Japanese women use samurai swords for exercise class http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/japanese-women-slash-away-the-pounds-with-samurai-swords.html#more-16030 Japanese Women Slash Away the Pounds with Samurai Swords By Spooky on May 19th, 2010 Category: Funny, Pics Once used as deadly weapons to slash enemies apart, Japanese Katana swords are now used by Japanese white-collar women to slash away extra pounds in exercise routines and to cut down stress. The recently opened “Samurai Camp” gym, in Tokyo, looks more like the training ground for modern amazons. More than 100 of them have signed up for this unusual fitness program that aims to help them lose 11 pounds in just one month. The inventor of samurai sword fitness, 31-year-old Takafuji Ukon, believed men would be more interested in the art of Katana wielding, but much to his surprise, women were the ones who flocked to the gym. Ukon is not a martial arts expert, but he is a master of sword dancing, and knows just what moves to teach, so the women can shed the extra weight. Still, in order to avoid potentially deadly accidents, real swords were replaced with wooden ones, wrapped in tin foil. Since we don’t live in an era where slashing people is allowed, Takafuji Ukon teaches his students to visualize fat and stress as the enemies, when they’re using the swords. And according to the clients of Samurai Camp, they appreciate the chance to get in touch with Japanese culture, relax, and lose weight, all at the same time. Photos by AFP via ChinaNews women wits samurai swords Japanese Women Slash Away the Pounds with Samurai Swords women wits samurai swords2 Japanese Women Slash Away the Pounds with Samurai Swords women wits samurai swords3 Japanese Women Slash Away the Pounds with Samurai Swords women wits samurai swords4 Japanese Women Slash Away the Pounds with Samurai Swords Read more at http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/japanese-women-slash-away-the-pounds-with-samurai-swords.html#s4sYRg2gpIjUPzW3.99 ---------------- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daito_%28long_sword%29 Japanese swords - wikipedia ---------------- http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/authentic-japanese-swords.html A beginner's guide to buying a Japanese sword. ---------------- http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/takafuji-ukon-samurai-camp Trendhunter.com The Takafuji Ukon 'Samurai Camp' Will Help You Shed Pounds Published: May 22, 10 References: women.timesonline and odditycentral Move over traditional aerobics classes: The Takafuji Ukon Samurai Camp is the new and fun way to shed the pounds. Located in Japan, the Samurai Camp is a gym where people learn how to use a Katana sword to lose a few extra pounds. Takafuji Ukon knew that dance has always been a great way to take care of those extra inches, but Ukon says that no one has previously combined dancing with swords. The Takafuji Ukon Samurai Camp has helped people lose up to 11 pounds in just one month. This gym sounds pretty awesome to me—lose weight and learn how to use a sword at once! --------------- http://www.facebook.com/ukon.takafuji Their Facebook page ----------------- http://blog.socialworkout.com/category/tags/takafuji-ukon Takafuji Ukon Slasher Fitness Samurai Camp Sweeps Japanese Gyms Regular boot camp is so dainty. Add swords and disembowelment strikes, and you've got something to talk about. Enter "Samurai Camp," an hour long class offered by choreographer Takafuji Ukon in Tokyo. Combining 16th century swordsmanship with techno music, the camp consists of non-stop fighting and slashing, save for a green tea break at the thirty minute mark. Classes are packed, reports the Times, and Takafuji is now training new instructors to export the class to other cities. Turns out there's a craze for all things 16th century currently sweeping Japan, so the popularity of samurai fitness isn't shocking. But surprisingly, Samurai Camp is all women. “When the class started, it was all men coming to symbolically cut the fat from around their middles,” says Takafuji, “but they weren’t like real samurai, and quit. The women stick to it. They are Japan’s modern samurai.” ----------------- http://ukontakafuji.wordpress.com/ Their homepage (mostly in Japanese) -------------- http://www.chinapost.com.tw/art/lifestyle/2010/05/13/256329/Tokyos-samurai.htm China Post Arts & Leisure Theater Music Movies & Films Lifestyle Food Celebrity News Books Arts Updated Thursday, May 13, 2010 12:51 am TWN, By Miwa Suzuki AFP Tokyo's samurai women slash away at fat Samurai swords are displayed prior to a “Katana Exercise” fitness lesson at a studio in Tokyo, May 1.(AFP) More Photos (3) Sponsors ? Top iPhone games reviews on http://appyshka.com - best iPhone apps portal ? TradeKey.com - World's fastest growing B2B Marketplace - With 6+ million registered buyers and sellers and over 9.5 Million visitors a month. ? Explore on Made-in-China.com to locate more trustworthy China business partners. ? Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com! ? 