A thread titled “Military special forces operator: ‘Even a kendo master can be beaten with a military knife’” appeared on 5ch’s Hello! Project board, sparking a debate over how much a weapon gap should decide a real fight. Some kendo practitioners argued their skills wouldn’t hold up once you step outside the rules of the dojo, while others pointed out that real special forces soldiers mainly use knives as tools — for opening gear, for instance — rather than for hand-to-hand combat. The discussion pulled in everything from the old Imperial Japanese Army’s bayonet fighting and the Gurkhas’ kukri knives to the knife maker Tamura Equipment Development, eventually spiraling into a broader argument about how “real” martial arts actually are in practice.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:28
Got that?
3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:30
Even if the kendo master's packing a submachine gun?
4AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:30
Let's step out of manga-land, huh?!
Right?!
5AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:34
Seriously, first thing next week
just sign up for kendo, judo, boxing, aikido, whatever — doesn't matter which
you'll get way more out of it than what you pay in monthly dues, no joke
an MMA gym works too, obviously
7AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:35
It's just a bunch of middle-aged guys pawing at each other
that's the whole value of it — go get your grope on
9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:37
Getting grabbed by an 80kg (176 lb) guy feels exactly like thiiiis
just learning that is worth paying 8,000 yen (about $55) for
am I right?!
10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 05:47
If the kendo master had a real sword, they wouldn't lose, right?
12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:21
It's Strider, isn't it?
33AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:53
Re: #12
That thing's overrated, honestly
back in the day that rugged paracord-wrapped look was rare and cool, but…
13AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:26
Re: #1
You're probably picturing survival knife vs. shinai (bamboo practice sword). Think survival knife vs. bokken (wooden sword), then survival knife vs. real sword instead — there's no winning that up close. Or is he gonna throw the knife like Steven Seagal?
14AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:30
If it's a match in a dojo, kendo obviously wins
that's not the scenario being talked about here, is it?
15AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:32
The guys at Tamura Equipment Development probably wouldn't say something like that.
16AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:34
Some amateur with a fantasy image of military special forces
knives are only ever used for things like opening ration packs
17AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:35
Actually, it's the Tamura guys who said exactly that — that you run if someone's got a knife
I saw a U.S. special forces guy say the same thing
18AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:35
A Gurkha soldier with a kukri knife might actually beat a kendo champion.
19AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:36
Apparently even the Tamura Equipment guys couldn't handle an aikido master.
20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:39
"Knives are only used for opening rations and stuff" —
well, by that logic, kendo isn't used in real combat either
21AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:41
In a mixed-style match, an aikido master couldn't do a thing and got completely beaten up by a fighter.
22AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:43
There was a big, built boss at my old company who'd played soccer his whole life
and he said his wife, who did aikido, could pin him down with ease
23AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:44
Even the Tamura guy would run from someone holding a long weapon like a bokken.
24AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:44
In an elevator or a phone booth, special forces would have the edge.
25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:46
Well yeah, knife vs. bokken —
anyone sane would just run
26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:47
Aiki and fajin (internal-power techniques) really do exist
of course, that alone won't beat a trained fighter though
27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:48
Aikido makes sense against a strong amateur,
but it's not built for a pro boxer's punch combos —
you wouldn't even see the punches coming in the first place
28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:48
The assassin Shiryu overwhelmed the swordsman Nomura with nothing but a knife though.
29AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:49
Soujirou said that shukuchi (instant-step footwork) is really just leg strength.
30AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:50
I wonder if Hiramoto's toughness comes from training in sanchin (a karate breathing kata).
31AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:51
If the kendo fighter goes dual-wielding, the special forces soldier has no choice but to pull a gun.
32AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:51
Kendo practitioners don't train for real combat at all
so fighting somewhere with obstacles gives a well-trained soldier a massive advantage
34AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:54
The only knife battle worth mentioning is from the movie Commando, lol.
36AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:56
Re: #34
The final boss fight in that Steven Seagal movie.
35AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:55
Soldiers don't really train for hand-to-hand combat either, basically.
42AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:00
Re: #35
Huh?
Close-quarters combat is a basic part of military training, you know?
37AnonymousSep 13, 2026 06:56
As an old guy myself, when I think knife-fighting technique, I think of Tsuge Hisayoshi's dual-kukri style.
43AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:00
Apparently the old Imperial Japanese Army trained in kendo and judo, so a soldier with just one blade was pretty strong.
48AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:03
Re: #43
Prewar judo and kendo had no rules.
50AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:05
Re: #43
The old Imperial Japanese Army was big on bayonet fighting (jukendo), right?
54AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:08
Real special forces guys are mostly just paunchy middle-aged men
more like guys running on knowledge and experience
61AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:14
Re: #54
The Self-Defense Forces' special units are mostly young, single soldiers
if you're overweight you become dead weight rappelling from a helicopter, and looking at public training footage, there weren't any out-of-shape guys
57AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:11
I actually learned judo from a former member of the old Nakano School (a WWII-era intelligence academy), and it was brutally practical — pinching the skin through the sleeve cuff, elbowing the nose mid-throw, stomping on the guy after he's down.
59AnonymousSep 13, 2026 07:13
Re: #57
How old even are you, lol
Background and Key Points of the Debate
As kendo evolved into a competitive sport, lethal techniques like body checks and grappling were phased out of its rules — while prewar kendo and the old Imperial Japanese Army’s bayonet fighting were historically taught with real combat in mind. The thread’s comment that “prewar judo and kendo had no rules” reflects that shift. There’s also a well-known idea from U.S. police training called the “21-foot rule,” which holds that when an attacker with a blade is at close range, there often isn’t time to react even with a weapon or reach advantage — a reality the thread’s point that “advantage shifts depending on location and distance” echoes. The observation that knives carried by special forces operators are used mainly as multipurpose tools — for opening gear, say — rather than for close-quarters fighting is also a common take in military commentary. In that light, the thread’s detour reads as just the latest round of a long-running argument over how “real” martial arts actually are in practice.
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