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View Full Version : Is Shorinji Kempo safe for kenshi?



mikko.virmasalo
9th July 2003, 06:59
Gassho!

Reading David's last post got me thinking that is Shorinji Kempo safe to practice? I haven't hurt myself seriously during my 12years of practicing SK, although couple of times I have got knocked out by mistake... Cheers to you Kari-Sensei... And ofcourse numerous times my wrists hurt few days after some "hard" juho :D And if I remember right when I was minarai I hit junzuki to my friends mouth so one teeth come through his lowerlip...

But compearing to other arts/sports I think that even though SK is martial art with contact including it is relatively safe to practice it. Maby it's because there is no full-contact randori involved or maby just for that reason that kenshis respect each other. Im not saying that in other arts there isn't respect but those mental attributes mentioned in earlier thread help us to keep SK safe and injure-free art.

How about you, my fellow kenshis? Any good stories of broken bones or just "nothing ever happens to me" things like myself?

-mikko

Tripitaka_of_AA
9th July 2003, 09:14
I have a teeny-weeny (5mm) scar on my right cheekbone... from my Safety Glasses. I got a kick to the face, my Safety Glasses had a sharp edge on the moulded plastic frame, which gave me a little cut. This is my only visible scar from Shorinji Kempo.

Mike Purcell was the unfortunate one who recieved a broken arm/shoulder when visiting Sweden (he was obviously suffering bad kharma for having scarred my cheek ;) ).

My Embu partner Peter Van Den Assem had a toothy incident during Randori at Stockwell one time. Oliver (if I recall his name correctly) had to whizz back to London from a Taikai at Southampton after losing company with a front tooth.

Jee Sensei has some great scars on his arm, which were old and healed long before I started training. A high grade Juho technique that he was trying out with Tom Sensei (oops, I forgot, was it Tom Sharp Sensei... formerly of City Uni or PCL or somewhere).

jonboy
9th July 2003, 10:52
help us to keep SK safe and injure-free art.
I think it is pretty safe to say that we may appear injury-free on the surface, but lets face it, no martial art is ever going to be good for your body. Especially when it comes to juho. Any excess movement of you joints in not 'good' for you. But on that basis, sport as a whole isn't 'good' for you. I have two interesting books (don't have exact details (or names) with me, but you'll get the jist)

'Exercise Dangers' and 'Martial Arts Injuries'

The first basically says don't do any form of exercise. I think it goes a bit over the top. For instance it tells you to not do star jumps. They are not 'that' bad for you really. Are they?

The latter describes some potentially horrific injuries. Thankfully I thought most of them did not apply to Shorinji Kempo. Certainly not as I've seen it practiced.

As for personal experience I have not seen many injuries worth sharing. Though I have seen many worse injuries in lots of other sports that would on the surface appear far less dangerous than a martial art.

mikko.virmasalo
9th July 2003, 12:04
Like old saying goes "sportsman has no healthy days". Okay, atleast in finnish we have that saying... ;)

But if we look some "real" sports like for example cycling which is relatively common sport or hobby there are many incidents leading to serious injuries, even death. - and still cycling is concidered to be safe.

If one asks "what do you think which is more dangerous sport, a martial art called Shorinji Kempo or cycling?" I bet that most would reply that martial art ofcourse.

Just my drifting thoughts in boring day at the office :D

-mikko

David Dunn
9th July 2003, 12:58
Well of course there's a risk of injury, mainly bruising I guess. If you play football, you would be very lucky, even as an amateur, to go a season without pulls, breaks, sprains whatever to the knee and ankle joints. Gymnastics is far and away the most injury prone sport. Martial arts are relatively safe, and then more so if practised properly.

luar
9th July 2003, 14:44
Remember that scene from Leathal Weapon 3 where Mel Gibson and Rene Russo review each other's wounds?

That's what this thread reminds me of ;)

Tripitaka of AA
9th July 2003, 16:01
That scene is a reference to a similar scene in "Jaws", where Richard Dreyfus, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw compare their scars.