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Tokyo's samurai women slash away at fat TOKYO -- Japan's ancient samurai swords were once used to slice apart enemies, but in a new fitness craze they serve to slash away at extra pounds and cut down on modern-day stress instead. “Cut down!” a sword-wielding instructor shouted during a recent “Samurai Camp” gym session in Tokyo as a squad of sweat-drenched women warriors followed suit, slashing the air with their shiny blades. “Put your right foot forward, cut down straight, thrust out your chest, no bending of the back,” the instructor yelled to the sound of a techno dance beat and swooshing weapons. “Punish the extra fat with this!” To avoid turning the health workout into a bloodbath, the swords are made of wood and urethane foam, but the determination of the participants is steely: the goal is to shed five kilograms (11 pounds) in about a month. The popularity of the course, which comes amid a resurgence of interest in Japan's medieval warrior class, surprised even its inventor Takafuji Ukon, a 31-year-old choreographer, dancer and fitness expert. Last year Ukon initially targeted men when he introduced the swords in an exercise class in his mirror-walled aerobics-style studio — but instead found women enthusiastically flocking to the martial workout. “I thought swords are for men and fans are for women. That was wrong,” he told AFP in his studio, where more than 100 women have signed up for classes that cost 2,000 yen (about US$20) per hour. Ukon has no martial arts training but is a master of sword dancing, which is believed to date back centuries with roots in dances performed by samurai warriors to pacify the souls of the dead. “I thought it would be great if I could bring exercise and Japanese traditional performing arts together to help people have fun and lose weight,” said Ukon, whose mother is a teacher of traditional Japanese dancing. “This allows women to be someone they thought they could never be. I think what made them become so absorbed in this is that they can look at themselves in the mirror and feel ecstatic about becoming someone with a sword.” During the recent session, chuckling students advised each other: “Say sorry if you hit other people” and “Don't retaliate.” Ukon told them: “You'll learn four basic patterns first — the body slash, frontal cut-down, slant cut and reverse slant cut — and then we will proceed to their combinations.” Samurai may have been famously stoic and hardened fighters, but Ukon's advice was more New Age — he told his charges to visualize their enemy as body fat and as the negative emotions and impulses in their minds. “We don't live in an era of slashing people,” he said. “What we cut down is the negative things in ourselves.” One of the students, 20-year-old publishing employee Midori Ito, said afterward: “I sweated and twisted my waist a lot. Swords are fun.” Another enthusiastic student was Kazuko Ueda, a 40-year-old manager at an information technology company and confessed aerobics class drop-out. “Holding a sword is very original. It's also fun to get in touch with Japanese culture a bit, and flinging a sword and cutting makes me feel good. “I feel like I'm slashing evil people, as if I had become a samurai or a hero in a period drama.” Another student, a 33-year-old pharmaceutical lab assistant, said it was hard to keep up with the instructor “but it was fun to hack away”. If the exercise were a real battle with metal swords, she added, “I heard we would be slashing a thousand people or more in one lesson.” --------------------- http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2010/05/13/2003472849 Taipei Times Tokyo’s samurai women put fat to the sword Takafuji Ukon targeted men when he introduced the swords in an exercise class, but instead found women enthusiastically flocking to the martial workout By Miwa Suzuki / AFP , TOKYO VIEW THIS PAGE Japan’s ancient samurai swords were once used to slice apart enemies, but in a new fitness craze they serve to slash away at extra kilograms and cut down on modern-day stress instead. “Cut down!” a sword-wielding instructor shouted during a recent “Samurai Camp” gym session in Tokyo as a squad of sweat-drenched women warriors followed suit, slashing the air with their shiny blades. “Put your right foot forward, cut down straight, thrust out your chest, no bending of the back,” the instructor yelled to the sound of a techno dance beat and swooshing weapons. “Punish the extra fat with this!” To avoid turning the health workout into a bloodbath, the swords are made of wood and urethane foam, but the determination of the participants is steely: the goal is to shed 5kg in about a month. The popularity of the course, which comes amid a resurgence of interest in Japan’s medieval warrior class, surprised even its inventor Takafuji Ukon, a 31-year-old choreographer, dancer and fitness expert. Last year Ukon initially targeted men when he introduced the swords in an exercise class in his mirror-walled aerobics-style studio — but instead found women enthusiastically flocking to the martial workout. “I thought swords are for men and fans are for women. That was wrong,” he said in an interview in his studio, where more than 100 women have signed up for classes that cost about US$20 per hour. Ukon has no martial arts training but is a master of sword dancing, which is believed to date back centuries with roots in dances performed by samurai warriors to pacify the souls of the dead. “I thought it would be great if I could bring exercise and Japanese traditional performing arts together to