Takahashi Kentaro Style: Building a Body for Kendo

Following on from last time, we will once again be learning about the training required for kendo from Kentaro Takahashi, the training coach for the Japanese national kendo team. In this third installment, we will learn about the ideal body for kendo.

The Ideal Body by Masashi Teramoto

──Is there any player who you think has the ideal physique?

Takahashi: " Are you a member of the current Japanese national team?"

──It's fine if it's a player who has been here in the past.

Takahashi: Speaking of ideal, I think Teramoto, who I mentioned earlier, is extremely ideal. He himself doesn't train that much. He hardly ever does anything on his own, but during Osaka Prefectural Police training, there are periods when he trains, periods when he runs, and there are also periods when he does things that put a lot of strain on his muscles, like practicing batting swings a lot, and that basically becomes his training.

Kakari-geiko = interval training

Takahashi: For example, there is kakeri training, where you go all out for about 20 seconds, come back, rest for 10 to 15 seconds, then go again, repeating this cycle over and over. This is actually exactly the same technique as interval training. Interval training increases the stamina of the entire body, so in a sense, your stamina is trained in your regular training. Also, when you swing a heavy sword, you swing it an unusual number of times.

Takahashi: " Teramoto's body isn't particularly muscular, but his muscles are very flexible and contract quickly. I think they're what people call good muscles."

──Is that something you can improve through training? Is it something you're born with?

Takahashi: " I think a lot of it comes from the natural talent. The muscles themselves are normal, and all the kids who make it to the top have great muscles. I often massage and stretch them, and I notice that Nishimura's muscles are really big, and it's easy to see why he has such explosive power."

-- Teramoto-san, your muscles have become even more amazing and flexible. Is this due to a difference in your awareness during training or something like that?

Takahashi: I think that's part of it. For example, even if you do the same suburi 100 times, I think it will be different depending on the mindset you have when you do it. Also, it's his area of ​​expertise. For example, he originally had great explosive power, so I think that has improved through training. His individuality has grown even more, you could say.

--When I spoke to Kiwada himself, who also trains with the Osaka Prefectural Police, he said that he was "a pretty nice normal guy." So even though they are doing the same training, there are differences in muscle mass, and does this mean that some people build muscle easily and others don't?

Takahashi: " Of course, there are individual differences, yes. During the meetings for the strong-boned players, I often say, 'There's a big difference between strong-boned players and strengthened players,' and I always use Kiwada as the punchline. He's just an ordinary person. He's like a kind of nice ordinary person."

--But you can still win.

Takahashi: Yes.

──Is that really a technical thing?

Takahashi: Yes, that's true. Kendo is more about technical level than physical strength, and experience and things like that carry a lot of weight, so I think that's why we can't compete with eighth-dan players.

──So what's interesting about this sport is that it's not just a matter of talent?

Takahashi: " That's true. But even if you just have experience, if your body doesn't move, no matter how strong an eighth-dan teacher is, if you don't practice all the time, your strength will naturally decline. And the reason eighth-dan teachers are so strong is that when they reach the eighth-dan level, the amount of practice they do increases."

──When you reach eighth dan?

Takahashi: " Yes. It generally increases. I get called in for practice, I have to be on the mat all the time, and I'm also aware that I'm an 8th dan, so I feel like I can't slack off. I have the opportunity to talk to teachers who are not police officers, but are members of the general public, and I often hear that the amount of practice has increased. I think it's okay if the practice is still training even if you're not training, but if it's not, then naturally your physical strength will decline."

──So, does this mean that the number of practice sessions is proportional to physical strength?

Takahashi: Yes, that's true. I think that's a factor. But when they couldn't practice, what did they do? Everyone was running and training.

Takahashi: For example, it may be a bit rude to use Kamei Sensei as an example, but before Kamei Sensei from Kumamoto took his eighth-dan examination, he was sent to a local police station for a year, which meant he was not in an environment where he could practice kendo. He was only able to train once a week, and the rest of the time he would run or do some heavy suburi practice that he could do himself, and that sort of thing, almost every day.

──So it's something you should keep in mind every day.

Takahashi: Yes, that's right. The key was to maintain your stamina. Rather than focusing on technique or anything like that, your main focus was on maintaining your stamina.

──Kendo skills don't deteriorate that easily, do they?

Takahashi: " That's right. They don't decline. In kendo, even if someone who has been practicing for 10 or 20 years suddenly quits, their technique doesn't decline very easily. However, their physical strength inevitably declines, and they may not be able to strike even when they think, 'Oh, I'll strike now,' or they may get tired and out of breath after just a little while."

──So, what you're saying at the beginning is that it's better to make sure the foundation is solid.

Takahashi: Yes, that's right.

Next time: Building your body at home

I found it fascinating to listen to their stories, as even though they are all active as members of the Japanese national team, each has their own unique personality and strives to develop their own strengths. I was surprised to learn that the amount of training increases once you become an 8th dan teacher. I also realized that one of the attractions of kendo is that kendo skills do not easily decline.

Well, from next time, we will finally be teaching you specific training content for ``building your body at home.''

Please look forward to it!