In reply to ”Other Martial Arts" by Anonymous by: Kendo-Guide.Com
Thank you for sharing your experience! It is great to hear from people who train other martial arts and kendo like you!
Aug 18, 2016 Rating
Other Martial Arts by: Anonymous
I positively agree with this. As an individual who has a ni-dan in TKD and a san-dan in shotokan karate I came to train in Kendo in my late 20s and I found it and still find it very difficult.
As Karate and TKD were very similar there was not much of a change between one and the other, so I found it very easy to move between the two. Kendo on the other hand was a very different character all together.
For a start--the footwork and stances are very different, and Kendo techniques are few, limited, and hard to master--trying to get my head around it was very tricky.
My advice would be to train Kendo first, supplement it with something like Jodo or Iaido (As these can really help your Zanshin and kamae) and if you want to stick to the Bushido Martial Arts try Aikido.
However if you want to build up strength, endurance and stamina then working out at the gym (lifting weights and running) will help you with that. That said, if you want to get very good at Kendo it will keep you very busy.