Quote:
Robert M Watson Jr wrote:
I recall a quip about the sword work in Yanagi ryu in which it was stated that they use only live blades because iaito or bokken do not give the appropriate feeling of shinken during training. Of course I could be way off base out here in the cheap seats. Makes one wonder about using bokken for anything beside smashing nuts (ahem, like walnuts, etc).
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Yes it is true that a shinai or a bokken do not really behave like a live blade an to an extend this can is true for iato or blunted sword.
Using a live blade for from or paired practice has some undisputable value.
That being said you do need you shinai and your fencing mask/kendo helmet to make sure that you have the functionality of the strike.
phil