KNEE AND ANKLE JOINT KINEMATICS IN KENDO MOVEMENT AND THE REPEATABILITY

Abstract

Kendo, a Japanese martial art of sword fighting, comprises strike and thrust motion against a specific target of a part of an opponent’s body. Among kendo athletes, chronic Achilles tendon (AT) injuries are frequently observed only on the left side probably because a main power source lies in the left side of the lower body for the repetitive forward-back bounding steps in the strike motion. It has been reported that the AT injury may be linked to abnormal joint biomechanics among runners. In order to make better clinical decision on the AT injury treatment in kendo athletes, therefore, we should focus on joint biomechanics of the left side of the lower extremity in kendo movement. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the joint kinematics of knee and ankle in the kendo movement and quantify the repeatability.