Great sword, but honestly a bit too light for my tastes. You have to purposely slow your speed down for real practice, otherwise its a flurry of impossible-to-block painless strikes, And then when you switch back to a normal sword or katana the weight overwhelms you. However, me and my friends spar all the time with these and I've only gotten hurt when one them dropped the sword and the handle hit me. I'd prefer more weight and less padding, but its a great sword nonetheless. I still recommend sticking with bokken or shinai and just being careful for more seasoned martial artists, though, because sparring with these throws you off when you try to switch back to the weight of a non-padded sword.  

Great for practice sparring or tournaments. I practice kenjutsu five nights a week and I have only had to replace mine once.  

It is okay if you have a clear shot but when blocked you can not tell if you hit or not because the blades wrap around each other  

At first I was a bit wary of spending almost $50 on one of these sight-unseen, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised by what I received: The swords are of excellent design and quality, and you quickly realize how Actionflex can sell these swords at the price they do -- they are absolutely amazing. I ended up buying two more and they are one of my kids' favorite ways of spending the afternoon (i.e. attacking Dad). I would agree that for true ''full-contact'' sparring you would want some headgear (and possibly a face shield), but even a full-power whack with one of these won't leave any bruises. I'm so impressed by these swords that I'm planning to purchase some other Actionflex weapons (escrima and/or staffs) in the near future. Money very well spent.  

This is the main weapon we use in class. It's great as long as your using headgear. It doesn't hurt to bad and it allows you to spar very comfortably  

This chanbara (padded sword) is excellently designed. The grip is solid, and the sword itself is very sturdy for a padded weapon. Just the right mix of stiffness and padding to simulate a real sword fight without anyone losing an arm. I have seen a few broken ones in class, but I believe there is a one year warranty for that anyway. Highly recommended.  

I, and my fellow students, have used just about every ''padded'' sword on the market...including homemade varieties. ActionFlex is the absolute BEST for full contact. And I DO mean full contact: multiple opponent sparring often brings out the best and worst of people. The ActionFlex holds its own where cheaper weapons fail. Far less bending/whipping, excellent grip, and amazing seam strength. All the components are well put-together, and no other company in the world can touch ActionFlex's warranty. If you practice kobudo as dedicated and often as we do, you MUST purchase ActionFlex for your school.