I have been practicing for a few years and tried many different types of practice weapons and have found that the long lasting Bokken works the best. It does have a bit of kickback, but if you are using 2 hands, it shouldn't be a problem. There is a small problem when you try and force the other persons blade down where the Bokken bends to the sides, but that was going against a hard wooden one. Overall it has very good performance and holds up better than the wooden ones (The long lasting Bokken had scuffs while the wooden one had notches from the strikes). It is worth every penny if you are looking for a good practice weapon. Also usable with shanai's.