendo and kenjutsu? Ive asked this question many times to many high ranked sensei that at the time, I tought I understood but now I know that I didnt. the answer in a nutshell is that kendo and kenjutsu (as many other armed ans un-armed martial arts) share the same fundamentals like the center line, timing, distance, all that sort of stuff, and I said aha! ok thats why a kendo master can beat a younger, stronger and faster opponent, well... yeah but no. the answer, I think, is in "seme", I know you know what seme is, is putting pressure in to your opponents guard and spirit, and thats there I think the link between kendo and kenjutsu (and mostly all MA) lies. since the begining of my training I heard about it and read about it but I never knew enough to start to understand it, this is why I feel that my kendo "career" started 5 years ago when I passed 4th dan, after more than 10 years of practice and started to really focus in seme, the first time you do it RIGHT you realize that every previous time you THOUGHT you were doing it right you were actually FAR but FAR from it and. thats when I realized how FAR FAR FAR away I am from being good at kendo. so at the end it all comes around to the fundamentals of kendo and kenjutsu, Im not talking about how to do proper footwork or how to grip the shinai, but the fundamentals of "seme", so from this point of view what we know as the "basic" fundamentals is actually the hardest to learn and the most "advanced" stuff like the waza is actually the "easy" part (maybe not "easy"but rather the "less difficult" part). so yeah it is true that you wont be able to apply most of the kenjutsu techniques in kendo, but the fundamentals like center line, distance, timing and "seme", are mostly the same. "seme" comes first and THEN the tecniques and stances and everything else, if your seme is strong you will cut. Is like when Pele (the soccer player) was asked about his goals and he said "I first make the goal and then kick the ball" in kendo is the same, seme is the what makes the goal and your attack techniques or oujiwaza (counter-techniques) is just kicking the ball. so yeah is absolutely true that most kenjutsu waza cant be applied in a kendo match, but its also true that it doesnt really matter.
now I know why my sensei tought me so many years ago that it was so important to go to tournaments and "in a tournament your objective is to win", not becouse winning is important, but you can learn so much about a real sword combat if you go to each combat with your mind set for "live or die" instead of "win or loose" even if, as you so rightfuly said, the kendo scoring system is super restrictive and with scoring points in mind, but that doesnt matter, you will still be learning the swordmanship fundamentals and ALSO the MINDSET you need to have to face an opponent and this can ONLY be learnt trough combat, regardless of how different the basic movements are from kendo and kenjutsu. you can argue that kendo is not "real" combat and that is true, but such thing as "real combat" really doesnt exist in ANY martial art, not even kenjutsu. the only way to experience real combat is to pick up a sword and to have a "live or die" combat with someone else and that hopefully will never happen, what kendo does is to acknoledge that reality. no real sensei will tell you that in kendo you will learn to fight a katana duel, but what you will really learn are the technical, physical and psychological fundamentals of sworfighting that can only be learnt trough full-contact combat. and thats what discourage many new practitioners, like yourself, but sadly to understand this and go beyond it takes more than 3 years of practice. people comes with unrealistic expectations of what kendo is and this discourages them to keep going. Ive seen this many times and usually this happens around the first, the third year or fifth year of practice. Ive seen MANY times people quitting kendo following exactly the same argument that you just said in your video. even I had the same toughts and when I asked my sensei about this he said that I didnt understand because I needed to do more combat (keiko) practice, and he was absolutely right.
metatron I really like your videos, they are fun and in many ways we have a very similar way of thinking, I also try to keep everything as objective as I can, I had to give it a lot of thought and even had to dust off some old kendo books to come up with this comment, also sorry about my grammar English is a second language, anyway, I hope you read it. keep it up noble one!
What?
Perfection
@@hbkusi from my point of view absolutely, and not only that, when I was young I also practiced karate, taekwondo, aikido and kickboxing, all of those unarmed combat systems share the same fundamentals, I mean even if the basic movements are completely different from different MA, even if they are from different backgrounds i.e. western v/s oriental MA, they all roughly follow the same basic fundamentals: distance, timing and center line. they also have different names for concepts that in the end are pretty much the same like what we call in kendo "seme" or "zanshin" and stuff like that. and that goes for European martial arts too.
