How Dangerous are Kendo Strikes with a Sharp Katana?

Or to put it differently, would a Kendoka be ready for a zombie apocalypse? Nah, it doesn't always have to be zombies...
Kendo can be seen as a sporterized relative of Kenjutsu, the traditional Japanese art of sword fighting. Sort of like Olympic fencing and historical rapier fencing, although that may not be an entirely accurate comparison. Either way, the focus on speed and comparatively light contact (or so it may seem) makes some people doubt its martial validity.
Personally I don't have a dog in the fight either way, but I was curious to see what a katana might do to a ballistic gel dummy head with one of those quick strikes, and my friend Sindri offered to help with his Kendo experience.
The skulls are anatomically correct and pretty realistic overall, although the gel doesn't simulate flesh and skin very well.
I also tried a lunging thrust with a narrow bladed Spanish rapier, which turned out better than I expected (the second attempt, that is).
And finally he went to town with a large two-handed cutting sword, to finish off the mayhem.
The swords shown here:
Shirasaya / Shikomizue by Hanwei
www.kultofathe...
(affiliate link)
Tizona - 17th century Spanish cup-hilt rapier by LK Chen
www.kultofathe...
(affiliate link)
Battle-ready version of Inosuke's serrated sword from the Demon Slayer anime series
minikatana.com...
Supreme Cutter Classic by Lancelot Chan
lancelotsword....
The head analog:
ballisticdummy...
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Outro:
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#skallagrim #sword #katana #test #kendo

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

conclusion: sharp stick dangerous

[@Quadrilli0n]

Who could have guessed

[@nickterooze]

A stick is truly the ultimate melee weapon

[@AliDixon95]

fast sharp stick dangerouser

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

@@AliDixon95 ah no is that a threat

[@illfaptothis333]

grog will wait for embargo. grog not trade in wooden stick yet

[@8523wsxc]

As you can see, my brain blocked the cut, so I'm pretty sure I'm good and Kendo has been debunked.

[@zielisawzielony9366]

lol, lmao even.

[@roycehuepers4325]

Why does that seem like a kung pow reference? 😂

[@antonius.martinus]

Caught the blade between the two hemispheres, just like some butt cheeks clamping down on something 😂

[@jimbob3332]

It slid right off my smooth brain, protecting me from any damage.

[@bjmccann1]

😂😂😂😂

[@PasqualItizzz]

The blue blood indicates this was the head of a nobleman or possibly a lobster 🦞

[@JuanDanielTibasosa]

Quite likely a horseshoe crab 🤔

[@whome9842]

The crustacean elites spread disinformation about reptilian aliens ruling the world.

[@danieltaylor5231]

Or a Vulcan.

[@necroseus]

It was an octopus, actually. Famous, of course, for having skulls

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

Or an octopus

[@francescogulisano2917]

Turns out, it doesn't take much to hurt people with a sharp metal object designed to hurt people

[@robertagu5533]

Yeah... Almost like they was made for it or something.. weird

[@francescogulisano2917]

@@robertagu5533 who could have guessed

[@eldenarmortem975]

Tbf I always thought, that all doubds of efectivenes of quick strikes was against an armoured oponent.

[@mohammednegm4007]

Not sure which weapon guy was talking about this, but the sword is a very special case among weapons. Axes were designed to chop stuff. Hammers were designed to smash things/drive them into the ground. Scythes and sickles were designed for harvesting crops. Spears were designed for hunting. Knives and daggers were for cutting things. But swords are only good at hurting people. There is a more effective item for every other task, but swords only excell at hurting/killing people. People, specifically. It's definitely interesting.

[@robertagu5533]

@@mohammednegm4007 scythes as weapons ALSO tend to be very good at hooking, subduing an countering armor an shields if used right. An in the right hands can make quick work of even tough armored enemies.. an often did. As they slim enough to find chinks in armor an sharp an rugged enough to both go through an be highly lethal stab an cutters but can also bind up an often control too when the user isn't feeling particularly bloodthirsty in those times ..

[@unshackledjester]

"I got him in the jaw muscle, which is pretty rude"-Proceeds to immediately stab him in the eye-

[@theRealSlimGordon]

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Here, let me finish you... rightly"

[@judgedrekk2981]

always follow up a jaw strike with an eye strike.... make em unable to scream or see! lolz

[@MisterPerson-fk1tx]

Jaw, ear, nose combo for flamboyantly rude.

[@Ingeb91]

He also got like.. the brain behind the eye.

[@mohammednegm4007]

​@@Ingeb91 Mfw the rapier tip seductively pokes my brain: 😀

[@A._is_for]

How much damage can ken do if ken can do kendo?

[@reptiloidmitglied2930]

Ken would do as much damage as Ken could do if Ken could do kendo!

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

hehehe

[@shannonolivas9524]

I didn't come in here to make this killer comment this time.

[@A._is_for]

@@reptiloidmitglied2930 what could ken do with kendo to a ken doll?

[@kingeternal_ap]

Ken does kendo in his way.

[@Ramash440]

When I was a beginner in kendo I stupidly wanted to see how safe a shinai really was. I asked a friend to hit me VERY weakly in the head with no helmet and it still made my ears ring. Since then I've never really doubted the effects a kendo strike would have with a real sword. I've also never asked someone to hit me with no armor again, what the hell was I thinking?!

[@BobWithHat]

Ah yes, non-invasive, percussive brain realignment surgery. Works every time, as long as one is careful with the percussion.

[@highlandoutsider]

Can you imagine being the UPS guy reading that email? " I just recently had a head delivered and its neck was broken" 😐😅

[@marcusc9931]

Note to self. Don't send myself with ups.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@marcusc9931 Having worked as a loader/unloader for UPS, that is a very sensible stance. And don't slap a whole bunch of fragile stickers on anything. Instead, pack it like you expect gorillas to juggle it, but don't give those animals at the trans-shipping locations the temptation.

[@redkellbell6169]

​@@MonkeyJedi99when i worked for the post office, we'd joke and tell customers the truth on packaging: It has to survive the drop kick or kickball test. They'd ask what that is, and we'd tell them that if they believe their package is packaged and wrapped good enough, they should be able to take it, and do a drop kick or football/kickball kick. If the package survives, you wrapped it good. If it doesnt... customers said they would be afraid they'd break it by doing something like that. We'd then tell them its not good enough then and to stuff more peanuts, newspaper, and other packaging materials in. Despite being a rural carrier, I've seen how the plant handles packages, I'm sure fedex and UPS does the same.

