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What is Kendo?

Kendo is the way of the sword, Japanese fencing. Kendo in a modern context means the form of Japanese fencing governed by the International Kendo Federation and the Zen-Nippon Kendo Renmei, or similar styles. About 8 million people world-wide participate, 7 million of them in Japan. It is taught as part of the school physical education curriculum. College kendo teams in Japan are high-profile; major competitions are televised complete with colour commentary. Kendoka wear armour protecting the head, throat, wrists and abdomen; these are the only legal targets. The split-bamboo practice sword, called a shinai, is wielded two-handed; the kendoka faces his opponent squarely. A small number of high-level practitioners utilise a shinai in each hand. Kendoka move using a peculiar gliding step refined for use on the smooth floors of the dojo. Kendoka generally practice as partners although the basics of posture, movement, grip and swing are learned in supervised solo practice. Because of the equipment, kendoka can and do practice full speed and full power, including free-sparring. Kendoka sometimes practice partner kata similar to kenjutsu, in which two partners carry out a prescribed series of attacks with wooden or steel swords.

How did kendo originate?

The earliest swords known to exist in Japan were of Chinese style and origin and date to the 2nd century BC. These ancient swords are referred to as ken or tsurugi, depending on whether you use the sino-Japanese or Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese ideogram for sword or knife. From this term comes kendo, way of the sword, and kenjutsu, art of the sword. The first curved swords were also continental imports called kanto tachi, used during the 6th and 7th centuries. Japanese sword technology began to outstrip the continental blades around the 8th century, with the advent of the first Japanese curved swords. These swords were probably based on a second type of curved sword called a warabite-to. There were no schools of swordsmanship in ancient times. Reference to the use of bokken (wooden sword) for fighting and training date back to 400 AD. This was followed by tachikaki, the art of drawing the sword. Tachikaki developed into tachiuchi (match with swords) by the 8th century, after which there was slow development in kenjutsu. Most scholars believe that by the early 15th century swordsmanship had acquired regional personality and formalised schools (ryuha) began to develop. This was part of a generalised trend of the times among Japanese arts of various sorts to formalise styles and lines of transmission, Scholars have identified five such regional traditions in existence around the 15th century: that of the Kashima-Katori area, known as the Shinto-ryu or Kashima-no-tachi; that of the capital region, called the Kyoryu ("capital tradition") or Kyohachi-ryu ("8 styles of the capital"); that of Hyuga region in Kyushu, called the Kage-ryu ("shadow style"); that of the Chujo family in the Kamakura area (the Chujo-ryu), and the Nen-ryu tradition of the north-east. One of the pioneers in the early development of swordsmanship was Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami. He lived in the 16th century and is credited with the invention of the fukuro shinai, a bamboo sword split 16 or 32 ways and completely covered in leather. Shinkage ryu is a family of many ryuha which still exist today, all claiming descent from Kamiizumi. In the 17th century, Ittosai Ito Kagehisa achieved a reputation for peerless swordsmanship and deep-thinking philosophy. He named himself Ittosai (one sword man) and founded Itto-ryu, the one sword school. It still exists today and strongly influences modern kendo. In the mid-18th century, Chuto Nakanishi developed the modern four- piece shinai and the kote (gloves). The do (chestplate) and men (helmet) followed, and by the end of the century, the practice armour and weapons had been refined into more or less the form they are used today. The new equipment required a new set of rules for the dojo, and the new style of fencing ultimately became known as kendo, although that specific term was not popularised until the early 1900s. From 1868 through the 1880s the Meiji government tried to move Japanese society away from outdated arts like swordsmanship, closing traditional fencing academies and tightening restrictions on the wearing of swords in public, banning them outright in 1878. Kenjutsu was barely able to survive in this period. The Japanese police are credited with much of the effort in keeping swordsmanship alive during this period. In 1872 Sakibara Kenkichi was permitted to organise the Gekken Kaisha (Fencing Company) and hold public demonstrations and competitions. These proved popular, spawning a handful of other gekken groups. The involvement of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in fencing promotions began in 1879; it was the police, who needed to establish standardised techniques and rules for training recruits, that took the biggest early steps away from old-style, ryuha-idiosyncratic swordsmanship and toward the homogenised sportive version of swordsmanship that eventually became modern kendo. In 1909, the first college kendo federation was formed, followed by the Zen-Nippon Kendo Renmei (ZNKR, All-Japan Kendo Federation) in 1928. This federation, along with the Zen-Nippon Iaido Renmei (ZNIR, All-Japan Iaido Federation), govern kendo and iaido today.

Henry Smalls, 4th Dan, Hawaii

One of our long-time members, Chris Hamilton, had the pleasure of meeting and practicing with a Kendoka named Mr. Henry Smalls. If you have not heard of Mr. Smalls before, he is a 4th Dan Kendoka who is also physically challenged as he has lost both of his legs. This however did not stop him from training and excelling in a number of martial arts. After Chris had a chance to practice with him, he was able to speak with him for some time, at which point Mr. Smalls gave Chris some great advice. Chris passed these words of wisdom along to me, and now I shall pass them along to everyone.

"Evey match is an `encounter', you are not simply hitting (or cutting) an animated hitting dummy. Moreover you are not just simply striking, you are learning. To do this you must not think about yourself, or think about your opponent, you must establish a connection. With a connection you learn from your opponent, you become your opponent, you grow by the shared experience and by assimilating them into you. With every match you increase in size and strength. If you see your opponent as a target rather than a person, if you make contact but fail to establish a connection, you are failing to practice and failing to grow; you are simply exercising. Find the rythm with your opponent, mirror the rythm then break the predicted beat. See their motions in their eyes, see with your eyes half closed and by becomming your opponent, once you obtain/understand their mind you can shape their actions and predict their future. Learn your opponents name and their history and make these things your own when you kill them. Do not cut... kill. And if you are killed in the process, so be it. You have fulfilled your obligation. If you are cut down let your opponent be cut down a heartbeat aferwards, but not two hearbeats later!"