if you are in a sworfight and you manage to take control of the center line, with proper distance at the right moment you WILL make the cut, regardless if you are an Olympic fencer or a kendo or kenjutsu guy or a HEMA practitioner, fighting with a rapier or a longsword or a shinai or if you are in a tournament with X or Y set of rules, with or without armor or whatever, the same goes for unarmed fighting styles. thats why I criticize the argument against competitions or rules in tournaments, people generally have that opinion because they are not experienced enough in martial arts to look beyond a given rule set or fighting style. thats why in a tournament your objective is to win, not for the sake of winning but for the sake of learning.
please dont get me wrong, with this Im not saying that all fighting styles are equally effective, we all know thats not the case. Im just saying that they roughly share the same fundamentals.
ps: Im sorry about my bad wording in the previous post, I read it now and even I found it very confusing, I think I had too many things to say and ended up saying nothing. I edited it to make it a little bit more clear, I would be glad if you could read it again.
I would like a HEMA style jiu jistu based full contact combat sport. That would be amazing!
You are talking about M-1 Medieval.
I prefer this once more than HEMA, HEMA score system is bad, they treat swords like instant kill lightsaber which 1 gentle touch is gameover.
But Jiu Jitsu is just grappling. Jiu Jitsu already is a full contact combat sport lol
@@PotatoeJoe69
He is correct, grappling was the best way to finish of heavy armor opponent since swords can't cut armor.
@@hoanglinhle4468 Search for HEMA continuous fencing, that's HEMA but without the hit-stop part, pretty much the two combatants continue to fight even if they get hit and the points are revealed at the end.
@@hoanglinhle4468 Not the kind of grappling you do in Jiu Jitsu.... Perhaps something like Judo would serve you well, where you learn to throw or trip your opponent, that would allow you to pull your dagger out and stab the throat perhaps but Jiu Jitsu isn't going to help you against a knight in plate armor lol
Very good and concise overview about the comparisons between classical styles of Japanese swordsmanship and kendō but, as a long-term practitioner of kendō, iaidō, and jōdō (been getting into HEMA over the past couple of years), I would add a couple of points.
Firstly, while the vast majority of kendōjō do indeed focus heavily on competition and the sportified style of kendō, there are sensei out there who focus more on good, solid technique and (relatively) old-school kendō. Of course, they won't teach the breadth of techniques and stances that you'll find in traditional ryūha (it's still got to be usable for gradings and competitions) but their focus will be on strong and effective technique.
Secondly, although kendō will indeed not teach you to use a Japanese sword, if paired with a traditional style, it will provide an excellent sense of timing, distance, and pressure that you can import into your koryū training.
Just my two yen.
thank you so much for this. stay cool dude
Yes, kendo is a martial art because the idea of yuko-datotsu is striving the perfect strike: creating the opportunity, making the strike with correct form, then finishing the attack with zanshin (be out of danger and ready for the next attack). At the beginning, you spend all of your focus on making the fast strike possible (and hopefully improving form), but later you realize it's all mental. You eventually learn how important breathing is to your timing. You become focused on the opponent like a poker player. You find their tells, you pressure them (with seme) and they show you where the opening is to strike. I've won kendo matches in 3 seconds; I've lost them even faster. You will be humiliated in front of a crowd by younger people, older people, men, and women. I'll keep going until I'm physically unable :D
I'm curious to know your definition of martial art.
Excellent explanation.
I practiced Aikido, Kendo, Naginata and Kyudo at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto for about 3 years, some 12 years ago. Kendo and Naginata's fun, cuz like you said, there's full-contact sparring. I did look around for Kenjutsu schools, and found a few, but they were very niche compared to the others that I was learning.
Kendo is like chess.
Kenjutsu is like smashing your chess adversary's head with the chessboard.
😝
I totally agree!! Thanks for sharing your opinions. I started my swordmanship life with Haidong Gumdo and I loved it until i was unable to afford the Dan Grade examinations. After a while, the management of the Haidong Gumdo federation became just a business and started giving away certifications even to unprepared practitioners. Then I stepped into Kendo and didn't really like the "sport" aspect of it, even if they say it's not a sport. I am only sharing my opinion but being into other martial arts, the sensation of stepping into a Kendo dojo is 100% competitive. Nowadays I'm a Yoga and Taichi instructor and something that I can relate with what you say is that I found out that what I really liked is just the philosophical aspect of martial arts (not Kendo itself). I was debating myself about whether I should go back to Kendo or not because my girlfriend is a Kendoka and has being offering me to join in. After this video I'm glad to have a clear mind and will be in touch with Kendo just from an spectators view. 🙏🏿
Very interesting. I've never thought a lot about that, but that explains a lot about my experience. I played kendo for more than a dozen years (and I would do for more and more, if I hadn't some personal problems that forced me to stop), but I never cared about samurai or Japan, I don't even know a lot about that. I started and went on for years just because I wanted to practise a sport where there was an actual sparring and I found a wonderful sensei to learn from (and he wasn't Japanese, too, by the way 🙂 !!). During the years I practised kendo, I saw tons of boys starting to train that were totally into this samurai and Japanese things, but they often didn't last long.
