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What is Kendo? Kendo is a Japanese Martial Art meaning "the Way of the Sword". When you practise Kendo you have to use body- armour, gloves and a helmet. The sword is made from bamboo. History of Kendo The art of fencing with sharp, single-edged swords - Kenjutsu - is believed to have come to Japan from China in the Sixth or Seventh Century AD. At this time swords was primarily used for fighting from horseback, but little by little foot soldiers began to develop their own techniques for wielding swords. The largest sword is named Katana, but there are also a shorter sword, the Wakisashi, and a knife or dagger called Tanto. During the Kamakura Period (1192 - 1333 AC) was the golden age of the swordsmen and the techniques to wield this deadly weapon. As time went by different schools (ryu) was developed. These schools was often highly competitive and was led by a grand master (O Sensei) who was teaching his particular ideas about how things should be done. The competition between these different schools was often so hard that it resulted in bloodshed as followers from different schools fought to prove that their school was superior. Thousands of young warriors during this period met their death very early in life due to ill-advised duels entered out of fanatical devotion to their school. In reality, the schools were more or less equal. At this time the master swordsmen began to understand that there was something more than just skill that separated the victorious swordsman from the dead one. This understanding began on the battlefield where even an instants hesitation often cost technically superior swordsmen their life to lesser opponents. This was the beginning of a new era where technical skill began to blend with Zen Buddhism and by the Edo Period (1600 - 1867), Kendo was studied for its philosophy as well as its physical techniques. During the Edo Era the fukoro shinai was developed. The fukoro shinai was made of 32 stripes of bamboo covered with cloth and allowed the fencers to deliver their blows with proper focus and power without injuring their opponent. (A sharp sword or even a wooden practise sword - bokken - would of course injure or even kill the opponent). The modern shinai is made of four stripes of bamboo and is not covered by cloth. Modern Kendo was born in late 18th century as the shinai and kendo armour was perfected. This allowed sportsmen to compete in inter-school tournaments without having to die if they lost. Following W.W.II, the Occupation Forces banned swords and Kendo since they believed Kendo to stir up nationalistic militarism. In 1952 the Zen Nihon Kendo Remmei (All Japan Kendo Federation was formed and in 1957 Kendo was re-introduced in Japanese middle schools. |
