I have always like to use kunai and katana, but now I finally want to learn how to use the katana properly. Are there any that would be able to pair it with hand and feet fighting as well?
2 Answers
There are several different martial arts styles the practice swordwork with the katana. If you're looking to do sports sparring, I'd advise Kendo. If you're looking for something closer to historical teaching, and with unarmed combat mixed in, you're looking for Kenjutsu. That is sometimes taught on its own, and is sometimes part of another style such as Jujitsu or Bujinkan. Lastly, as Philip Klöcking pointed out in the comments, there is also Iaidō, which is essentially the art of drawing the sword, striking, and then resheathing it in one fluid movement. However, it is very tightly focused on just that practice, so I would probably not include it in a list for sparring.
In all counts, you are likely to face one of the pitfalls of Traditional Martial Arts in general, that what you are being taught is largely traditional movements that are not tested at speed or with a resisting opponent, or if they are, it is generally within a rigid set of guidelines (Kendo, I believe, has a limited set of "valid" strikes that will count toward your score) and only against people who train the same style. If that's enough for you, that's perfectly fine. The odds of you having to use a sword in real-life are miniscule.
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Thank you I was thinking to go towards kendo or Iaido but now I think that jujitsu or kendo would be better thank you for the information. Commented May 13, 2020 at 13:43
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No worries. If you want to accept my answer, you can by clicking on the checkmark by the voting buttons as per the tour. You can always change your accepted answer by clicking on that checkmark, or another one, at any time. Commented May 13, 2020 at 13:45
This should just be a comment under Macaco Brancos answer, but my reputation is to low. So I write it as a full answer:
In your own comment, you write that you think about learning Ju Jutsu. It will probably depend on the style and your teacher, but in 3 years of training I never even held a sword. When using weapons we never even consider anything beyond sticks and knifes.
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I've only seen a handful that got to weapons. Most of them are just grappling and striking. Commented May 14, 2020 at 20:58
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Most styles don't have weapons, that is right. Doing also Ju Jutsu we include some Pekiti T. Kali in our training. In the PMA, Kali, Eskrima etc. there is no or minimal differences between hand, Knife, stick or sword from the motion. So, training with a stick is like training with a sword the same length.– BruCommented May 26, 2020 at 15:46