Keiko Manual

Beginners should practice hard in a short period of time, keeping in mind to use large movements.
The posture and manner should always be good.
In kendo, the posture is very important. If the posture is bad, it is not kendo, and it would be useless to practice with a bad posture.
When standing in chudan no kamae, the right foot should not be facing outward. People that stand like that are guaranteed to never improve.
When holding a shinai, the left thumb should point downward.
When in chudan no kamae, the left hand should be located in front of the navel. The right hand is attached to the shinai lightly, and the only time force is put in to it is at the moment one hits, and right after that the right hand relaxes again.
There are people who always move to the right after standing from the sonkyo position, but this sort of movement should be avoided, for it makes the person seem weak. One should always move straight forward.
When the front foot is moved, the other foot should always follow it immediately. If the hind foot is moved backwards, the front foot should always move with it.
It is important to keep a good distance between yourself and the opponent.
One should always try to hit from as far away as possible.
Beginners should concentrate on learning men and kote. Do and tsuki will come naturally.
Rather than hitting and then winning, it is better to attack, then win, and then hit.
Hit men by moving the right foot forward. When doing this, one must keep in mind to not let the right foot touch the ground.
It is not a good idea to raise the right foot high in the air when hitting. One should use suri-ashi.
When hitting, first move the opponent's ken-saki away from yourself, then hit.
The best time to hit is when the opponent is attacking, or when he/she is retreating.
Once one has improved up to a point, one should concentrate on practicing the movement of feet, i.e. one foot follows the other.
If the opponent seems unguarded at any moment, one should lower the ken-saki, attack the opponent's right hand (startling the opponent), and then attack.
One should be careful when lowering the ken-saki, to not lower one's body with it. Instead, one should try to move forward even if it is only half of a step, and if the opponent moves back, attack and hit men.
Kirikaeshi is made to take away the bad strengths built up in your shoulders. When doing it, relax, bring up both arms above your head (enough to be able to see the opponent between the arms), then hit as though trying to cut the opponent. Make sure to hit at an angle. It is not good to bring back the shinai until it touches the back. When receiving, let the opponent hit and receive gently. Never receive by hitting back, or by throwing the opponent's strengths back. Also, always make the opponent move forward. Continue until the opponent seems tired, then let him/her hit the final men. This final lmen should be hit from a distance that is far enough and close enough to allow only a single step. Allow him/her to take a breath if needed before hitting, but remember that this last men is the important ippon that will finalize a shiai.
Practice by thinking that if you miss you will be hit or tsukied.
When practicing, be careful of the maai, and always have kiai. If you think that there is an opportunity, always hit, even if it turns out to be not enough for a point. This is very important during practices.
Attack when there's the slightest change in the opponent.
It is too late to hit after you have thought of hitting. You must have already hit when you think of hitting.
When hitting, press the right hand forward, and hit with your feet, stomach, and arms in unison.
When doing tai-atari, collide by pressing the opponent's arms up.
Always think ahead, and no matter how tired you are, stand proudly, so that the opponent will not be able to hit to get a point.
When the opponent attacks, do not break your kamae, and instead, move forward so that your ken-saki will be in their way. That way, you will not feel that you have lost.
After hitting men, do not raise your arms, and instead concentrate on your zan-shin.
When the opponent attacks, do not just move the opponent's shinai out of the way. Instead, do a suri-age and hit.
After you hit a hiki-men, do not raise your arms right away.
When you hit kote, do not ben your body to the left. Always hit standing straight.
Do not block or hit sideways.
A kote hit moving back without power will not be counted as ippon.
When the opponent does a tsuki, do not be afraid and do not move back.
Even after hitting do (on the right), always show zan-shin, and watch the opponent.
Press the opponent's ken-saki, and if there is no reaction, hit right away. If they press back, hit from the other side.
When the opponent attacks men, wait until he/she almost touches you, and when their body is stretched out, hit do. Ouji-kote should be done in the same manner.
To hit men from a distance where the ken-saki touch each other, press lightly on the opponent's ken-saki and remove it from your centre. Then hit without raising your shinai too high.
It is important to always keep your ken-saki pointing to the opponent's centre.
When attacking, rotate your own shinai around the opponent's and hit from the left side. When the opponent tries to hit your kote, stretch your arms forward. The kote will not become a point.
When doing jodan no kamae, do not hold too tightly until the moment you hit.
If the opponent is doing jodan no kamae, and you are doing chudan no kamae, hold the shinai as though protecting the kote, and protect the left kote with the tsuba. Then move forward.
When the opponent comes hitting with jodan no kamae, do not raise the arms, and instead protect the right kote with your shinai. Then move forward with no fear.
When doing jodan no kamae, you will lose if you move back.
If both sides are doing jodan no kamae, and the opponent comes to hit your kote, do not pull your arms back, but instead move with your feet and then immediately hit back.
No matter how tired you are, do not breathe through your mouth, for this will let all of your strengths flow away. Always close your mouth tightly and breathe through your nose.
When practicing, remember that you and your opponent are both trying to practice. Do not be selfish.
There are two types of seeing. One that you see with your eyes, and the other to see with your heart (spirit). To see with your eyes is only a small part of seeing, and there are often errors in what you see. Seeing with your heart is something very important, and you will often see things that are not always visible. This is true not only in kendo, but in life in general. Therefore, if you learn to see with both your eyes and heart, surely it will become very precious to you.

From Halifax dojo website, http://www.halifaxkendo.org/Keiko.html