Koto shinai

Michael Komoto sensei gave me his matake shinai last weekend at the nationals. It's #31-145 on Koei's catalogue (pronounced as Kyoto Shigekane I think). It's a koto (古刀) style shinai, which means that it's quite thick and the weight is quite evenly distributed along the length of the shinai. It's not as maneuverable as dobari style shinai, which is tip-light, but it feels really solid when doing kihon cuts. Komoto sensei enjoys fat tsuka, just like I, so this shinai has a really fat tsuka. When I hold it, the weight somehow reminds me to focus on my kamae. I use it for suburis now.

As to the benefits of a fat tsuka, this is what he wrote to me:

"As for that fat-grip, although I find no research available with regards to kendo, if we look at other activities such as golf, tennis, and industrial arts in which handled-implements are employed, evidence clearly reveals that larger grips require less gripping force, which is related to wrist and elbow joint function and pathological processes (of overuse.)"

Good for kenshi with elbow issues apparently.

Talking about fat tsuka, Nishimoto -san, from my dojo, uses a really fat tsuka too .