Remember reading a spy book in the 80's about the lack of defending. The spy who knew how to actually fight with a katana overcame all the kendo practitioners by doing all the illegal moves, and more, that you pointed out. Got talked out of Kendo and into Jujitsu instead.
Well who cares about how practical it is for winning fights anyway? When would you ever get into a self defense situation with a sword?
@@SpaghettiToaster read my other comment on being talked out of Kendo and into Jujitsu instead
@SpaghettiToaster you might not be in a hairy situation and have the luxury to have a sword but you can easily obtain a wooden stick or stick like objects(possibly everyday work tools) and the same techniques you do with a sword will apply to those too!!!!
@@al-imranadore1182 Hardly the same. Sword technique involves tons of draw cuts that don't work with a stick. Probably the most useful parts will be stance and footwork. But really, if that's what you wanted to train for, you'd take a self defense class that deals specifically with those situations. Practicing a martial art is not about winning fights, but enjoying the art itself. If it also happens to be a competitive sport, then sure, it's also about winning fights, but again, that has very little to do with self defense. I feel like people conflate the ideas of martial arts, sports, and self defense ability. Yes, they overlap, but each is valuable on its own, regardless on how well it translates to either of the other two.
@SpaghettiToaster don't underestimate the sharpness and pointiness of a square shaped stick or 2/4, plus you could always hammer some nails and other small metal shanks on a wooden bat or a plank.
I really like this video, it just make things clear for everyone, I practice kendo and i can confirm that kendo is good for doing excercise, relaxing and having fun, its like a hobby, Of course if you are looking for something really serious and historical accuarate Kenjutsu or HEMA are a better choise.
But there's no sparring on Kenjutsu is why i choose it over Kendo
Good on you for being open and honest about your initial motivations to start, why you stopped, and most of all, not dissing kendo!
"You should do kendo because it's going to make you a better person. You should do kendo because it's a physical, mental, and even spiritual activity. You shouldn't do kendo because you want to know how to hold a katana or because you like the samurai. If that's the reason, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons."'
^^^Great statement!
I started for the same reason you did. It was 34 years ago. I still do it. I agree with you about the relation with the "samurai world", but the need to improve myself, and the feeling of satisfaction after a good training, and the friends I met in the many dojo I practiced were good reasons enough to keep going. But you made a good analysis.
In my experience with Kendo. My sensei often talked about the samuri and what we do that comes from them. It was an amazing cultural experience.
This sounds SO familiar.
I've never been to Japan but I had pretty similar experiences years ago. (Basically didn't find kendo satisfying because it was sportified and had to find an instructor in kenjutsu and iaijutsu.)
Great info, thanks.
Thank you!!!
the full samurai experience is found in the combination of kendo and iaido. Kendo gives you the sparing iaido gives you the traditional use of a blade. Also all the kendo practitioners i met know how to hold a katana unless you think bokuto are a modern thing and not made for simulating the katana to train with so you dont end up sliced up. kendo will teach you controlling space and distance.
That covers the sword part of the samurai experience. A samurai needs to be proficient in sword, spear, bow, and riding. So the full samurai experience would be something like Kenjutsu + Sojutsu + Kyujutsu + Bajutsu. Or, more easily accessible: Kendo + Jukendo + Kyudo + regular riding lessons.
I got lucky when I tried Kendo. I had only been in Kendo for about 6 months when the instructor was addressing the class explaining that Kendo is not learning how to fight with a sword, but that it was more about inner development, this explanation was tied to some larger point he was making. I don't know if I would have figured it out on my own at that time.
I was glad for his explanation, because I wanted to learn how to fight with a sword.
