With over 10 years of experience in selling bokken, we know what questions beginners ask when buying their first bokken. We would like to address and answer these questions here - so that you too can find the perfect bokken for you.
Who uses bokken?
Bokken are not only used in Kendo, Iaido and Aikido, but also in various other traditional martial arts styles such as the Koryu styles.
Their use ranges from a training tool to a self-defence weapon.
What types of bokken are there?
The number of different bokken has constantly increased over the course of time, as many martial arts styles have introduced their own bokken in a wide variety of shapes and materials.
This has led to a large selection of different wooden training swords being available today. And this can quickly become overwhelming, especially for beginners.
What are the basic differences between bokken?
When choosing the right bokken, the following 3 characteristics should be taken into account:
- The wood
- The size
- The mould
The wood
The wood used not only distinguishes the individual swords visually, but also significantly influences their properties. The most popular types of wood are red and white oak, but sunuke (isu no ki), kiri, loquat and ebony are also used.
For beginners, we clearly recommend wooden swords made from oakas they are not only visually appealing, but also suitable for contact. The relatively low weight is easy on the joints, which is particularly important for the first few training sessions.
Oak is characterised by the good balance between its fibre density and the durability of the wood, which makes oak bokken strong, resistant and extremely popular with both beginners and experienced martial artists.
If you compare the wood of the white oak with that of the red oak, you can see that the former is slightly heavier, which leads to a marginally heavier feeling when holding it.
Red oak, on the other hand, is comparatively somewhat lighter and particularly durable, which often makes it the right choice for exercisers who perform a high number of repetitive strokes.
The size
There are basically 2 different sizes of wooden training swords: medium (called wakizashi or shoto) and long (called tachi, katana or daito).
As a rule, training begins with the long training sword, and only advanced swordsmen add the shorter sword.
The length of the long wooden sword can vary slightly depending on the martial arts discipline, but is approximately 1 metre long.
The mould
In terms of form, the bokken with tsuba (blade) and shinogi (gradation on the "blade") have established themselves and set the current standard. These bokken are perfect for kendo, iaido and aikido training.
However, some styles also have their own bokken, such as the Katori Bokken in Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu or the Takemusu Bokken in Aikido.
What are Suburi Bokken?
In addition to the standard bokken wooden swords, there are also the so-called Suburi bokken. They are often referred to as Suburito.
They are equipped with a comparatively stronger wooden blade and are mainly used to train swinging and hitting and to improve your own strength and endurance.
They serve as universal training equipment and can therefore be purchased regardless of the type of martial arts practised.
However, as the heavy weight puts extreme strain on the joints if movements are performed incorrectly, they should not be used by beginners.
As each martial arts school favours a certain type of bokken, we recommend that you find out from your martial arts group which bokken is desired for training, regardless of the information given above.
