How do you get these?
I do kendo and my arms shake after class as they are too puny to hold my shinai aloft for all that time.
Press ups aren’t having much effect.
[quote=“Buttercup”]How do you get these?
I do kendo and my arms shake after class as they are too puny to hold my shinai aloft for all that time.
Press ups aren’t having much effect.[/quote]
Cut a broom handle down to about a foot in length. Stick a tack firmly in the center of the broom stick. Find a length of rope/twine about 3/4 length from the floor to your waist. Grab any old shopping bag. Attach rope to broom stick by making a small loop around the nail or tack. Make sure that the rope/twine is firmly in place around the tack. Fill shopping bag with books and what not. Tie the other end of the rope to the bag’s handles.
Roll up slowly and roll down slowly using your wrists only.
You can also use a rather large book and hang your hand off the edge of a table while holding the book…relax and let your hand hang free then curl up again.
Find a toy basketball set…those small basket balls are excellent to grip and release.
squeeze a squash ball. keep one in your pocket, and use it as stress relief as much as a strengthening exercise. your forearms contain the muscles that move your fingers, so push-ups don’t do them much good.
I always thought I was pretty strong (for a girl), but thinking about it, most of the stuff I do uses the leg muscles mostly; swimming, running, etc.
I’ll try those suggestions, thanks.
It’s not even that the thing is heavy, but my hands shake uncontrollably, after. I guess just doing it will make em stronger.
Buy a dumbbell and do wrist curls.
If you want strong arms, come and see me: I’m famous for my forearms. Pick a forumosan up with one hand and throw him into tealit. Lifting pints is good exercise I guess.
Most muscles need 48 hours rest but you can give your forearms and calves hell every day.
Glad you are feeling frisky
John
Masturbation always works for me…, but for women I would recommend more tugging…
You already hit the nail on the head. Just doing it will make em stronger.
Forearms muscles should be given the ‘high reps’ treatment.
You can also use a barbell to do curls from your wrists. Alternate palms facing down or up, the forearms will be resting on a supporting board.
Wrist curls or farmer walks work.
Wrist curls are simple enough. For farmer’s walks, get to weight plates (5kg each or size depending on your strength). Put them together so the smooth side is out. Grab with your hand and go for a walk. See how far/long you can go before you drop them. Repeat with the other hand.
Climbing has an extraordinary effect on the forearm muscles. It’s also fun. And girls tend to be quite good at it.
I saw the title as “stronger forums” and immediately thought of an eponymous 1970s magazine.
I think you mean ‘seminal’, not ‘eponymous’, no?
Tee hee. 
Can’t know without seeing you actually move, but I can make a guess.
First, I would say that I don’t really understand the logic behind someone having trouble doing something that involves using the forearms and then doing other activities that work the forearms to get stronger so the person can do the first activity that requires them to use forearms.
Honestly, if i had to guess you are having a body use issue. A shinai is a little heavy but not THAT heavy so if you are shaking the problem is probably that you are gripping it too hard. That will cause you to shake and generally tense up. The other problem could be that you are using your arms exclusively to lift it. Even when it seems like an activity involves only using the arms, you still have to use the body.
This stuff is actually a little difficult so you will have to play with it a little. First, pretend the shinai is light and find a way to let it float where your arms are still relaxed. Find where the tension is in your body. When you start it will probably be in the elbows or the shoulders. That is no good. You have to figure out a way where the sword stays up but you still relax your elbows. When the elbows really relax, the tension will move to the shoulders, relax them and it will move to the back or butt. Try to get it to the feet. It may sound weird but you can raise your arms and still lift something mostly with your feet. The goal is to move it where the stress of lifting it is distributed evenly throughout the body.
Start off by doing what you normally do and looking at your body and where the tension is. If you can find the tension, you will figure out the problem. If the problem is happening when you are about to get hit, or spar or whatever you kendo fools do, you are probably clenching under duress. That is normal. Try taking a hit (to the shinai) without worrying about it or preparing for it. All that shit is normal because we monkeys clench up in defense. Figure out a way to take the hit without clenching. Very useful to intentionally lose if it is a sparring situation as well.
Don’t know if this will help at all. Good lucky.
Buttercup: You do kendo? Where do you train? I was training in Taoyuan (the national team train there on Mondays) until I got a tendon injury from some fool trying to do make-waza on me incorrectly, exacerbated by all these other choppers and slappers with bad technique trying to score dodgy cuts and doing ridiculous uchi-otoshi-waza all the time.
Anyway, as previously mentioned, you’re probably excessively tense. You shouldn’t have any tension in your forearms before or after the cut. Only at the moment of impact should you be using tenouchi, and even then, it shouldn’t be excessive. A lot of your “power” should come from your hara. Cut with your body, not your arms. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, also try making your cuts bigger and let the shinai guide itself. Maybe you’re trying to move too quickly, and thus, tensing up too much.
Likewise, as mentioned, don’t be afraid to lose. Of all the guys I have trained with here, the one I like the most is a guy who has very Japanese, very non-Taiwanese kendo (and he lived and trained there for several years). He doesn’t give a toss about getting scrappy points and he doesn’t care if people get them on him. His cuts are big and beautiful, and they’re really relaxed, yet still have mental/spiritual intensity. More importantly, if he were actually using a real sword, they’d be effective, unlike 99% of other cuts (or should I say “slaps”) I’ve seen. Always model the old Japanese guys.
A pistol, I find, can usually end these pesky problems once and for all. Use a snub, with hollow point and a light grain for up-close stopping power without endangering your other classmates.
[quote=“chainsmoker”]
First, I would say that I don’t really understand the logic behind …[/quote]
Yeah, I said that in the first page.
Thanks for the advice, both, it really makes sense. Over-gripping to keep cuts controlled. I’m learning to move through my whole body, instead of holding it all in my arms. Posture problems and tenseness.
I’m fairly new to this and don’t have armour yet, so I’m not taking hits, but this way of moving is really new to me. Haven’t done anything that requires such strength and control and co-ordination since teenage ballet classes.
GuyInTaiwan, sorry, I’m not in Taiwan anymore. I still hang around because I miss the 'wan and I’m sort of in flux in my life a lot, right now. I train in Oxford, England. I’m absolutely loving it; it’s something I’ve wanted to try for ages, but never dared. No machismo at all in the club; the teachers are a Japanese woman, a tiny older British lady and a British guy who lived in Japan for many years and teaches the beginners. A great bunch of people.
sanders, you are absolutely correct, as ever, but swords are just cooler.
So, are they stronger yet? are they? are they?
A little… Mebbe…