Yup same, was just looking to fight with non lethal weapons, immediately withdrew from Kendo and tried Hema, way more what I was looking for
Ive learned some of the basics of kenjitsu and love it.
I would love to see more japanese/language tutorials again
Totally agree with Metatron here.
Kendo is the sport version of swordfighting, hence a lot of techniques were taken out and how to defend in actual fighting. You can still defend yourself with it, but the bad habits of training in a rule based sport for street defense is just asking for trouble. It's the same with olympic fencing tbh.
Same with Aikido, the founder said so himself that you're not to use it for competition but for honing your spirit/mind. And yet western practitioners still try to make it work in a competitive environment, fail, and get disillusioned by it. In short, training with a different purpose than the philosophy of the discipline they are trying to master.
If you want to learn actual Japanese swordsmanship, learn kenjutsu or iaijutsu not kendo. If you want to learn western fencing, don't do olympic fencing but study HEMA instead.
Same with FMA, if you want to learn for fighting with blades go traditional Arnis/Kali/Eskrima and not WECAF (sport version).
Edit: Just know what purpose you're training for and choose the appropriate discipline. You don't train with a slingshot to learn how to fight with a gun.
I started practicing Kendo like 2 weeks ago, so far I have been liking it, I like that it has an sparring component to it compared to other japanese sword martial arts, tbh with I started Kendo because of Samurais, which will only let me with Iaido as an option in my city, but I really want to prove my self and be competitive, while Iaido is more personal. Kenjutsu is not available here in Colombia and I would distrust someone saying they are a Kenjutsu master over here.
Does the iaido dojo in your city have a koryu beyond the 12 ZNKR kata? Muso Shindo Ryu seems to be the most popular.
@@Ianmar1 I have no idea but I will be going this saturday to check out, maybe I will end up practicing both Kendo and Iaido although Idk if that will affect me competitively speaking in Kendo.
@@andresgallego5727 It probably won't help, but I don't see it hurting either.
The Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei promotes kendo and iaido as "two wheels on a cart". A cart with only one wheel is not a very useful cart.
Iaido has a sword but does not have an opponent, thus the emphasis is on control of the sword.
Kendo has an opponent but does not have a sword, thus the emphasis is on control of the opponent.
That's a pretty sweet O Yoroi you have there! I like the kabuto too. What I am interested in learning about are the various martial techniques of historical samurai - Bujutsu, I believe is the correct term. People forget that samurai did not use katana/tachi exclusively but also practiced kyujutsu, bojutsu, sojutsu, etc.
I have friends that did some kendo, I never had the time for it. Good to know if I ever do I should look for kenjutsu. Very informative. :)
I did "kumdo" for like a year. It was supposed to be the Korean version of samurai.... i think it's mostly made up.
It was kind if a side class at the Taekwondo dojang I went to, it was just like 5 of us, so it was actually a lot of fun. The instructor split the lessons between forms with the wooden sword and some sparring with the bamboo sword, and for halloween we chopped pumpkins 🎃
Haidong kumdo?
Goryu kumdo?
The kumdo which I usually think of is kendo minus sonkyo plus two kata and some mythology which has since fallen out of fashion about it not being the sport of the Japanese occupation.
TL:DR Kendo is a sport, not a historically accurate swordfighting system. Kenjutsu is probably what one looks for.
If you can found 1 school of kenjutsu anywhere that allows you to duel (training), please 100% send me their info.
And If you really believe those cowards who refuse to duel can teach you about "Fighting", you have an extremely low standard.
@@hoanglinhle4468 I mean, you can look up "kenjutsu sparring" here on RUclips and see plenty of people doing it. I don't know how many of them come from a super-official kenjutsu lineage, but they're there, and Metatron mentioned in this video that a few schools do sparring.
@@InSanic13
- Send me 1 video of Kenjutsu school doing sparring and you win this conversation. Please don't send me videos of 2 random dudes playing around with bokken.
- It is not "FEW schools", it is "ZERO schools" that do sparring.
@@hoanglinhle4468 How's this: ruclips.net/video/D7nUFpznK7E/видео.html
@@hoanglinhle4468 yes, there is a lack of sparring in kenjutsu(as in many traditional martal arts)
But i'd say that kenjutsu will still give you a better knowledge of actual sword fighting than kendo which is too focused on scoring points and not delivering effective cuts.
