Does Kendo Hurt? And is it safe from injuries?

Kendo is a martial art that originates from Japan. Due to the art using large, wooden sticks – many people wonder ask the question whether kendo hurts. The very term ‘Kendo’ roughly translates as ‘Way of the Sword’ and reflects the style of Kendo. In brief, Kendo derives from sword fighting and involves learning to strike with sword-like objects and how to avoid them. Often a Kendo practitioner will train with a Shinai or Bokutu which are both made the mimic the effect of a sword, without being as dangerous of course.

Because Kendo is based around blades and how to strike, it is often a commonly asked question as to whether Kendo can hurt and whether it’s safe. Compared to most other forms of martial arts, Kendo is certainly safe from injury and ironically is probably one of the safest forms of martial arts. This is in part due to the armor and support that is involved in Kendo that protects from blows, whereas in other martial arts you may take blows to the head from body strikes or being thrown to the ground. With this said, you can rest assured that Kendo does not really have concussions either. Whilst concussions may technically be possible, they are generally incredibly rare in Kendo and aren’t worth talking about as a result.

What is Kendo’s most common injury?

As Kendo is so safe, the most common form of injury is often found with blisters or calluses. Basically, this can be done by holding the shinai and striking with it. Every time you strike, it will cause friction on your hands and fingers which can quickly form into blisters. Not only this, but newcomers will often get abrasions on their feet as well by quickly moving whilst wearing the relevant footwear. As previously said, compared to other martial arts and injuries – this is absolutely minuscule. Because of this, Kendo may be a good option to think about training if you are concerned about health and injuries.

The good news about blisters is that they will eventually harden the skin which takes place over time. In short, your skin will naturally adapt to the tension of the shinai and will eventually become adjusted as a result. This means it’s most commonly newcomers who struggle with blisters as their skin is still new to handling the shinai. In some cases, blisters early on can cause people to quit Kendo. This may sound soft, but if they keep reoccurring then some people simply see it as too damaging and decide to quit. The sad thing about this is that in time, these blisters do not re-occur and will eventually go away.

Does a Kendo stick hurt?

As mentioned in the introduction, getting hit with the Shinai is generally fine as long as you are protected by your armor and clothing. For instance, if you were to get hit on the head without the helmet then you could get a serious injury. However, the helmet (often referred to as the men) is designed to avoid injury. It is heavily padded enough to withstand blows and the face area is protected by metal mesh. This means that even if you got stabbed in the face, the shinai wouldn’t penetrate the metal whatsoever. Realistically, the only way you could get hurt whilst wearing the men is if it was a cheap imitation that didn’t pass safety checks. However, the likelihood of coming into contact with one of these is incredibly rare, and would be massively unlucky to get hold of one.

Elsewhere, other parts of the body are equally protected. The kendo bogu is designed specifically for your protection with the upper body in mind and works similarly to how the men protects your head. Really, the only way you could get hurt in Kendo is by a wayward strike that failed to connect properly. For instance, if you somehow timed it so that your armor moved away from your bicep that then got hit by your sparring partner in that specific region.

This is quite an unusual set of circumstances in the first place, but even then the consequences wouldn’t be massively painful. Whilst it wouldn’t be pleasant getting struck by a shinai on the muscle, it wouldn’t threaten your body’s health either. Although it may not be the best analogy in the world, imagine playing American football without body armor. The increase in injuries would be massive, this is why Kendo is so safety conscious and it works in effectively defending the body from injury. If you’re looking for a cheap, high-quality shinai then we’ve found you a bargain here.

What does a Kendo stick feel like?

The Kendo stick is designed to mimic a samurai sword. As Kendo comes from Japan, it has its historical roots in sword-fighting within that region. Because of this, the Kendo still is actually lighter than it looks. Whilst it’s still too heavy to hold in one hand, it doesn’t weigh loads either. The result is that if you were to get hit by one without protection, it would feel more like a sting rather than a blunt, dull strike.

At the same time, you could possibly knock someone out with a kendo stick if it was hit with enough force. This is a good example to wear your armor at all times!