Best scar I've got is the 10mm scar on my upper lip. Looks like I took a knife slash or a bad punch. Actually, as a three year old I bounced on my Big Sister's bed, and fell onto her Bedside Table corner. :karatekid ---> :cry:

luar
9th July 2003, 16:25
So we agree this is just another macho thread? :D

Tripitaka of AA
9th July 2003, 16:51
Only if I can show my biceps and make a "Hulk" face
:D

mikko.virmasalo
9th July 2003, 17:19
you fellers have twisted my original point to some macho BS...:D

Steve Williams
9th July 2003, 17:44
For me not so many "battle scars"


Dislocated 2 fingers (on different occasions)
Dislocated toe
Broken big toe (done at hombu, "manipulated" by Bando sensei, then shipped off to the local hospital..... where they proudly informed me "its broken" ;) )
Torn medial meniscus (knee)
Stretched cruciate (same knee)
Torn ligament in ankle
Numorous (VERY NUMOROUS) cuts and bruises
Broken nose (just after I started training)
Both my shins would be suitable for a 4x4 testing road.....

And a partridge in a pear tree....... ;) :D

luar
9th July 2003, 20:17
Originally posted by mikko.virmasalo
you fellers have twisted my original point to some macho BS...:D

oh well yes... quite right there old boy... let's see

1. 4 Broken Toes
2. 1 sprained wrist when I punched someone's knee cap
3. Brusied shins
4. Brusied forearms
5. Strained back muscles particularly when doing Dashirin or be subjected to very painful wristlocks without warning.
6. And last night my left knee was giving up on me so I left class
early
7. Bruised shoulders from bad Mae Ukemi form.

On the side note, one time I was practicing with someone and I accidently punched him in the nose. We immediately stopped and just as I finished apologizing, Sensei called for Chinkon to start and asked my partner to lead the class. At the end of Chinkon, he turned around and his nose was bleeding pretty bad and he did not know it.

sean dixie
9th July 2003, 23:04
Mmmmm Reno russo.....I'd be willing to get a few scars in just show her. :kiss:

Steve Williams
20th July 2003, 19:25
I need to add "broken toe" to my list :eek:

Happenned at training a week and a half ago......

Revenge has been meted out ;) :D



just throbbing a bit now...... swelling gone(mostly)..... bruising gone...

Can't bend it as much as I can the other..... and it hurts to try....



















Do I get the sympathy vote yet ;) :) :D

colin linz
21st July 2003, 02:02
I would have to agree that Shorinji Kempo has been reasonably kind to me. I have torn cartilages in my right knee, which required surgery and some broken bones across the top of my right foot. Compared to a broken collar bone (motorcycling), shattered disc between L4-5 which damaged the nerve root to left leg and required spinal surgery to remove the disc and trim up some others (soccer); followed 12 months later by crushing the L1 vertebrae (cycling).

The back injuries occurred in 1998 – 99; they left me quite debilitated even after many months of physiotherapy. It has been my continued practice of Shorinji Kempo that has enabled me to recover to the level I have.

Just prior to these injuries I was very fit, I trained often and in a number of ways. After the injuries when I started recovering I found that if I was less active I suffered less pain, so I made the decision to stop training. My pain levels reduced for a while, and then as I grew less fit they returned. The difference was now I could do less than before, for the same pain level. This lead me to think if I was going to live with pain I may as well be able to do stuff, so I started training again.

Normal exercise and physiotherapy could only get me so far; it was after recommencing Shorinji Kempo that I started to make bigger gains. I believe this is due to the nature of the movements we use. We tend to work the bodies stabilisers quite well, much of our kihon focuses on core stability, but in a dynamic environment that you don’t get with physiotherapy.

These days I can complete a normal training session participating in all the activities, with the exception of some types of warm exercises, if an exercise looks suspect I will replace it with another.

So from my view point Shorinji Kempo has been a benefit to my physical and mental condition. I’m quite sure that none of my other forms of training could have developed my level of function to what it is now.