Do you think I should take Kendo or karate?

Question

I am wondering what I should do?

What i want is a good workout that will burn fat..but i only have those two choices..especially belly and arm fat... so please help!!!! which one will benefit me more? for a woman for a male? please help!

Answer 1

I would go the other way than the previous respondents.

Kendo is extremely vigorous and is a high cardio workout.  Since the main focus in Kendo is making cuts with your shinai (the sword, not a stick, and it certainly is not stick fighting), you burn arm fat and build/tone them very quickly.  You are using all of your arm and shoulder muscles in every swing, while the footwork in moving uses all the muscles in your legs and abdomen as well.  If you don't believe me on that, go find a local dojo and watch what they do, and maybe join in for a session to see if you believe if it will help you or not.

Karate is no-where as vigorous in terms of basics compared to Kendo.  Especially once you get to the point of wearing the armour, you have to be physically capable of moving around with the extra weight, but you will be once you reach that stage ^^

Answer 2

Try both and see what you like. You should enjoy what you do. I practice kendo and it is quite vigorous but I'll be honest with you, there are plenty of very good but chubby kendoka out there. If you want to lose fat, watch what you eat and raise your metabolism by getting regular (almost daily) cardio workout. No pain no gain.

Watch out for McDojos. Most legit martial arts clubs exist for the enjoyment of practicing the martial art, not for making a buck. Be wary of contracts and expensive 'belt' fees or guarantees of reaching a certain grade by a certain time.

For kendo look for a club that's affliated with your local association or federation that is recognised FIK/IFK (International Kendo Federation) such as the AUSKF in the US or the BKA in the UK (the UK also has the British Kendo Renmei, which is not IKF affliated but still practices the same kendo as the BKA/IKF).

Answer 3

karate. punching blocking def good arm fat burning. kendo is stick fighting it wont give u too much progress. karate will help u much more.

Answer 4

id say karate for either a woman or a man...if all you want is to burn fat you really dont need either though...no better way to burn fat than a good diet and a lot of cardio