SSC and Bouncing Movement to Improve Your Kendo Performance

[@drtroosevelt]

Well done. Glad to have been of help

[@chrisbowden6058]

Excellent! Nice incorporation into kendo specifics at the end

[@KendoGuide]

Thanks for your comment, @chrisbowden6058! 😄 Hope you liked it!

[@KendoSwordsman]

Very interesting . Will experiment with some of these suggestions . We do some things along these lines already but less bespoke to Kendo. Usually at the end of our warm up .

[@KendoGuide]

Thanks for your comment, @KendoSwordsman! 😄 I am throwing ideas, you know? You should share what you guys do with the video! Share it with us! 👍

[@dk73us1]

Thank you! I love this idea of bringing a deeper exercise and kinetic theory into the kendo movement.

[@KendoGuide]

Thanks for your comment and you're welcome, @dk73us1! 😄As an instructor, I would like to give as many options as possible to my students 😁👍

[@edenwalsh1014]

Thank you so much! This makes a lot of sense.

[@KendoGuide]

Thanks a bunch for watching! I'm thrilled that you found it helpful. If you have any other topics you'd like me to cover, let me know!

[@markopouloskendo]

Great video

[@tartarart4922]

Thank you Sensei!

[@KendoGuide]

You bet, @tartarart4922! 😄

[@louislamonte334]

Thank you so very much for this, Sensei! I do hope you're very well!

[@KendoGuide]

You're welcome very much, @louislamonte334! 😄

[@Arodrim]

Thank you! I was just looking into how to improve my reaction speed quick footwork and explosiveness as a Kendo beginner. I was going to try training ladder drills at the beach, but I'll incorporate these exercises as well.

[@KendoGuide]

Tou're welcome, @Arodrim! 😄 Do a lot of things and pick the ones that work! Good luck!

[@DrownW]

You’re videos are very helpful thank you very much sensei

[@KendoGuide]

You're welcome, @J13J13! 😄 I'm glad that they are helpful! 😁👍

[@Machiyalol]

Thanks Sensei. I have been doing plyometric training, which is just what you have put into the video, and strength training for years. But I only reference the training methods of football and fencing athletes and have been trying to adapt based on my shallow understanding of kendo movement. Some information I would like to share here - in the long run a person is suggested to be able to squat and deadlift weight that is 1.5 times of his or her body weight (1RM) before starting plyometric training (basically jumping, hopping, running etc.) this is for the safety and healthiness of lower body joints. This is also why I really want to encourage some kendoka in our dojo to start cutting as doing kendo actually does harm to leg joints if one has heavy body weight but weak lower body strength. Well, this is a sensitive topic, especially in the US I guess. As for strength training, besides typical squat, deadlift, overhead press exercises, athletes are suggested to do Olympic lift training such as power clean and snatch as these exercises emphasizes on speed and power, not just being able to lift weight. Anyways, one needs to understand all these exercises that you can do in the gym is complementary and secondary to your kendo training, if you go to gym and training legs too often and it affects your training in the dojo then it is wrong. One should always put kendo training in the dojo in the first place to improve kendo. Hope I provided some useful information and please let me know if I made some mistakes. Thanks!

[@Machiyalol]

I remember watching a kyuushugakuin training video where Komeda Sensei yells at a student that his men strike lacks “反発” (bouncing). This is exactly an example of one’s SSC ability.

[@KendoGuide]

Thank you for your post, @Machiyalol!! Kendoists outside Japan or in areas with less kendo population lack kendo training. That is a fact. Ideally, we can train 3 times a week with people who are at the same level as or higher than you. That is the ideal that I think for kendo training. 👌 For me, my life is a history of injuries. Not a serious injuries that would need surgery on the back or anything. - Left wrist injury - Left shoulder injury - Shin splints - Snapped Achilles tendon - Constant back problems, - Torn ACL and MCL - Left shoulder surgery - Right shoulder and biceps surgery Now I am 50 years old, I would like to train myself physically to the maximum I can get. And as you said, it is for my kendo training. My body is weak due to all the injuries so I need to get stronger so I can train kendo more. That is why I started CrossFit. You can read my journey here [www.patreon.com/posts/my-deathproof-to-87539433]. I am still writing the blog about it. Let's train as much as we can, @Machiyalol! 😄

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

I highly disagree that one has to be able to squat 1.5x his/her body weight before starting plyometrics. I've seen 2nd and 3rd grade kids jump off of play structures or tree branches that are twice their height and easily land safely, and there is no way that they can squat 1.5x their bodyweight. There are many different levels and intensity of plyometrics. Just basic, low-level jumping, hopping, skipping rope, running, etc. are all considered plyometrics. If one is a beginner, and is not strong enough, then just start with jumps, hops, etc. that aren't as high. Just do some low-level skipping. As for Olympic Lifting, one has to invest the time to learn to do them properly. Olympic lifting is a very technical sport, and it requires A LOT of practice to learn. I'd say it's just as technical as learning kendo. So, unless one is dedicated to practicing the Olympic lifts under a really good coach, then, to me, it's not worth it because there's other ways to develop the same attributes that Olympic lifting trains. In my opinion, using medicine balls are a better way to train explosive movements, and they're significantly easier to learn and presents much less risks for the average person.

[@johnmassey2309]

What about jo-gei subari? That training seems to incorporate these movements.

[@KendoGuide]

Thanks for your comment, @johnmassey2309! 😄 I wanted to make it more practical. But if you think it works, then you should try it!

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

These "bouncing movements" that you are talking about are called "Plyometrics".

[@KendoGuide]

Yes, you're absolutely right! "Bouncing movements" are commonly referred to as "Plyometrics" in the fitness world!