help people have fun and lose weight,” said Ukon, whose mother is a teacher of traditional Japanese dancing. “This allows women to be someone they thought they could never be. I think what made them become so absorbed in this is that they can look at themselves in the mirror and feel ecstatic about becoming someone with a sword.” During the recent session, chuckling students advised each other: “Say sorry if you hit other people,” and “Don’t retaliate.” Ukon told them: “You’ll learn four basic patterns first — the body slash, frontal cut-down, slant cut and reverse slant cut — and then we will proceed to their combinations.” Samurai may have been famously stoic and hardened fighters, but Ukon’s advice was more New Age — he told his charges to visualize their enemy as body fat and as the negative emotions and impulses in their minds. “We don’t live in an era of slashing people,” he said. “What we cut down is the negative things in ourselves.” One of the students, 20-year-old publishing employee Midori Ito, said afterward: “I sweated and twisted my waist a lot. Swords are fun.” Another enthusiastic student was Kazuko Ueda, a 40-year-old manager at an information technology company and confessed aerobics class dropout. “Holding a sword is very original. It’s also fun to get in touch with Japanese culture a bit, and flinging a sword and cutting makes me feel good. “I feel like I’m slashing evil people, as if I had become a samurai or a hero in a period drama.” Another student, a 33-year-old pharmaceutical lab assistant, said it was hard to keep up with the instructor “but it was fun to hack away.” ----------------- http://www.asiaone.com/Health/Fitness/Story/A1Story20100512-215763.html Asia One Slash fats away with samurai sword By Miwa Suzuki TOKYO, May 12, 2010 (AFP) - Japan's ancient samurai swords were once used to slice apart enemies, but in a new fitness craze they serve to slash away at extra pounds and cut down on modern-day stress instead. "Cut down!", a sword-wielding instructor shouted during a recent "Samurai Camp" gym session in Tokyo as a squad of sweat-drenched women warriors followed suit, slashing the air with their shiny blades. Click here to find out more! "Put your right foot forward, cut down straight, thrust out your chest, no bending of the back," the instructor yelled to the sound of a techno dance beat and swooshing weapons. "Punish the extra fat with this!" To avoid turning the health workout into a bloodbath, the swords are made of wood and urethane foam, but the determination of the participants is steely: the goal is to shed five kilograms (11 pounds) in about a month. The popularity of the course, which comes amid a resurgence of interest in Japan's medieval warrior class, surprised even its inventor Takafuji Ukon, a 31-year-old choreographer, dancer and fitness expert. Last year Ukon initially targeted men when he introduced the swords in an exercise class in his mirror-walled aerobics-style studio - but instead found women enthusiastically flocking to the martial workout. "I thought swords are for men and fans are for women. That was wrong," he told AFP in his studio, where more than 100 women have signed up for classes that cost 2,000 yen (about 20 dollars) per hour. Ukon has no martial arts training but is a master of sword dancing, which is believed to date back centuries with roots in dances performed by samurai warriors to pacify the souls of the dead. "I thought it would be great if I could bring exercise and Japanese traditional performing arts together to help people have fun and lose weight," said Ukon, whose mother is a teacher of traditional Japanese dancing. "This allows women to be someone they thought they could never be. I think what made them become so absorbed in this is that they can look at themselves in the mirror and feel ecstatic about becoming someone with a sword." Click the thumbnails below. (Photos: AFP) During the recent session, chuckling students advised each other: "Say sorry if you hit other people" and "Don't retaliate". Ukon told them: "You'll learn four basic patterns first - the body slash, frontal cut-down, slant cut and reverse slant cut - and then we will proceed to their combinations." Samurai may have been famously stoic and hardened fighters, but Ukon's advice was more New Age - he told his charges to visualise their enemy as body fat and as the negative emotions and impulses in their minds. "We don't live in an era of slashing people," he said. "What we cut down is the negative things in ourselves." One of the students, 20-year-old publishing employee Midori Ito, said afterward: "I sweated and twisted my waist a lot. Swords are fun." Another enthusiastic student was Kazuko Ueda, a 40-year-old manager at an information technology company and confessed aerobics class drop-out. "Holding a sword is very original. It's also fun to get in touch with Japanese culture a bit, and flinging a sword and cutting makes me feel good. "I feel like I'm slashing evil people, as if I had become a samurai or a hero in a period drama." Another student, a 33-year-old pharmaceutical lab assistant, said it was hard to keep up with the instructor "but it was fun to hack away". If the exercise were a real battle with metal swords, she added, "I heard we would be slashing a thousand people or more in one lesson." -------------------