[@AkiraHDR50]

That's why i always pronounce them as oops.

[@chaoswraith]

The neck was already broken! >i< wanted to break it dammit!!

[@stopkins222]

Sloppy left handed lunge it is... Proceeds to make perfect strike on his second attempt

[@metalchemik]

Hell, yeah! That's what I call impresive!

[@Skallagrim]

Well, you see... it was only on the second attempt. ;)

[@usernameig975]

"I'm not left handed, either."

[@mohammednegm4007]

​@@Skallagrim Yeah, I suppose second attempts aren't something to count on during a proper fight

[@thomasjames7568]

@@Skallagrimyou pulled the Larry Bird. “I’ll probably miss” makes it perfect.

[@supremeduckissupremetheduc9896]

I think people like to over-estimate just how durable we are to any sort of force multiplier. An axe, a sword, a hammer, even just a sturdy stick or branch but be super deadly even with relatively little strength put behind it

[@rouge-ish324]

I'm beginning to notice the more I get hit with these types of things

[@AnonymousAnarchist2]

There is good reason that we over-estimate. Humans are suprisingly durable to puncture wounds, we even have an entire type of muscle fiber thats first function is to be big and cheap(a target), second to be punctured, and third to be strong. And the modern firearms that primarily have been pointed at humans have primarily been designed to puncture, push straight through because of a multitude of war treaties ment to keep soldiers from becoming gravestones Now that would lead to an over-estimation of human dirability. One that is sorely mistaken and dissapears the moment something that isnt a NATO approved round decides to try and hurt you. And the ammo chosen by our militaries are designed to knock you out of combat to be clear. Its just the gravestone is a secondary moment of the engineering, its better to have enemy soldiers go home from allied hospitals then be buried in the long term.

[@rockfalls3007]

@@AnonymousAnarchist2 NATO approved round like phosphor or cluster munition?

[@davidresetarits5616]

​@@AnonymousAnarchist2That might be the official statement, but modern bullets are designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, while still retaining enough "stopping power" to incapacitate an enemy, which they achieve by tumbling inside the target and creating complex wound channels. Certain ammo types that break apart and cause high internal damage may be banned, but most war casualties come from bombs or artillery, which are far from clean shots.

[@ducky36F]

People can be literally killed by kitchen knives and we’re out here doubting the effectiveness of swords because a method focused on a tight technique 😂

[@comradesoupbeans4437]

It seems like kendo is a lot like boxing. It has been sporterized and has some blind spots because of it, but it's still very much not something you'd want to face.

[@frankwashburn6680]

This is an excellent analogy. At the end of the day, both kendoka and boxers spend relentless hours beating the crap out of each other. So even with their trained limited rulesets, their "Hit you hard and fast" training will serve them very, very well

[@klausgerken1905]

This ananlogy reminded me of a quote from Mike Tyson "Everyone has a plan - 'til they get punched in the mouth". Seems to fit very well here.

[@Tom-re6zo]

Yeah I remember when my dad was teaching me self defense and his first piece of wisdom was "never let a boxer get within arms reach of you." he's not even a boxer, but he threw out a jab just short of hitting my face to show me what he was talking about, and was like "now imagine if I was really good at that, and i was trained to hit 5x harder at that speed." That's pretty much what boxing is, most people who say things like "boxing isn't fighting it's a sport because of the vulnerability to grapples and leg strikes" have no concept of how difficult grapples and leg strikes are in the heat of the moment. It's usually people who don't know how to fight and have never been in one. It might not be good against a trained mma fighter, but when a boxer breaks your nose it's going to hurt all the same.

[@balduinvontrier128]

That's what I thought. Kendokas are, I guess, the most professional sword fighters in the world. The pros can probably mess up each and every HEMA practitioner. (There are no professional HEMA-Fencers, right?)

[@goodgenes0]

@@klausgerken1905most overused and misquoted quote ever

[@tn1881]

Sir Rutherford Alcock, British doctor and Consul General to Japan (1809 - 1897) "I have seen many a battlefield," "but of sabre wounds I never saw any so horrible. One man had his skull shorn clean through from the back and half the head sliced off to the spine, while his limbs only hung together by shreds." "They have attained the climax of dexterity. The sword is always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it wound the moment it is drawn." "The fatal stroke, upwards, is given in the act of drawing. Hence, placing the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting a cocked revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act it is too late for defence."

[@dlatrexswords]

Love these demos showcasing how sporting/mid combat strikes still can pack a wallop. We don't need to swing all the way 180 degrees to land a fight ending injury with a strongly cutting sword! Great thrust by you Skall with that rapier. Always welcome more penetration testing.

[@emiellepotgieter9524]

Honestly that first cut would probably make them reconsider already, and after that second cut... Yeah, it's probably over.

[@MasakanSolaris]

I kinda like it, cause the first hit is like a warning shot, get em to reconsider their life choices and if they still wanna fight the second shot takes em out

[@dragon12234]

@@MasakanSolaris The first shot would probably also blind them, opening them up for a more killing strike

[@emiellepotgieter9524]

@@MasakanSolaris yeah, I absolutely agree. And as a security professional it's also something that I believe should be specifically practiced in real life. You don't want to immediately go in and just make everything a problem.

[@nathanielkidd2840]

Well, it cut into the skull, so it very likely would bring an immediate halt to hostilities. Unless the aggressor is highly motivated, they’re not going to want to continue.

[@dumbsterdives]

nothing ends a fight quite as quickly as reminding your opponent how much fighting hurts and how hard it is to function with blood in their eyes

[@ethandudeman8359]

4:04 the fifties are calling they want their medical procedure back

[@tonarsilverwolf6485]

same thought here

[@SlimShady-nv4mq]

Fr bro got lobotomized💀🤺

[@MisterPerson-fk1tx]

Kennedy's are pretty topical these days...

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@MisterPerson-fk1tx Haha! I like you wormed that into the discussion, though some would call it unbearable. Vaccine joke.

