How to choose shinai for kendo practise?
When picking a shinai for use, the preference is entirely up to you. The commonly found and used type is the dobari shinai where the weight distribution is around the tsuba region of the shinai, this enables for a ‘lighter’ feeling shinai with a thin kensen for fast cuts. With this type of shinai though, you must learn to produce powerful cuts as the speed does not always generate strong sounding cuts. The type I tend to use is the kotou style, where the shinai weight is more even across the full shinai and it feels like a heavier kensen. I like this style because it gives me slightly more control of my seme and chudan no kamae. It is also heavier in cuts, so similar to the other respondant, you will not go for many multiple strikes, but when there is openings and opportunities. For you, as a beginner, a standard shinai is fine until you get to the point where you will and can appreciate the differences between the shinai types. If you can get to a local store that sells kendo gear pro
