Many roads passed through the ancient capital of Kyoto, for example the Tokaido, Sanyodo and Hokurikudo roads. The most important 7 main roads on which you could enter and leave Kyoto, in other words check points, were called Kyo no Nanakuchi(the seven entrances of Kyoto). Even to this day there Read More
About 20 years ago, getting a good Aikido Hakama would require you to either come to Japan yourself, or try to contact one of the few stores that would accept mail-orders and ship internationally. Additionally, if you didn’t know any Japanese, then it could have been quite hard to even Read More
The Jutsuka Tokubetsu Kunren (術科特別訓練; Special Technique Training Department) or for short, the “Tokuren”, is a special Japanese police squad whose purpose is to promote and reinforce technical training within subjects such as Judo, Kendo, Taihojutsu, marksmanship, etc. to raise the overall level of physical and mental health among police officers. Read More
Japanese Armor, or katchū (甲冑; armor and helmet), can largely be categorized into two categories depending on in which period it was made: ō-yoroi (大鎧; great armor) and tōsei-gusoku (当世具足; modern armor) armors. The ō-yoroi first appears during the middle and late Heian period (794~1185), becoming more widespread during the Read More
In the Jōdan stance you raise your Shinai up above your head, leaving your torso wide open. Unlike when two Chūdan practitioners fight, there is no offensive Shinai techniques such as Harai-waza going on between the two practitioners while they try to create an opening to attack, and this might Read More
The Samue (作務衣) was originally a type of work clothes for Zen Buddhist priests in Japan and was something that they would wear when they were cleaning, cutting firewood, working the fields and do other daily tasks around the temple. Since it originally was a type of working garment, it Read More
Nihontō (日本刀; Japanese sword) refers to the traditional swords that are made in Japan, perhaps more commonly known as the Katana, or Samurai sword. On the finished blade, which is painstakingly made by infusing the spirit of the swordsmith into a piece of steel and then carefully polished to perfection, Read More
In the news the other day it was announced that Jukendo (銃剣道; the way of the bayonet) is to be added as one out of nine martial arts that schools all over Japan can choose to teach their Jr. high school students. Due to this, Jukendo has become something of Read More
Kendo is not a sport, but rather Budo, so that’s why respecting the etiquette in Kendo is very important. Life is just like Kendo, a life-long pursuit of knowledge and practice. Lately, it has become very popular do “リバ剣” (Ribaken; Revival Kendo) in Japan, meaning that the parent’s decide to start Read More
You’ve been to the local dojo for a look. You liked what you saw. Throngs of frenzied jedis duelling with bamboo sabres. Could this be the martial art that will change your life? There is only one way to find out. You join the local dojo Progress in kendo is Read More