[@CollinMcLean]

@@MonkeyJedi99 Something something mercury poisoning from fish. Something something book that traumatizes parents with a departed child. (That last one gets VERY dark)

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

Matt Easton from Scholagladiatora has a whole video dedicated to how quick light little cuts are perfectly valid and even a necessary part of any martial art. Even if it's just a light little flick, if you can cut the tendons in his arm, your opponent can't hold a sword anymore (or anything for that matter).

[@shaundouglas2057]

Yet history tells otherwise. The masters back in day seem to not show or mention tappy little hits even with the rapiers. They all demonstrate full powerful cuts and thrusts which for me seems to be a very obvious reason for that.

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

@@shaundouglas2057 Which masters are you thinking of? Light cuts exist in various texts, especially in 18th/19th-century systems. Matt Easton mentions John Musgrave Waite in the video in question. But lighter cuts are also present in medieval & Renaissance sources. For instance, Joseph Swetnam mentioned a wrist blow as being the best way to cut with a rapier, though he preferred only thrusting. & plenty of flick-cut type actions appear in Bolognese fencing, in George Silver's system, etc. A rising falso from a middle guard, for instance, is never going to be a full-power cut. As these often targeted the hand, they don't need to be. Historical fencing included cuts at a range of power levels.

[@shaundouglas2057]

@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 No Swetnams wrist cuts that you mention were done fully wound up for maximum power as had to be done with a blade that was not ideal for cutting, any cut delivered less was next to useless with a rapier. As for George Silver which is the main system I am trained in their is nothing mentioned in Silvers system about little tappy strikes. George said all strikes should be delivered with manely strength. Yes obviously a down right blow is a more powerful strike compared to a false edge rising cut, but even that strike is delivered with full exertion. As for the 18th to 19th century manuals I'll admit i am not very familiar with them but even the french troops in Napoleons army complained about their sabres being too light and thus only injuring the english troops. Certainly seems like they wanted to be able to deliver powerful cuts in order to kill the enemy and that little tappy cuts in combat were considered inferior and useless.

[@oscaranderson5719]

@@shaundouglas2057there’s some traditions that put mild emphasis on shallow strikes that wouldn’t be scored in HEMA; a cut to the hand is still a cut to the hand, even if it doesn’t immediately disable the opponent.

[@tcuegonbear]

Physical therapists HATE this one simple trick.

[@necroseus]

Lmao Hot elbow maimers in your area! Click now!!!

[@caiusactinunwise1412]

a quick and free lobotomy

[@stillawakening4721]

​@@necroseussounds fancy... I would like one of your finest maims, please? 🤗 don't worry, I'm a professional masochist like Houston Jones 😅. Hopefully he doesn't eat me like a fruity pebble for writing that.

[@theaikidoka]

At 2:00 - yup, he be dead. That was worryingly fast and light and yet did horrible things to the target. Fighting someone is bad enough when both people are barehanded, but weapons change things totally.

[@austinaxley81]

Maybe in a few hours or days, but if you do a little chop and he does a tsuki, you'll die quicker.

[@lukeparsons583]

⁠@@austinaxley81in what world does a sword going into your brain kill you “in a few hours or days”

[@zachariahtaylor7811]

For the elbow tendinitis I see the wrap. If you don’t already, get a wrist brace, wear it comfortably to bed (locks out any unnecessary “sleep stretching” on the affected tendons) trust me they will heal faster. Fresh sliced pineapple, not canned. (vitamin c = good collagen boost) Had my first tendinitis issue in April earlier this year (bad Olympic lifting technique coupled with the Highland Games and work did). A month went by and it felt like it was only getting worse, until I bought both an elbow wrap (wore that a Lot) and the wrist wrap (went from combined wearing to just wearing at while sleeping.) I noticed the relief in the mornings, treated it gingerly through the days over the weeks, noticed grip strength was returning (measured using hand grips) and range of motion while gripping tools and sticks (also pain free) If you read this far, hope this helps, may you have a fast recovery, looking forward to more of your content.

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

3:30 One of the best rapier pokes I've ever seen. Exactly what was intended, precise and efficient.

[@synthemagician4686]

AND he did it with his non-dominant arm.

[@royalecrafts6252]

nah, best rapier poke is the one you don't see it coming, specially from below the waistline

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

@@royalecrafts6252 I meant the best one that we've got on camera, not the actual best that you can in any situation. And are you talking about nailing an artery or causing a unprofessional circumcision? That deep in the brain it's highly unlikely that you're walking away from it and it's a sort of fall to your knees as you quite quickly die type situation.

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

@@synthemagician4686 precisely, imagine a 25-year grizzled pro in the 1600s Naples area, doing something like this. This would be like nothing. If I wanted to practice rapier I would put a wooden ring on a piece of twine and at first it would be still, seeing if I could poke it from different positions, then it would be a metal ring with paracord, probably would still be a metal ring with paracord because it would be easier more durable at the first beginning, and it would be swinging from side to side. Another good test would be a little bit of pool noodle, I could cut fist-sized pieces and get a lot of bang for my buck, and what I would do is try to cut as many large hunks as possible off of those pieces as they are put on the end of a wooden dowel, the harder the level, I would put a metal dowel at risk of damage to my blade. Of course I would get a type of rapier where I could replace the blades, but you get the gist. There are ways of practicing. Not exclusively but including, using a heavier practice sword, purposely lumpy and heavy.

[@royalecrafts6252]

@@crimsonfox87fluxule62 haha opponents in real life moves a lot, you most likely wont hit any artery

[@calebbraun9505]

The anime, over serrated katana was a really effective club

[@awiseauthor3456]

I mean to be fair, in the anime it's used by a muscle-brained idiot who takes normal katanas and smashes the edge of the sword with rocks to make it like that.

[@Grunttamer]

@@awiseauthor3456 yeah I guess it is probably the most realistic anime weapon.

[@ariesfaturrahman7982]

What are you expected from a dumb boy raised by a boar?😂

[@ashernoreen]

Serrated isn't built for slicing.

[@Grunttamer]

@@ashernoreen I wouldn’t even call that particular sword serrated. I would say that it has an “interrupted” cutting edge or “disjointed”. Serrations are purposeful and crafted in. The anime clearly shows that the edge is disjointed, damaged, and created by beating the edge against rocks.

