Kendo has grade examinations, and the first to take is the shodan examination. For those who begin kendo from junior high school, this shodan examination can become an early goal. Some people hear the word “shodan” (first grade) and think it can’t be too hard. But not everyone who takes Read More
In Kendo, as your prepare yourself mentally in order to win matches, the first thing to note is that it is a sport against someone else. If you try and do things that your opponent doesn’t like, you can gain the upper hand. To do that, it is important to Read More
Kendo includes many different kinds of practices, and there are some really odd ones too. Some of them are done without any protective gear on. There are different kinds of gear-less practices, and one I’d like to recommend is footwork practice. Many people will be imaging holding a shinai normally Read More
There are professional soccer players and baseball players. How about kendo players? That depends on the definition of “professional”, but if see it as making a living through the sport, making a living only through kendo matches, there is no system for playing kendo professionally in Japan. Some combative sports Read More
Kendo is a martial art that takes manners seriously. Players bow before the match, fight hard once the match begins, and then bow politely whether they win or lose. During this ordeal, there is a position called sonkyo (crouching). In modern kendo sonkyo is often called the “lion’s position”, and Read More
Kendo existed before WWII but it used to be called “kenjutsu” and was considered a type of ancient martial arts, today around the world many people view Kendo as a sport. Back then, it was different from the form we have today; the wooden sword was used in place of Read More
The history of kendo stretched back to the Heian period when the samurai developed many skills (kenpo, kenjutsu) to protect themselves during battle. As the samurai began ruling Japan and Japan plunged into the sengoku period (civil war), the samurai begain training hard in their sword skills because winning in Read More
Every sport has rules that cannot be violated and when they are there is a penalty that matches the severity of the offense. Kendo has specific infringement rules, which include rules where one goes “that is obviously wrong” and more “technical” ones that aren’t so obvious. The obvious ones include Read More
To get an ippon or to win in kendo you need “heart”, “skill” and “physique”. Only when these are all combined can you gain ippon. Regarding the “heart”, it’s about having a still mind, or to concentrate on the match. In order to concentrate better and to get your spirit Read More
Japanese manga is known all around the world simply as “manga”, and the number of manga genres are endless. Although not many, there are some that have kendo as the main theme, so I will introduce these here. First, “Musashi no Ken” was very popular in the 80s. The author, Read More
