KENDO TRAINING at Home, Information and

Tips
By David Aguero

Training at home can be a great way to improve and strengthen what you have
learned in the dojo. Nothing can replace the teachings of the sensei, the following
information is meant to help enhance and improve your performance while
practicing kendo in the dojo. Our kendo training guide is specifically for people who
want to squeeze in 15 to 30 minutes of kendo practice in each day. The following
exercises are meant to be a maintenance/basic routine.

Getting the most out of exercises: Repetitions for striking, weights and
other non-stretching exercises should continue until you reach your maximum
repetitions, take frequent 1 minute rest periods in between exercises.

Materials List: wear loose clothing, shinai, full length mirror, barbell weight set,
motivation music, kendo video, water

Warm Up
-Music, Kendo Videos
Music is a way to quickly prepare your body and mind for exercising. The same can
be said for hearing the sound of kendo matches, immediately prepares your body
and mind for the coming activity. Watching kendo videos is also a quick way to
prepare for your exercise. Use this technique as a method to either relax during a
stressful event or get motivated.
-Stretching
All stretching should be done slowly, at the peak of the stretch held for a few
seconds, without any bouncing in place,

Leg Stretch, I found that this

particular leg stretch a great
time saver, stretch two legs at
one time! Slowly lower self so
that you can grab your ankles,
slowly hold that position.
Release your ankle hold and rise,
repeat again. Never bounce in
this posture.

Achilles/Leg Stretch, This classic

kendo achilles stretching exercise is great
because it also encourages good kendo
'body upright' posture. The illustation
shows the left with heel down, for
stretching the achilles. Alternate left foot
foward, right foot forward to stretch both
left and right side achilles. Always stretch
slowly, never bounce in the posture while
stretching.

Arm Stretch, This arm

Arm Stretch, Stretch both right and
stretch feels good, like the left sides.
after you wake up morning
stretch. Slowly clasp your

fingers together extending

them above your head and
hold.

-Calf crunches
I developed this calf exercise to improve my footwork, I hope you find it beneficial.
These calf exercises will make you feel the burn in less than a minute. Perform as
many repetitions as possible rest a couple of minutes and continue with a few more
reps.

1. Start with feet shoulder width apart.

2. Slowly lift your heel slightly off the floor, pushing from the
balls of your feet, toes are relaxed.
3. Slowly and fully lift up your heel as far as possible,
then slowly lower your heel to just slightly off the floor (1 rep) do
not let your heels touch the floor until you are finished with this
exercise.
-Sit-Ups
Sit-up crunches are great for strengthening your back and torso. Do as many
repetitions as possible increasing the number you do by ten each time, for as long
as you have time for.

Weights
-Just the basics
The following weight exercises are very specific to kendo arm strengthening, there
are many in this category the following are just a few. The weight of a shinai should
not be a factor in a kendo match and you should be able to use and "wield your
shinai like chop sticks".
-Wrist Curl
Pick up the barbell in a underhand grip, hands less than a shoulder-width apart.
Sit on a bench or chair with your fore arms resting on your knees, wrists placed
forward of the knees.
1. Bend your wrists back and allow the weight bar to roll down to your finger tips.
2. When the wrists are fully bent, reverse the direction bringing your wrists up.
3. Continue bringing up your wrists as high as possible.

-Reverse Wrist Curl

Pick up the barbell in a overhand grip, hands less than a shoulder-width apart.
Sit on a bench or chair with your fore arms resting on your knees, wrists placed
forward of the knees.
1. Bend your wrists down as far as possible.
2. Bring your wrists back up as high as possible without using your arms.

-Triceps Press

This triceps press can be done while sitting or standing. With your feet shoulders
width apart, grasp the barbell your hands close together but not touching in a
overhand grip and press the weights above your head.
1. Lower the bar behind your head as far as possible, keeping your elbows pointed
up and arms close to your head.
2. Raise the bar above your head to the start position.

Arm Strengthening
Get the
most out
of
striking
by using
our
unique
kendo
training
technique
for
exercisin
g your
arms.

I recommend using a weight

adjustable5lb wrist weight set this
equals 2.5 lbs per arm and works well if
you need to reduce the weight. If you
need to increase the weight load a 10 lb
weight set can be used.

Muscles used in kendo

are many. Raising the sword
above your head and
delivering a precise blow
within less than one inch of a
target takes constant practice.
The illustration on the left
shows the muscle areas
involved in delivering a
proper kendo strike.
Wrist weights of the
adjustable kind are probably
the best investment for
increasing arm strength and
speed for kendo strikes. You
can exercise without a
shinai with just the wrist
weights raising your
arms above your head
and striking as you
normally strike.
Screw Type Barbell (for safety)

Screw Type Barbell (for

safety)
Using the barbell weights (2.5
-5lbs) in combination with
wrist weights will give you
distributed weight and you
are less likely to get injured.