[@killgora1]

7:55 "I said across her nose, not up it!" -Darth Helmet

[@drb5538]

'I knew it, I'm surrounded by assholes'

[@MonkeyJedi99]

"Does anyone else smell swords?"

[@callumdent]

Sorry sir, im doing my best.

[@tobiferrer2339]

as a kendo and Iaido Practitioner for 7 years, my Japanese sensei always reminds me, short movement quick cuts are meant to cause damage by bleeding your opponent in actual sword fight, while stance ready heavy cuts are meant to sever. We were taught that in a sword fight, quick cuts from a katana are essential to slowly drain out your opponents stamina to disrupt their stance and guard, once they're tired out, you finish them off with a stance ready heavy cut and aim for vulnerable body parts aimed for a severing slash

[@colbyhallowell3284]

As someone who has practiced a lot different aspects of Japanese swordsmanship, I think this assumption of many kendoka comes from their lack of training in edge alignment. Not so much the strikes being functional. That's of course very situational and depends entirely on the person.

[@huskiefan8950]

Well the instructor SHOULD be teaching about edge alignment when doing test cutting, which was part of the program when I practiced.....

[@colbyhallowell3284]

@huskiefan8950 like I said, situational. Some instructors only see the sport side of the art.

[@robo5013]

You just saw the result of the 'edge alignment' being off. It still chopped off a third of the upper jaw and smashed out the lower. All the emphasis you see on great edge alignment by sword tubers is for show. "Look how pretty I cut the mat/water bottle!" I have always said so what. Even an ugly cut will incapacitate or worse. I can guarantee you that in a life or death situation the last thing anyone was focusing on was edge alignment and I can also guarantee the a victim of a poorly aligned blow never just shrugged it of and kept fighting. "Hah! Twas poor edge alignment!" WAY too much emphasis is placed on it.

[@theguileraven7014]

@@robo5013There are plenty of videos around, of people getting hacked at with machetes and other bladed weapons, only to continue struggling. There as even a case of a homeless man attacking someone with a sword, and repeatedly striking the guy’s arm as the guy was on the ground blocking. It took MANY blows before the guy’s arms were disabled. Edge alignment and proper form can mean A LOT. Even more so if we’re talking medieval times, where people wore thick clothing.

[@NotDumbassable]

I'm an absolute layman in this, so feel free to correct me, but I think the point which should be examined is whether these techniques would achieve the same speeds with a katana as with a shinai.

[@dragon12234]

The fun thing is that during the Bakumatsu period that marked the end of the Shogunate era, Kendo was the most commmon swordsmanship style, as it was far less regulated than traditional kenjutsu schools. So most swordfighters would have been fighting using Kendo, even on the battlefield

[@samlevi4744]

And they didn’t use curved blades.

[@wumpusthehunted2628]

Samurai were using bow and spear on the battlefield. Swords are typically side arms (backup weapons), and without shields they aren't effective on the battlefield. So using kendo would make a lot of sense.

[@dragon12234]

@@samlevi4744 Some did, old heirlooms and some did still have training in old arts, but yeah, straight bladed katana became popular during that time as people were used to the straight shinai used in kendo

[@dragon12234]

@@wumpusthehunted2628 During the Bakumatsu, the main weapons were guns, as it took place during the time when Japan was opening up again in the mid-19th century. However, the Imperials had special units of dedicated swordsmen which launched raids on Shogunate armies on the march, and the Shogunate in turn created special "police units" of swordsmen to counter them, and rogue swordsmen in the civilian context (remember, for the most part the main guns were revolvers and single shot rifles, and early on even matchlock muskets were still in use, so in the right circumstances melee was still very important) EDIT: The reversed: Samurai remnant forces during the Satsuma Rebellion (famously fictionalized in the Movie the Last Samurai) were the ones to use melee shock troops, and it was the Imperial Police, which created a dedicated sword unit, the Battotai, to help deal with them and other samurai remnants

[@Mambo.Canibal]

So then kendo is about slapping with the flat?

[@AncestorEmpire1]

Ace Ventura UPS shipping. It happens to the best of us

[@ZenakuShinobi]

the elevator bit....

[@AncestorEmpire1]

@@ZenakuShinobi followed by the hallway bit

[@Skallagrim]

Hah, that would explain it. Didn't expect an Ace Ventura reference, but it fits. :)

[@Danso_3000]

Wow, I've been subbed to Skallagrim for about a decade, but this is the first time KZbin has recommended one of his videos to me in years.

[@Skallagrim]

Yeah, that's unfortunately quite common.

[@user-sg7iy9do5v]

same

[@pUrpLEsnake325]

Thinking back to your video of what makes katanas good, the fact that the scabbard is such an integral part of the sword itself and the smoothness of the draw is what gives people the idea that the sword itself is somehow "faster" than something like a european longsword. The idea of being able to combine a martial art like kendo with a technique like iajutsu, drawing and striking at the same time with a quick and small strike, could still go through someone's skull or cut their jaw off like this is pretty terrifying. I think that's what gives people this glorified idea of the legendary supernaturally fast katana, that ability to deploy and strike and be completely lethal within an instant, whereas drawing something like as you demonstrated a rapier took much more effort and was more cumbersome. So there's nothing entirely special about katanas per se, it's just that they are designed for a purpose and they do their purpose very very well.

[@Toxoplasma13]

There was a lot of cultural emphasis on excellence in craftsmanship and technique, but that's present to some extent in many cultures- Hungarians and Spaniards, for example, have historically been very proud of their swordsmithing and swordsmanship.

[@pUrpLEsnake325]

@@Toxoplasma13 Exactly. As he said in the katana video even a relatively bad or cheap katana still tends to have a pretty nice scabbard. Translating that historically, depending on the period, as you said the Japanese had a large cultural emphasis on excellence in craftsmanship, so it would be safe to say that even a relatively bad blacksmith or a cheap one would still put a lot more time and effort into his product than one might expect, meaning that even people who could only afford cheaply made katanas, if they practiced heavily which many did as the emphasis on excellence translated to most things in Japanese culture, even someone who just saved up and bought a sword and trained with it in their free time would be a force to be seriously reckoned with.