It's not like you'll need kenjutsu to defend yourself anyway, so in this case i don't think sparring is that important, it's more about preserving the tradition.
thank you!!!
I follow your video to improve my English. I'm glad to understand you and at the same time learn interesting things. Grazie :)
Yes kendoka are masters of a limited fighting system that was invented for self improvement not combat. Good stuff mate 👍
I had been doing kendo for about 2 years and I had similar experience. Kendo is fun, it helped me to improve my reflexes, speed, physique, reading distance etc. All of that are very important stuff (maybe the most) for any fighting but Metatron is right, kendo went a little bit different way.
Btw. there is a place in Tokyo called Castle Tintagel, where people train kenjutsu but also HEMA, european martial art. They have sparring every week and tournaments and they do also armor sparring like buhurts etc. That is right, you can actually try fighting long sword vs katana, halbert vs naginata (plastic, cuz Japan is very strict about cold weapons), finally find an answer to a question who is better - knight vs. samurai? (imho none, it depends on the fighter).
Good point! Katori Shinto Ryu is the way to go. But it takes a long time and a good teacher to understand and learn to apply the techniques outside of kata.
I came into this ready and expecting it to be some random person complaining and was very happy to see otherwise. Good breakdown, keep up the good work!
This is a perfect video for me, because I've been looking to get into japanese swordmanship, and I think I will learn kenjutsu. But you said that even the most traditional kenjutsu is not exactly how the samurai fought back then, is there any sources on how the samurai really fought?
Most traditional kenjutsu trace their roots to those times, but due to the living lineage, they will all have changed some parts of it over time. At least that's what I think he meant. There are treatises written by samurai, but most of them haven't been translated, so unless you are fluent in archaic Japanese, it's gonna be a bumpy ride trying to get anything out of them. Kenjutsu schools usually preserve the original techniques in scrolls or books, but those are all still "secret" texts, so most of them aren't publicly available the same way as European treatises are.
@@penttikoivuniemi2146 oh... Allright then, good to know. Thanks for the reply:)
Ghost of Tsushima
I once watched a program on NHK about sports and there was an kendo 8th dan examination and i think it's got one of the weirdest atmosphere. At that point in 8th dan it becomes a mind game. Not only that you have to compete against people with decades of experience you also have to put up with everyone's bullshit, judges included.
Well, this was a very interesting insight in japanese "martial arts culture". (Yes, I realise that this generalising term isn't acurat) I don't really know much about japanese culture and history, but I'm certainly open minded and interested to lern more. Thank you again for this interesting Video. 👍
Excelente, Raf !
Hi metatron. Can you make a video on sashimonos?(rear flags) That'd be awesome.
I remember trying kendo for about a year once and quitting for these very reasons- years later I returned to it and love it for what it is instead of my original expectations
Something my sensei said to me: doing iaido is great to learn how to use and handle a sword; but kendo is important so that you learn how to lose, more of a test of skill and discipline
-also for what it’s worth, precursors to kendo did exist during the tokugawa shogunate as he had strict regulations on war
agree, very valid point...
Thanks!
Cool Highelfs and Bretonia Minis :)
I also studied Kendo, but I got hit by a car and had to quit. Too much brain slosh after the accident, After I healed I did 5 years of Aikido, till the brain slosh interfered and for the last 13 years it has been Iaido. I still love it.
Brain slosh?
@@DomgrathPW Impact trauma, after the big hit to the head (I was wearing a helmet and got hit on my moped) I couldn't take a "men uchi" without becoming too dizzy to continue. I could do Aikido for a while, but after 5 years I couldn't do myokemi rolls any more without vertigo either. Nothing in Iaido hurts me head, I can do this.
They allow cars in kendo now?
@@bellakaldera3305 That's awful, I'm sorry this happened to you..
@@DomgrathPW Shit happens, I'm over 60 now anyway, kendo wouldn't be a good idea at my age anyhow. Iaido is good. One has to do something and I love swords enough to want to know how to use one without embarrassing myself before others who know.
I have seen too many idiots with blades from BuddyK who lacked even the most basic clue...
So Kendo is basically like Japan's version of HEMA turned into Olympic Fencing.
Its just fencing, with some of the other things (Kenjutsu) being the HEMA equivalent.
Not Olympic fencing, but not HEMA, is between.
TRUTH!
