The short-term learning effect of a modified coaching method for kendo novices

Abstract

Making a strike in kendo requires coordination of the upper and lower limbs, and this skill requires a lot of time to acquire correctly. This study aims to design a modified coaching method and investigate its short-term learning effect in kendo novices. Sixteen healthy male college kendo novice students were randomly divided into two groups: conventional form (C-KN) and modified form (M-KN). Each group received instruction in shōmen-uchi (men strike) from a kendo teacher. The strikes of both groups were compared and the main findings were as follows: temporal subtraction of the men strike and fumikomi-ashi (stamp of the front foot when making a strike) was significantly smaller in the M-KN group than in the C-KN group (p < 0.01). The floor reaction force was significantly larger in the M-KN group than in the C-KN group (p < 0.01). These results suggest that the modified coaching method has a stronger effect on students’ ability to learn than the conventional coaching method.