[@user-sg7iy9do5v]

I wonder if it’s possible to do iaido with saber, would be pretty cool to see something like that

[@Toxoplasma13]

@@user-sg7iy9do5v I'd be surprised if the cultures around the Caucasus don't have something like it already

[@user-sg7iy9do5v]

@@Toxoplasma13 yeah, probably possible to do with shashka, but I haven’t seen anyone performing it

[@oneandonlyleo]

They are, in fact, quite dangerous

[@MisterPerson-fk1tx]

They're actually pretty harmless until the wrong kind of person gets their hands on it.

[@shaundouglas2057]

The masters back in the day seem to suggest otherwise.

[@JohnFleshman]

My brain had a moment when you poked the eye with the rapier... "I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." LOL!!!

[@twinarcher8123]

1:08 ichimonji my beloved.

[@someguy6959]

I've interested to see ichimonji double.

[@Verbalaesthet]

The impact of those super slight kendo moves was impressive.

[@ZharelAnger]

0:36 Well, you would never want to be accused of doing tests on a live dummy! 😆

[@ping-a-ling682]

as a bit of historical background, during the Seinan war, as swords were banned and kendo became a famous sport, many renowned kendo practitioners would end up being hired as police and military because they were so effective in battle and their skills were needed in order to put down the rebellion

[@Kragatar]

Hitting bare skin, it wouldn't take much all to wreck someone with a sword. But most of the body is covered in clothes, so you should do more tests cutting through the various types of clothes people commonly wear. I bet even a flimsy t-shirt would provide a surprising amount of cut resistance, especially if the blade isn't razor sharp.

[@jhaziinlefaible7902]

That jaw shot was gnarly oh my gosh

[@Loki_Firegod]

Skal understating his own ability as always. "My right arm is wrecked, this will be very sloppy" - proceeds to perfectly stab the eye on the second attempt. I mean, I have zero experience with rapiers and with stabbing in general, but I couldn't hit the eye with my right hand and ten tries, propably, so yeah. And yes, I know, lucky shots are a thing. But just imagine having a duel, and your opponent says they'll use their weak arm because they're hurt and then hit you in the eye a few seconds later. If you survive, you'd be livid. Great video and a great argument (once again) for "don't underestimate small cuts". I mean, even if they don't go into or through bone, they'll hinder you, especially if you get cut more than once. The first one or two may actually help by flooding you with adrenaline, but at some point the pain and everything will just take effect. There's a reason the best self defence tips are "hit them where it really hurts and try to get away". Looking forward to the next one and also get well soon Skal! (Dunno if that's the right thing to say for a hurt/injured elbow, but I mean it)

[@Crangaso]

It would be very unpleasant indeed!

[@robinswords]

Great seeing the other end of those snap cuts! Shows the difference between aiming them to just make contact versus end somewhere within the skull. It's all in where you aim! As Liechtenauer said, do not shun the tag hits!

[@reptiloidmitglied2930]

6:56 The Lancelot sword shall now be known as Smurf's Bane

[@koenkooiman1490]

Ooh, looking forward to the sword review! That blade is awesome! Happy to hear there's a review on it coming!😁👍

[@xirensixseo]

used to do kendo, initially we did 50 strikes in 3-5 variations as warmup and then moved on to something like 200 total cuts in 4 sets of 50 strikes for 5 variations before sparring so, the force generated is actually surprisingly hard, even with a small movement, a senior accidentally hurt my arm doing a kote(forearm) strike with maybe 3 inches from starting position, i was out of action for two weeks. im curious if someone that trains kendo hardcore tried this, what the difference would be

[@xirensixseo]

@@IGNEUS1607 i mean yea but our forearms and biceps and back were so efficient for specifically those strikes that im pretty sure it'll be even more devastating if someone hashtag hardcore frfr on cod did the same experiment, im just curious about how drastically different or not it would be, but yea that videos pretty on point for its purpose

[@robinthrush9672]

My biggest concern is the removal of defense during those advances. Great strikes, just makes my ribs itch.

[@alessioughetta3677]

you are correct, there are indeed some techniques that take advantage of that in kendo. the kaeshi dou is the primary example

[@johnrobinson3117]

Itto Ryu was not only the chief formative influence on modern Kendo, but an official school of the Shogunate that spread to every corner of Edo era Japan and fundamentally changed swordsmanship itself. There's an English NHK(?) interview with one of its teachers, the late Sasamori Junzo, where he briefly demonstrates the difference between a Kendo strike and how they cut; it looks like the difference between casting a fishing line and splitting wood. Indeed, Itto Ryu's onigote are substantially massive gloves that allow people to use not split bamboo but solid oak swords to deliver a considerable amount of force. Cutting powerfully isn't just a trick in the bag for Itto Ryu, it IS Itto Ryu. That should put Kendo shiai in context.

[@gmanbo]

Excellent content 👍

[@ThatGuy182545]

“In a stunning conclusion that has shocked no one, we have discovered that hitting someone in the face with a sharp, fast moving piece of metal is actually quite harmful….”

[@LordBrittish]

“Hello there!”

[@mikaelwojciechowski7281]

General Kendo-bi! 😂

[@israelsedano1144]

Amazing strikes all around and another banger video but I laughed at 3:45 because you basically gave them a free lobotomy 😂😂

[@ChristopherJohnston-mu9ub]

Thanks

[@paradoxworkshop4659]

Kinetic energy is the same if the velocity of the strike is the same, regardless of how long the wind up. Pulling the strike is just helping your opponent.

[@godzilla5599]

Simple fact: any cut to the cranium will stop someone so if you're smart wear a damn helmet in any swordfight

[@shaundouglas2057]

History has shown otherwise, theirs a reason why the manuals make no mention of tappy hits.

[@frankwashburn6680]

I mean a lot of swordsmanship is based off of presumed self-defense, not just massed battle. If some ne'er-do-wells jump you as you're leaving a restaurant you can't exactly say 'hold on let me get my helmet'

[@GuitarGuy057]

​@@shaundouglas2057 Do you wanna start in where you're wrong, why, or do you just wanna sit down and retract this one?

[@shaundouglas2057]

@@GuitarGuy057 This will be good.

[@GuitarGuy057]

@@shaundouglas2057 Look at pretty much any saber manual. Ever.

[@swissarmyknight4306]

Well, considering that that second chop (because that's what it was, very little push or pull) went through the hardest part of the skull...yeah quick choppy kendo cuts are going to be martially effective.