Before COVID-19 I was practicing Kendo for 4 years and i was preparing for my 2nd Dan examination. I probably started for the reason you mentioned as the reason you stopped which i get. At some point the idea of Kendo for me changed to a seperate sport that i enjoy to both to watch and particiapate for the competition in it with all the rules and mindset rather than a martial art dedicated for real sword combat. I still want to practice Kenjutsu for that previous reason but sparring problem kept me more in the side of Kendo.
From what I understand, the roots of kendo go back to about 1700. This is a mere century after the battle of Sekigahara. It was developed as a adjunct to training by a kenjutsu school. So it isn't a reenactment of samurai combat, but it has many elements of a training technique used by some samurai. I suppose that's why they ask you to hit the target that you are supposed to aim for (men for instance) but ignore the angle of the neck, as you mentioned. If a samurai can hit one target in practice, he could certainly adjust and hit another target in combat. By the way, Metatron, did you study kata in your kendo studies? How different are they from the kenjutsu kata that you are currently studying? Thanks!
While I was practicing kendo someone took haso in our club and based on modern kendo rules it doesn't work well. Every target is open and every move is telegraphed
Hasso is basically applied as jodan. I saw someone win the sandan+ division in a local tournament win the tournament about 13 years agodue to an injury he suffered that day and he played hasso.
You have to be just as physically and mentally aggressive as a jodan player to occupy the space.
Would love to hear your oppinion about Kenjutsu and its similarities and differences to Iaijutsu and Iaido
I do wanna try my hand at kendo, I did the same with foil fencing. Though I do enjoy HEMA a lot more from a visual standpoint
is this a repost? i swear i saw this a year or month ago
all your critique of kendo is based on you wanting to be a "samurai". it means that in three yrs of kendo you didn't do kendo at all.
Dude watched too much anime.
Say Metatron, do you own a kanabo and if so may you please make us a video showing your Kenjutsu techniques?
Wow, my kendo class didn't have a waiting period. Though they were probably not in a position to be picky. I miss those classes. I wish I could have stayed with them.
A form of Kendo was already introduced in the Edo era as a form of practicing sword fight and as a nice past time activity. It's the sport that closest comes to Samurai combat as there is no sparring in kenjutsu.
Nice comment!
Reading all these other comments, I think a lot of ppl have never done research on kendo lol. They don’t realize that it literally came out of the necessity fir sparring in kenjutsu, that kenjutsu schools created what later evolved into kendo lol...
@@estevanelmariachi1457 Exactly, and they modified these days that it has become a combat sport with rules that give each competitor the same chances. It's not meant to be for self defense as nobody carries katanas anymore. But it's still the sport that comes closest to Samurai combat with full contact sparring.
Positive comment
Very good explanation...
Nice video! 😃 very interesting
I got into Kendo years ago for similar reasons , a general love of Japanese culture at the time and Anime of course . I lost interest after 4 years , again for almost the same reasons that you mentioned , and left around the 5th year because my Sensei left the Dojo and i didn't feel like continuing .
Kendo is overall too rigid in my opinion , the way you have to move , the very few authorized hit zones , it's just not natural at all .
That's why i picked up HEMA . I had to stop after a year , but when the pandemic is "over" i think i'll pick it up again , and be *that* person who brings Eastern swords into Western Martial Art :P
Did not mention the most important reason for kendo - they have same cool looking equipment that makes for great Instagram photos :p
Hi there! I used to practice Kendo as well (well, I still do but my mindset for it then was that I'm doing a martial art, now I still practice it but keeping in mind that it's more of a sport ESPECIALLY after finding out the changes made to Post-War Kendo). When I started cross-training with other practices, I realized that it didn't really give me any foundation or any additional skills and mechanics that would supplement my cross-training. In fact, it even impeded my progress because of how it messed up my body mechanics. All that said, I still really respect the philosophy, discipline, and sportsmanship that comes with Kendo hence why I continue to train it today as my sort-of-martial-art sport :)
Just wanna add in as well that I'm in Kenjutsu and Eskrima now hahaha
I freaking love Kendal mate
What are your thoughts on Aikido, and how does it (as I was informed by my son's former Sensi) relate to Judo?
I believe the creator of Aikido studied Judo, and used it when making his own style.
