I've been looking for some good exercises to strengthen the muscles required to swing a sword properly and make clean cuts.

Any suggestions?

Could I ask what type of sword? You'd use different exercises for slashing than you would for thrusting. Techniques you would use a gim with would be different than techniques you would use for a broadsword.

Could I ask what type of sword? You'd use different exercises for slashing than you would for thrusting. Techniques you would use a gim with would be different than techniques you would use for a broadsword.

I guess that info would help, its a katana. I pratice with both a strait and curved blade. I'm learning to use the sword at my Tang Soo Do school but I suspect most of the moves I'm learning in the forms are taken from other styles

You could get a heavy bar, the length of your sword, and do slower, more controlled motions to improve the strength.

Research Iaido or Iaijutsu. Both of these arts when practiced slowly will greatly increase your sword arm's strength.

Suburi training is usually conducted with a wooden sword with a wide, flat-looking blade that is heavier than a bokken or an actual katana and is used to strengthen the muscles used in the course of wielding a sword. You might want to look into using a suburi-to to strengthen those particular muscles.

Ed

Some good advice here, here's some more: Dynamic tension, go through your kata but always tense your muscles, especially those you want strengthened, tires the hell out of you sometimes though

Lift weights. When baseball players want to be stronger swinging the bat, they don't swing heavy bats, they hit the gym.

Lifting weights are great........if you have the time. Using a heavy sword or bar would provide an opportunity to strengthen the muscles while you are training, therefore, one doesn't have to set aside a separate time for weight training or fool with finding/joining a gym.

Ed