Kendo

Under the protective items above, a kendoka wears a heavy jacket called a kendogi and a pair of wide trousers called hakama. These are usually made of cotton, but do not breathe well. The men tends to chafe, and because of poor ventilation and the sweat generation during a 5 minute long bout (which can't be wiped away for obvious reasons), most kendoka will also wear an absorbent cloth under the men. Traditionally this is a soft decorated cloth called a tenugui.

If you are a beginner, you won't need to buy the equipment initially as most clubs or schools have sets that you can borrow. Once you have decided what suits and fits, it is easy to purchase the gear at specialist kendo shops or online.

Learning Kendo:

Kendo

When learning kendo the first thing is to master the basic foot and body movements. Once this is completed, learning how to control the shinai is essential. In some cases this can involve contact with a mannequin, but for the most part it is swishing at air. After this is mastered, its time to put on the bogu.

Wearing bogu, a learner needs to understand techniques enabling rapid movement, and counter-attacking. There are no defense moves in kendo, no blocking moves that are not also counter-attacks. It is very aggressive, and agile. The most difficult thing for a learner is controlling breathing, especially with the amount of shouting involving. Kendo is extremely good for improving your physical fitness. By this stage most practise is in the form of keiko, which are not timed matches but free fights in every sense of the term.

Kendo matches:

Kendo is fencing, there is no kicking or other striking. A combatant uses the shinai is strike, cut, slice or thrust at designated areas of the the opposing kendoka. You may strike at the wrists, the torso, throat and head. Each shiai (match) is 5 minutes of frenetic sweating & shouting until one of the combatants scores the 2 points required for victory. A clear and unimpeded hit is required to score a point, awarded by judges. If neither kendoka scores 2 points before the 5 minute mark, the leader on points is the winner. If points are level, there is an unlimited extratime until a kendoka prevails.

Apart from scoring points, each kendoka must avoid losing points due to penalties. If a kendoka falls, crosses the boundary lines, drops their shinai etc, they are penalized. Two penalties means conceding 1 point. Even during the triannual world championships penalties are not so unusual. The world kendo championships involve kendoka from more than 40 countries. As with Judo, kendo is now a very international sport.

History of Kendo:

Kendo

Modern kendo is derived from kenjutsu. The curved Japanese two handed katana developed about 1000 years ago necessitated a change in fighting techniques. Warriors practised for battle using blunt steel or wooden swords, often inflicting serious injuries. The bamboo swords from which the modern shinai is derived were invented in the middle of the 18th century.

Kenjutsu remained an activity practised only by the warrior class, and the emphasis was always on preparing for battle. The enormous social upheavals during the 1868-1945 period (first the samurai were banned by the Meiji government from carrying their swords in public, then the Allied Occupation banned all military activities) prepared the way for kenjutsu to evolve into modern kendo. Philosophy and sport became the focus, and kendo became popular amongst women (especially students).

Links: Kendo in Okazaki City

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