@@turtlesaredifferentfromtor6745 He also studied Kendo ironically along with traditional jujitsu
Aikido and Judo both came from traditional Jujutsu. Morihei Ueshiba studied Daito ryu jujutsu and used his peaceful approach to create Aikido. Too bad that was a mistake because taking out the violence aspect of Aiki jujutsu made Aikido a joke in martial arts community now days
@@jaketheasianguy3307 A joke? It's an extremely enjoyable art to do. The only aspect of it that is a joke are the people who think that it is a practical form of combat, the same as in judo, kendo, boxing, wrestling and really any martial art except mma and actual military, police or self-defense combat training, which is a completely different thing from a martial art.
@@SpaghettiToaster It became a joke in modern martial art community because alot of Aikido practitioners keep calling their art deadliest self defense system, calling it better than other art...etc....Hell, i like Aikido, i even successfully used some of it's techniques in MMA sparring but the attitude and the approach to it of some practitioners turned it into a joke
It's funny I've been benge watching ur videos and then u upload while I watching ur vids
This happens to me Everytime I rewatch a shit ton of his old vids
@@knightslayer6161 Fr
Helpful video! I, too, think iaijutusu and kenjutsu are much more representative of "the martial art(s) of the samurai" and modern kendo is a "combat sport" (a bit of a pejorative term for me, currently). Love you, love your channel (as the idiomatic greeting to an American call-in radio show goes, mutatis mutandis #Bazinga)
:) you are beautiful, brother
Goddamnit Metatron ! I made a bet that your next video would be about Age of Samurai, the new show on Netflix. Just kidding, but Age of Samurai deserves some serious debunking !
And why is that? I thought it looked pretty good.
@@jeffreygao3956 I am no expert, so I believe the facts presented are accurate enough, I could be very wrong. But the battles were so small ! Just some struggles into randow woods, only Nagashino and Sekigahara were portrayed as huge field battles. Okehazama looked like a brawl in a small camp, and not the bloody massacre it was. The houses and castles looked all the same and most actors were forgettable. But that's just how I feel. If you like it, great ! I just could not like it as much, but I surely did not hate it.
@@jeffreygao3956 I liked it as well but wished they would have started earlier, around the time of the Kamakura/Ashikaga shogunates. Instead it was basically just about the three unifiers at the end of the sengoku jidai
@@kevinstachovak8842 That would actually be a good story.
The Shogunate has already made a video about that series, but I wouldn't object to the "Metaman" covering it as well.
Hey Metatron, I was just wondering: are there any Kanabo techniques? I know it's just a mace cranked up to a Japanese 11 but someone must've done it
Mainly just see it used in demonstrations but I know in Japan there is a martial art dedicated to rifle and bayonet
That's how I feel about traditional martial arts vs MMA haha
That is a good and honest video. I trained Kendo for 10 years with graduating on Dan-Level. But the motivation was as you say, but many started it like this and liked it for that reasons. So I also started it, because I liked the samurai, Japanese history etc. However this interest did not fade AND I started to love kendo for what it is for itself. But I disagree a bit, Kendo has still many aspects of swordsmanship in it and you see that if you stay longer in kendo. Especially when you dive deeper into kendo kata and understand the connection of kata and Jigeiko.
Maybe it is my experience, because I did start parallel to explore Iaido, koryu and other aspects of Japanese martial arts. Especially as I started to find out more about the history of kendo, pre-war kendo, gekiken etc.
Now why did I stop to practice kendo after 10 years? Because I did start to explore Hema and decided to dive deep into the Cateran Society‘s Highland Broadsword training program. I never looked back, but that is not entered true. Now doing Backsword etc. also for over 10 years now, I always found connections of principles and even techniques from my kendo times. After such a long time I still see myself as a Kendoka (not active though), as I see myself as a Backswordsman.
So to sum it up: if you really are interested in Japanese history and culture and want to learn a proper budo discipline connected to the sword, you definitely should try out kendo, but you need to see if it really fulfills your desire of doing something connected to the samurai history (which it is), but went another way of practice due to the changes in time.
Kendo is actually a good example of a Martial ART, with the emphasis being equally on being both "martial" but also an "art".
you can't learn how to seme from kenjitsu without doing any keiko/sparing. Without learning how to seme, none of the technique will work.
I'm so glad I found your video. Now that you explained kendo in detail, I will choose a differnt type. Kendo sounds to restrictive.
I think you broke it down correctly. I just started kendo 2 months ago and I like it a lot.