[@slowmonet]

Cuts and smashes and skulls aside, Skal's hair's looking downright MAJESTIC in this video!

[@Dzugoslav]

Lobotomized him with your left. Noice!

[@admorteminimicus3207]

3:32 You'd make an amazing brain surgeon in the 1950s

[@ludantikasmith2869]

yeah even the first strike that didn't do too much damage would likely have been a fight ender. blunt force and the cut i think it would severely limited the opponents ability to continue fighting

[@dudewithlaptop8663]

You were the first sword channel I ever started watching and you are the only one I still watch. Good work keeping it real through all the years man, I respect it.

[@ChristopherJohnston-mu9ub]

Some nice damage 😮

[@elitemook4234]

'We're fragile creatures, Mal. It takes less then a pound of pressure to cut skin' - Firefly

[@mrdelacrota]

5:04 RELATIVELY unscathed

[@paulbrooks4395]

Man, it took like nothing to incapacitate the target.

[@chrispritchard2331]

Don’t forget that the katana was made for deep cuts. It was usually the person that struck first that won the fight. That’s why there’s so many kata for unsheathing the blade and cutting in the same motion. A lot of strikes weren’t intended for use on the head. You could damage the cutting edge of your blade on bone. Therefore a lot of cuts were quick, sharp cuts to the limbs. If you can’t hold a weapon then you can’t fight back. Even a small cut to the hand would win you a fight. Hence why kendo is a thing. Strike first, strike hard and fast then get out of range so you don’t get hit by a dying man’s sword swing.

[@RobbieB2606]

Luckily his brain blocked the most damaging strikes 👍

[@ZharelAnger]

A big theme in the Kendo style is to strike fast and take the fight out of the opponent. Light hits are waved off in adult matches and throat strikes are disallowed in Junior matches. The instructors in my area also buy bamboo mats to allow the students to hone their cutting skills. Florentine fighting gets dissed quite a bit too, but I have seen some effective Florentine styles in HEMA. No champions yet, but one young man did quite well.

[@angela_merkeI]

Kendo not being "real actual swordfighting" was always such an hilariously dumb complaint to me, even before I did it. Especially when people whinge about it not being useful in self-defense. Like no shit, it's a modern sport and not Kenjutsu as practised in the Sengoku Jidai or Bakumatsu. No-one has to protect themselves from or with swords nowadays and there is no danger of having to fight off Shinsengumi in search of restorationists. That said, I wish there were a bit less regulations in terms like sword length and usable stances.

[@kamillipa7679]

There are no regulations regarding stances in kendo. :) Just within this ruleset only two are really effective (arguably one).

[@marcusc9931]

The complain wasn't that it would not kill. The complain was that it was pretty predictable, especially when used against a European swordsman.

[@kamillipa7679]

​​@@marcusc9931that's also misguided complaint. Pitting kendo versus hema has no sense, because rulesets are different and you won't find fair platform to compare these two. It's like comparing tennis and badminton players since both are using rackets.

[@marcusc9931]

@@kamillipa7679 yes and no. If we look at it as a sport , it makes no sense. But if we want to test its viability as a combat style, the ruleset is that the winner gets to live.

[@Matthias129]

@@marcusc9931 If you're coming at it from a "combat test" angle, a kendoka no longer has to worry about scoring points in their ruleset. So, while their strongest (from a muscle memory standpoint) techniques might be more predictable, there's now nothing them from using illegal (in terms of a kendo sport match) moves which would reduce their predictability. Especially if the kendoka has studied other styles. That's also assuming that the two combatants have perfect knowledge of their opponents style(s).

[@Bad_Gazpacho]

Bonus points for accurately quoting Hamlet.

[@SimausMasaqer]

1:32 Does lobotomy count? Because it's exactly what happened next. 😅

[@B1itZKr3iGC4]

Kendo is not Kenjutsu, and there is an appropriate response to angle 12 strikes which is to redirect it to the ground cross step and turn and hit the back of his kneck with an angle 1. Angle 12's are meant for opponents without a blade. It does not work on armed opponents. Also his angle 12 has zero penetration power, because it lacks rotary motion. The stab only works because he hit where zero bone was, the eye. Hitting an already damaged ballstic dummy does not correctly demonstate the damage properly which is why ppl who study kenjutsu, Bujinkan Būdo taijustu or any real combat martial art will use tatami. ** On top of this he doesn't know how to properly hold the katana, because kendo does not train with Katanas. Which is why @6:20 he lost his grip. **

[@huihshen]

Kendoka's first strike was the strike kendo uses in competition, the 2nd strike was significantly larger upswing for a deeper impact, the 1st strike from the sword started moving to the sword touches the target took 20 frames on this video, 2nd strike took 32 frames. Provided this video is 60 frames per second, the first strike was 0.3 second in speed, and 2nd strike was 0.53 second in speed. since Human reaction time averages between 0.2 - 0.3, the first strike is fast enough that most human being will not be able to move head out of the way after their eyes watch the sword move up. However the 2nd strike can be easily dodged / parry /blocked by someone with average human reaction time. back in the times of the Samurais, they trained both type of techniques shown by the kendoka in this video, the smaller upswing is aim to create a shock to the target when it connects, it is not aim to kill the target. Once the target was cut/damaged, then the samurai will follow up with a full swing for the killing blow immediately. in kendo the sore is given when someone hit the target first, correctly, and then must demonstrate a perfect body posture that's able to produce a immediate follow up strike, if someone made the target, but failed to assume a posture that allows them to make a large full swing (example, body is leaning and off balance), then the point will be taken away. In kendo this is call zanshin. The logic being that the technique that sored the 1st hit wasn't polished enough to have a immediate follow up.

[@shannonolivas9524]

Lol the Hamlet soliloquy.

[@billberg1264]

I like that he got the quote right. Lot's of people think it's "I knew him well."

[@wavetactics13]

7:56 Aha! My nasal cavity has trapped your blade!

[@ruleslawyer]

My senseis did some test cutting with quick kendo cuts and effective enough’ was the word of the day vs an unprotected target. However it would be interesting to see it done with even some cloth covering. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it significantly reduce cut depth.

[@tcuegonbear]

Yeah. These cuts would 100% be scary vs flesh and bone, but I'm curious how much clothing or even just a simple hat might change things.