Posture and footwork

-The kendo posture line and footwork
Use a full length mirror to watch yourself practice footwork with a shinai without
any up and down movement of your head. This exercise is very useful in presenting
your opponent with a very small movement profile to see or react to, especially
when moving forward.

Kendo posture line

Posture is an important facet in developing good kendo habits. Good

posture facilitates stealthy and undetectable forward movement. Always
keep your head level and footwork as smooth as possible.

Kendo Basic Footwork

Footwork is very important in kendo, determining wether you are able
strike when an opening presents itself and much more.
Basic foot placement is
with both feet parallel
about one foot length
apart. The illustration on
the left shows the method
to place your feet in the
correct spacing and
alignment. The left foot is
slightly raised. Weight
evenly distributed between
the right foot and the balls
of your feet of the left foot.
Suri-ashi / Okuri-ashi: footwork is the basic footwork practiced in
kendo today. As a beginner suri-ashi is both simple, and advanced
footwork. Understanding why we need to step in this manner will
become clear the more you understand kendo striking. In order for
striking to be successful footwork must be as natural as possible,
without thinking your stepping must match the goal of each strike.
Suri-ashi /
Okuri-ashi:
stepping: Step
forward by
pushing off with
the LEFT foot,
then quickly
bringing your left
foot back into the
beginning foot
position.

Suri-ashi / Okuri-ashi:
forward stepping

Suri-ashi / Okuri-ashi:
backward stepping

Suri-ashi / Okuri-ashi: side to side stepping

-Developing explosive footwork, and better lung capacity
There are many ways to develop the legs in particular the calf muscles. One great
way is bike riding because of its low impact on the knee joints and a similar pushing
off with leg and calf muscles that is so important in explosive propulsion forwards.
With a minimum of ten minutes of medium to hard riding every day your footwork
strength will improve dramatically.

Bike riding is an excellent method to

strengthen your legs for kendo with dramatic
results and increased breathing capacity.

Striking
-Striking exercises, Suburi
Most people can complete a session of 100 suburis, increase the number of suburis
you can complete in a session by 10 each time and work up to as many as you have
time for. Always make sure your movement is one continuous strike, without
stopping the footwork rhythm of the strike stop your shinai momentarily when you
have extended your arm fully to strike men.

Kendo Suburi Exercise

Suburi exercise is very much a speed and timing exercise for both hand and
footwork.
A. Start with the shinai positioned above your head

1. Swing your shinai forward striking men, making sure the left hand controls the
large arcing motion, stop momentarily at the top of the men strike. At the same time
you are swinging your shinai forwards push off with your left foot still in the kendo
foot position.

2. Swing your shinai in a large arc to the rear, making sure your left hand pushing
the shinai up. At the same time you are swing your shinai to the rear push off with
your right footbackwards while maintaining your kendo foot position.
This is one count, continue for the required number of counts.

Big Kote, Men, Do Exercise

Kote Stike Exercise

1. Start in the chudan kamae position.

Quickly raise your shinai above your
head.

2. Step forward and strike KOTE at

the same time you are bring down
your shinai. Both 1 and 2 steps are
done in one continuous motion.

Men Stike Exercise

1. Start in the chudan kamae position.

Quickly raise your shinai above your
head.

2. Step forward and strike MEN at the

same time you are bring down your
shinai. Both 1 and 2 steps are done in
one continuous motion.

Do Stike Exercise

1. Start in the chudan kamae position.

Quickly raise your shinai above your
head.

2. Step forward and strike DO at the

same time you are bring down your
shinai. Both 1 and 2 steps are done in
one continuous motion.

Kendo Small Waza Striking

Small waza striking is very suitable for home practice. Just a few minutes everyday
swinging the shinai will improve your ability. When practicing these striking
exercises change the rhythm by striking kote/men ..... kote/men/do ....
men/men/kote etc. Five minutes of small striking waza should be a good warm up.

Small Kote
With your left hand lift the
tip of the shinai and then
down using a forward and
backward motion. Always
make sure to stop the
shinai in a horizontal
position, striking kote.
Make every strike in one
motion.

Small Men
Raise the right arm in a
horzontal position and with
your left hand lift the tip of
the shinai and then down
using a forward and
backward motion striking
men. Always stop the strike
at the point when the shinai
would make contact on the
target. Make every strike in
one motion.

Small Do
With your left hand lift
the tip of the shinai and
then down using a
forward and backward in
a diagonal motion
towards the left shoulder
and down. Bring the
shinai down so that your
fists are directly in front,
striking do. Make every
strike in one motion.

Cool Down
-Walk
Cool down, and lower your heart rate by walking for about five minutes, all the
while drinking water.

Conclusion
-Mix it up, Have fun
Although working out does have a purpose and a goal you should strive to make it
enjoyable and fun, varying the exercises and watching kendo videos before or after
a workout. Always pay careful attention to striking properly, correct footwork,
perfect posture and concentration. It has been shown that having a positive frame
of mind makes the workout go faster, and improvements more dramatic.