Kendo does not pose the same safety issues. I've done kendo for a number of years, as long as equipment is maintained (no splinters in the "shinai", the bamboo
sword) the only injuries I know of come from normal sorts of sports issues (the occasional bruise, a rare twisted ankle or banged-up knee). Tripping isn't allowed, the bogu (armor) is effective, and the tsuki (thrust stroke) is not something permitted in anything below top-level competition. Indeed, I did kendo in part because of my son, but in part because I'd hurt an achilles tendon playing squash and kendo was kind to it.

Of course kids will try to rough-house, and they will stumble/fall, but that's an issue in any group of kids, especially young boys. Kendo is nothing like judo, which I tried at one point, but was discouraged from continuing because I'm not very flexible and never managed to roll gracefully. But that was a college-level group run by a professional athlete, not a school group where the teachers may not be well-trained. And someone in the group always had a bandaged knee or wrist or finger, judo is not kind to joints.

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Michael Smitka
Professor of Economics
Washington and Lee University

Blogs: http://autosandeconomics.blogspot.com
http://japanandeconomics.blogspot.com
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