[@ruleslawyer]

@@tcuegonbear if you watch any of the Todd Cutler test cutting videos it doesn’t take much to have a large effect on cuts. Even something like a kendogi would be significant I think.

[@tcuegonbear]

@ruleslawyer Yeah I've seen a couple of those, and it really makes me appreciate why things like gambesons were so ubiquitous. Sure they don't stop everything, but even if they just help against these little snap cuts that's a huge upgrade in protection. I haven't seen it tested specifically, but I suspect things like winter hats or turbans give more protection than I would have initially assumed. A heavy hit would still be bad news, but it wouldn't suprise me if they would almost completely mitigate the quick 'kendo head tap' type hits.

[@williammashtalier479]

Another excellent video! Love seeing both a katana and a rapier take out one of those cool skulls, they really should send you a replacement tho.

[@Elriuhilu]

I don't think anyone has said that kendo style strikes would not injure a person, only that actual swordfighting style cuts are more powerful and designed to chop body parts off. A kendo wrist strike with a sword would ruin your wrist, but a proper sword cut would cut your hand off completely. Swortfighting cuts also have more follow-through because you are trying to chop a terrible gash into your opponent, whereas in kendo it's enough to thwap them with your shinai. Also, in kendo you may only strike specific targets, but in fighting you don't have that restriction.

[@shaundouglas2057]

Exactly! Thats the reason the manuals mention not a thing about tappy strikes. All cutting and thrusting strikes are shown as fully committed stikes for maximum damage. As it should be when one is putting there life on the line.

[@Ianmar1]

You cannot follow through with a shinai: they don't cut.

[@Elriuhilu]

@@Ianmar1 Yeah, exactly, and therefore you don't train to follow through because there's no reason to. Same as how kendo practitioners don't need to protect their legs or back so they don't practise doing it.

[@Ianmar1]

@@Elriuhilu I have the sense that the folks responsible for standardizing the diverse gekiken practices as kendo considered the skeletal tachisuji to be a feature rather than a bug. One would learn kendo from a proper koryu instructor, and be able to train together at school or in the military and police forces with kenshi of other kenjutsu lineages. Ideally you want Bring Your Own Tachisugi however since this is not possible due to equipment and competition fairness limitations i.e. a judge must understand the techniques which they evaluate, a minimalistic approach is the next best thing. A problem emerged when kendo was made mandatory, thus decoupled from traditional instruction. The Toyama military academy tried to rectify this and gave us the various battodo disciplines. The ZNKR tried to rectify this and gave us seitei iaido.

[@jlogan2228]

ALOT of people forget you don't have to cut someone in half or chop their arm off to win, if you snap cut to their wrist breaking the one and completely destroying that hand, they can't use their sword anymore

[@Torryinabox]

Oh man I love this one, shame about the shoddy shipping - but this I guess reinforces the historical fact that the shinsengumi were supposedly mostly composed of commoners practicing kendo and they were an affective fighting force against practitioners using kenjutsu. I've also been trying to scrape together the money to buy a shirasaya sword too, so this is a nice coincidence =u=

[@TheTenguwarrior]

In the time of the Shinsengumi there was no difference between Kendo and Kenjutsu. Kendo the way we know it today didn't exist yet, but fencing in Armour and with Shinai was called Gekken/Gekiken and was practiced by many different Kenjutsu Ryuha. Also Kenjutsu isn't some monolithic martial art, it is a general term for Sword Technique. Different Ryuha(Styles or Sects) teached major different methods to fence with the Katana. Some were open to commoners (Katori Shinto-ryu and Hokushin Itto-ryu come to mind), some were not. And some others were even only open to people of a domian or even to Daimyo (like Yagyu Shinkage ryu or Owari-Kan-ryu)

[@Torryinabox]

@@TheTenguwarrior I didn't know some were open to commoners, that's fascinating to know - I was more referring to the ones passed down strictly for the Samurai as mentioned by Shougo. Thank you for the addendum :D

[@synthemagician4686]

I've been looking forward to this video since I saw Skalls comments on Robinswords video. It will never cease to amaze me just how much damage a sword can do, even with a small action. It is also a wonderful reminder about the importance of safety while handling swords. I kinda wanna see what damage a feder would do though, I imagine still a lot right? But just how safe/dangerous are the swords we use in Hema if we didn't use proper protection?

[@michaelterrell5061]

Wait are you telling me that a sword is going to cut someone badly no matter how quickly the cut is delivered? Wow, who would have guessed?

[@Ponderthought]

The origins of modern kendo date back to a time when the meiji government of the 1870s recruited kenjutsu practitioners into a special police unit to fight rebelling samurai on their own terms. The Sword-Drawn Regiment conducted themselves well during the Satsuma Rebellion, by all accounts, so im not surprised the techniques inspired by their sport continue to be effective.

[@jakewolf079]

Great vid but the reason why people say that is because kendo was never meant to be a "katana art", most kendo practitioners in Japan will never ever even touch a katana, let alone do test cuts. Yes it's true that kendo originated from sparring, simulating real sword fights, but that was long time ago and the shinai used to be shorter & proportional to real katana, now they are just big long sticks.

[@The_Custos]

This has multiple errors.

[@plentyofpaper]

I've been practicing kendo almost 20 years, and started nito-ryu (2 sword style) earlier this year. I've never been sure just how damaging my cuts would be. It was good to see a demonstration. The first strike looked slightly larger than most strikes I'm used to seeing in practice, while the second one was substantially larger. Although neither were unreasonable. I've been unsure whether my 1 handed strikes would be more or less damaging than these. On the minus side, I've obviously only got the force of 1 hand. But on the plus side, the sword starts off overhead, giving it much more potential energy and time to accelerate. I was surprised when my peers told me the strikes felt about the same. But I'd love to have a more objective test.

[@garywebster3044]

Were there really people who believed that gettiing hit on the head with a sword was inneffective?

[@Skallagrim]

You'd be surprised what sort of complaints some people have when they see sparring footage...

[@ducky36F]

@@Skallagrimah yes, gotta love armchair experts 😆

[@whome9842]

Maybe their skulls are extra bony.

[@chengkuoklee5734]

There is reason why kendo practitioners wear protective gear.

