Hi I have parents that will not let me learn more than one martial arts because of school and other activities. So i have decided to beg them to do either Kendo or Shorin-Ryu Karate. I have did my homework on both these dojos and they are great, sadly I do not know which to choose.

Can I get someone's opinion? Im leaning towards karate because I can use that as self defense. Though I think Kendo would be quite fun and im in love with samurais.

I think Kendo is completely useless, I'd go for Karate.

if you want empty hand self defense, go with the karate. THe kendo is great for discipline and learning the art of the sword, but you can learn the discipline in Karate also.

I would pick the Karate.

I think Kendo is completely useless, I'd go for Karate.

Kendo is not completely useless. Kendo has a good footwork plus you could always carry a bokken around with you. I don't think bokken is illegal, but it would be cumbersome to bring with you wherever you went. Carrying a shinai would probably draw more attention. Holytriforce, bottom line is you should pick the art that you'll think you'll enjoy the most. If you love the samurai and their history then kendo will suit you fine. Try to look for an Iaido dojo as well. Shorin Ryu is traditional Okinawan karate and has nothing to do with Japanese samurai. Karate would probably be cheaper when you consider the equipment you'll eventually have to purchase for kendo practice, but if you're truly interested in Japanese swordsmanship then that shouldn't deter you. Personally I think karate and kendo are great, but like I said earlier, pick the art that you think you would enjoy the most. Good luck!

but also consider which would serve you best in the long run. if you get jumped in the streets and you always carry a bokken with you than perfect. but chances are you'll be unarmed. kendo is a great art, but karate will be more useful for you. when you've reached a point where your satisfied with your abilities, then study kendo, or even better yet, traditional kenjutsu if you're lucky enough to find a place for study.

if it were me, i'd go with karate for right now. karate will give you a good basic understanding of the martial arts in general. not to mention, logically, you'll more often have to fight without a weapon than fighting with one should you unfortunately be forced into a situation where bowing out is not an option.

later on, you can always pick up kendo later on when your situation or parents will allow it. kendo is a fine art and is immensly fun! i practice iiado (study of the samurai sword) myself in addition to my kenpo karate training. doubtful i'd ever get to use my sword training on anybody; hope i never have to. but, it's always a good piece of arsenal to have in my back pocket.

Kendo/Iaido are beautiful arts that are quite effective in their own rights. However, to echo what's already been said, they are not nearly as practical as empty-hand. It is rare that you would be attacked while carrying a bokken, broom handle, etc. Most of the time you'll be unarmed, and an empty-hand martial art would probably prepare you better for such a situation.

I'll echo what other people have already said; Karate will probably serve you better in the long run

I once did kendo but now do iai and kenjutsu.

If you want to learn to fight with a sword pass on kendo and hold out for koryu kenjutsu. Kenjutsu dojo are rare in the west tho.

If you are looking for a MA that is lot of fun than I would recomend kendo. You get to put on armour and hit each other with sticks, it's great!

If self defence is what you are looking for than go for karate. Although I've never trained in Shorin Ryu I've heard that it is a very effective style.

So, it really depends on what you want out of your MA.

go with karate. Or perhaps a school that offers karate with other eapons classes during the week. its not exactly kendo, but you will benefit from both types of training. Shorin-ryu particularly has a variety of weapons to learn, so i woould highly recomend taking that route