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Mary Malmros wrote:
There are downsides, though -- any kneepad that will protect and stay on for a couple hours of suwariwaza, will also tend to bunch up at the back of the knee and cut off circulation.
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This is common conundrum in iaido (lots of suwariwaza on hardwood floors). The general solution is to find kneepads that are open at the back with elastic only going around above and below the backs of the knees. We also usually want ones with relatively thin padding. In seiza, thick pads elevate your knees throwing your balance backwards and changing the angles at your hips, and thick pads aren't needed unless you're doing things that involve actual impact. Thin pads often work well enough to make being on your knees comfortable and to smooth out any points and corners.
Quote:
Alejandro Villanueva wrote:
Knee pads? Seriously? Did you ever consider to make the cultural leap and not break tradition? Never heard of Takeda or Ueshiba using knee pads...
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Ignoring that these two lived before things like foam kneepads were readily available, I know plenty of high ranking Japanese people in Japan who use kneepads in iaido and the other koryu I do. I can't speak to aikido, as I haven't done that in years, but there's no general Japanese cultural prohibition against kneepads in budo.
Train in a way that strengthens rather than damages your body even into old age.