[@shaundouglas2057]

Their is a reason why their are no tappy strikes shown in the manuals. All cuts and thrusts are done fully commited. One may be surprised how much damage a human body can take when confronted in a life or death situation with one's adrenaline levels having shot through the roof.

[@pkonneker]

As a beginner of kendo I'm here for all kendo content ever. Gotta say, Bro has good form and a very kendo attitude.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

This is really interesting. From these results it really doesn’t take that much force to end someone’s day, even with just a half decent weapon. This is another point in favor of short fights, and against anime-style long fights with powerful strokes and multiple deep wounds. If a small strike can do that much damage it wouldn’t take many minor mistakes to completely disable someone.

[@robertagu5533]

Or one or 2 well placed decent power hits to basically end them

[@ActionCow69]

Point for long fights: if you care more about drama than realism, they are cool We just need to get better choreography

[@garywebster3044]

I have seen knife and machete fights and attacks in real life i have read the historical treatises and first hand accounts of duels but was never fully convinced until I saw two middle aged men hitting a broken plastic skull, this finally convinced me that anime style sword fights are bullshit and not realistic. Next I'll look into gravity and find out if the roadrunner cartoons have it right.

[@whome9842]

Flashy long sword fights were a thing way before anime. Stories wouldn't be as fun if the final battle between the protagonist and its nemesis were to end in one second with a single strike.

[@Nudelfisk]

Therese is force though - a cut like that from someone experienced can make your ears ring through protective gear, and occasionally there are concussions that occur when people get gassed up and forget to do the second part of the tenouchi (the tensing and releasing just as you land the cut). It takes tonnes of practice though and not something you can do initially as you need both technique and forearm muscles for the purpose. I was also told that if you intend to actually hurt someone you wouldnt do the release part that makes the sword go up after impact, rather you do the tensing part to get through the skull and then keep the movement forward going to complete the cut...

[@erikjalefors9377]

Very interesting video skall! More of this kind !!

[@renato2354]

As far as I'm concerned, Kendo Guy is now the scariest man alive.

[@atentamente9764]

Love the skull popsicle, hit's perfectly with the summer vibes

[@MrFragalax]

You can't expect us to focus on the skull damage when your friend is swinging those well-defined guns around.

[@KendoSwordsman]

I'm glad you did this because a lot of people doubt Kendo's technique as being a cut at all. Sometimes they're right at a certain level. But higher than a certain level we preserve more cutting principles within the shortened striking movement and having tried kendo technique in Tameshigiri, I know it's still a cut,and a reasonably effective one if performed well . Now, when you face the 7th and particularly 8th dans and you feel the sharpness or "sae" in their shinai work, you know in your bones that if it was Shinken, you'd have drawn your last breath. In fact I'd say from around the 5th dan perhaps a strong 4th Dan, you expect quite a lot of power from a small motion that contains a lot of cutting principles within it. They're definitely no longer just tapping you on the head by this stage. So we do try. 😂 What also helps is that in Kendo you're always driving forward, so you end up using more of a cutting action by using more surface area of "the blade" than most people might imagine. So it sort of replaces that slight drawing back that you'd find in koryu or Iaido for example. Fun video. Hope your injury recovery is speedy.

[@TheLord0Ice0Wind]

I love your videos of this kind of testing. I'm a writer and my current books I'm working on do have a fair bit of swordplay and seeing this kind of damage done to a human analog is fascinating and helpful. I think i might just have to write in a vicious backroom in which someone takes a sword into a nostril

[@Allstar-yl1ek]

Interesting to see this so soon after Robinswords' video on non-lethal uses of a sword, that first cut really reminded me of his starting snap cut too.

[@Kanjinanda]

just my little two cents though the video already proved its point. To me it seems like hes consistently striking too deep into the sword. I have always been taught to hit only within the last section of the shinai, where you make optimal use of momentum, distance, and body movement. Anything outside of that last section we probably would not be given a point in formal competition because it is not just about killing the opponent, it is about having clarity of intent and form.

[@Fortisfox]

Sweet! Do modern Olympic fencing weapons and attacks next!

[@Relicarious]

A couple of things restrict your exploration of kendo here. They are momentum and skill. Sindri starts out very nicely with the small cut to the head and then stops in place. When what is taught in kendo is actually that you continue forwards keeping contact. Provided that you keep your arm structure intact and have properly drawn power from your feet and applied tenouchi at the time of contact, a forward moving body will let the blade slice even further into the skull. The basic cut to the face should stop around eye level letting the body movement do the rest. Unless of course you draw back your blade for other reasons. In doing so you could also apply damage though this is only a point scoring technique in certain retreating actions such as when performing gyaku-do, a cut to the bowels. Skill-wise it is simply that your blades would have performed even better if Sindri had been trained more in grip which translates to edge alignment in HEMA terminology. Or, alternatively, Sindri is well trained in it and simply was excited or nervous for the video to be good. I just see some tension in there that makes some cuts land quite wonky. One of the pitfalls in kendo is that most shinai (bamboo sword) have a round hilt. This combined with the large gloves used can make the wielder deceptively unaware of the edge and how it behaves during cuts, especially off-center ones. There is an indication of edge in kendo and it is important, however it can be difficult to feel in the fingers. I noticed my own shortcomings the first time I had an actual katana in hand. I swung only a few times and immediately felt a pain in my wrist. Switching to oblong handle on the bamboo did wonders for my technique.

[@edi9892]

I'd like to see what a saber or rapier can do with just a flick of the wrist...

[@danielscates3819]

Same especially direct cuts in the older Italian manuals. They feel so weak compared to my circular cuts, but my instructor says with a proper sharp saber it would ruin someone’s day. Would love to see what those direct cuts with a proper lunge would do.

[@edi9892]

@@danielscates3819 Also, these super light Tai Chi swords. If they're sharp and no special clothes are involved, they probably can still do a lot of damage...

[@TheCaniblcat]

On the bright side, that last strike cleared his sinuses.

[@Alex_34251]

Dont mind me im feeding john, thats how i call the algorithm

[@papercut7141]

That quick cut damage is honestly insane

[@jeydex5348]

Take it easy on yourself, let your injuries heal, great video)

[@surfmanfish]

Just watching these injuries to that poor dummies.... So glad I don't have to fight for my life with steel

[@TheCosmicUprise]

Recent stuff has been fun to watch i rly like seeing you work with other educated or trained people