Can I train kendo despite my rheumatism?

by Simon
(Sweden)

I have rheumatism that has affected my neck and my left foot.


I have gotten rid of almost all problems with my neck thanks to rehabilitation-exercises but my foot remains a burden for me, it's quite stiff and when I put pressure on it (like for example when I just press it against the ground) I feel a lot of pain which makes it impossible for me to run for example.

My right foot is just fine and as for my upper body I feel like I have a good balance between strength and speed in my movement, I am in no way sluggish and have good reflexes.

I also want to mention that I can take hits without my body reacting worse than any other person's body; the only real problem here is my foot.

From what I understand it is important to be agile and quick on your feet in Kendo which is why I hesitate to try.

Do you think that I can train Kendo with mostly my upper body and not strain my foot as much as you normally would? Is there perhaps a more defensive approach that I can take to Kendo?

If you would deem it hopeless to train Kendo with a foot that isn't suited for dashing, can you recommend any other form of training/martial arts that could be better for me?

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for your question. And I really respect you. My late aunt had rheumatism and I could see how hard it would be.

Now you must understand kendo is a full contact martial arts using bamboo sword. And you must understand people will push you if they do not know that you have rheumatism. Even if they know, they accidentally hit you hard or something might happen to you by your training partners. So you must consult your doctor and talk about this.

What about something like iaido or taichi so you won’t get hurt?

Hope this helps.

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