Freak injuries can happen, but then again they can with anything in life

It has been established by now that Kendo is very safe. However, there have been cases of people getting hurt. We should emphasize that these cases are very rare, but they can and do happen. For example, you could possibly fall over whilst training and sprain your ankle or tear your achilles tendon. Of course, this could also happen whilst walking down the street or during any physical activity. The very fact that we’ve resorted to mentioning this as a form of injury shows just how safe Kendo truly is.

Other forms of injury whilst practicing Kendo include sprains and ligament problems. Again, we have to stress these injuries are rare but it’s also worth mentioning. One form of injury is wrist and ankle sprains. These can be caused by twisting your wrist backward whilst using the shinai. An obvious remedy to this is by strengthening your forearm and wrist muscles to improve the wrist’s ability to bend further without pain. Similarly, you could injure your foot by rolling on your ankle whilst using footwork in sparring. This is rare but can happen on occasion.

Secondly, ligament damage can build up in Kendo over time. Much like tennis or golfers elbow, repetitive strain injuries can take place after doing Kendo over a long period of time. This is because if you keep striking, you will keep using your ligaments and forearm tendons that lead to the elbow. Part of this problem is genetic, but it can result in strains on your elbow and inflammation. Although uncommon, this can happen with any form of sport or martial art that involves holding an object and swinging it repeatedly. It should be repeated though, that compared to other martial arts injuries such as broken bones and chronic muscular problems, these injuries are very minor.

Do not underestimate warm ups to avoid injuries

As has been established, some injuries are caused by tendon and ligament problems. Although warm-ups won’t deter blisters or freak incidents, they will help fight against muscular problems. For instance, if you go straight into sparring without an adequate warm-up, you’re far more likely to get injured. An example of this could be by over-enthusiastically striking the shinai whilst your arms are still cold. This could put stress on your biceps and pull a muscle.

Whilst this isn’t the worst problem on earth, it could put you out of training for several months which is not ideal. Similarly, you could get injured by rolling an ankle. A warm-up may not protect this in its entirety. However, it could help minimize the pain by increasing the original blood flow and therefore making your ankle less rigid in the first place.

By the same token, preventative measures such as cooldowns are also advised especially after hard sparring. This will keep the muscles relaxed and decrease the chance of pulling something down the line. This is especially relevant for older Kendo practitioners amongst us. Remember, your body isn’t the same at 50 as it is when you’re 20 years old!

Thrusting strikes are often banned in the name of safety

Unlike fencing, thrusted strikes are often banned in Kendo. Although the Kendo armor is highly affected, it can be penetrated by thrusted strikes. For instance, in Kendo the strikes are usually performed in a swinging manner where the shinai is hit in a downward fashion. However, forward thrusts are usually not allowed.

As mentioned this could penetrate the armor and cause serious injury. For instance, it could be possible to strike the neck by avoiding the body armor and men at the same time. This differs from fencing which commonly features thrusted strikes. The reason being is that the armor in fencing is different and the swords are more lightweight. This is different when compared to a shinai which is physically much bulkier and heavier.

It should be noted that thrusted strikes can be done inside a dojo as long as it’s been ok’d by either practitioner. Even then, they are usually reserved for senior shodan and high-level practitioners who are fine with using such methods. This is often because experienced kendoka are more likely to have skill and finesse when using the shinai which lessens the chance of major injury. Obviously, if the kendoka is significantly inexperienced then certain thrust movements are not a good idea as they have less skill over their striking and similarly lack the knowledge and understanding as to why thrusts can cause real damage.

Summary

The best way to think about Kendo with regards to safety and pain is that it’s been pressure tested over hundreds of years to arrive at its current point. Whilst some martial arts suffer in balancing safety and realistic scenarios, Kendo bypasses this by relying heavily on strong armor which means strikes become pain-free and avoids injuries as a result. As Kendo is based around striking, this means it is injury-proof as it is so safety conscious in this particular area.

For instance, other martial arts have to carefully balance this principle. Imagine if Karate became too dangerous and had too many concussions. You could either spar with less aggression or admit injuries are commonplace. This is a difficult decision and faces watering down said martial art. However, as Kendo offers full contact whilst also offering kendoka full protection, it means it has the best of both worlds. With this said, Kendo is fine and safe to practice. As well as offering other benefits such as improved cardio health and learning a unique life skill, thankfully safety is also a big benefit when training Kendo as a martial art.