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Ky-Fi
02-01-2001, 03:28 AM
Kendo has interested me for a while, and I'd like to hear of anybody's experience with the art. Thanks in advance.

8stepsifu
02-02-2001, 03:14 AM
Anyway it's a greuling sport. Wearing your To (headgear) is like working out in a heated box. You get faint and the kendo teaher I had was of the old school mentality, (If you haven't fainted, your not trying) Its a cool samurai connection and you can easilly kill somone with a boken, but for martial sports I'd suggest wrestling. They also have more gear than hockey players and experienced Kendo players can still knock you out by hitting you on the back of your headgear. Also a good kendo player can bruise your wrist through your wrist guard with a bamboo shinai!. Definately not a sport for the weak at heart. Also the cardio needed is intense you may have to charge 30 times before getting a hit on an experienced player and people make fun of you for wearing a dress. It's less pansy then western fencing because when your in close it's a pushing match and whomever get the best hit wins. Of course there is no electrical equipment (last I heard) so politics are involved. Also hitting the (do) stomache is often easy, but it has to make the right kind of sound for it to be counted. It trains (spirit) yi well and overall it's worth doing. I sound negative because I had a stepdad that wanted to live out his world champion dreams through me. Maybe other teachers are more lax about it

King of the Assyrians

Ky-Fi
02-02-2001, 04:39 AM
Thanks for the info, 8step,

I'll be doing my Taiji forever, but I'm interested in doing something a little more external while I'm still not over the hill, and the full speed sword sparring/sport competition really interests me more than other forms of martial sports. I'm just trying to gather some opinions before I make a committment.

Tai-Jutsuka
06-03-2002, 04:14 PM
I recently heard something interesting about kendo that I wish to confirm. In the first 3 star wars flicks they consulted kendo masters to create the lightsaber fights.

Budokan
06-13-2002, 12:48 PM
Possible. There are some kendo-like moves in the fight sequences.

Mr Punch
06-14-2002, 05:03 AM
Other than that, some older-style kenjutsu would be more likely as a similarity, but still not very likely.

B, can't see the kendo moves...:confused:

shaolinboxer
06-19-2002, 12:19 PM
Yup, ObiWan used a very kendo like style.

Mr Punch
08-16-2004, 08:55 PM
Just started kendo again after a break of 1.5 years or so.

OK, so it was 35 degs and about 80 humidity in the dojo, but I'd forgotten just how hardcore it is.

I run a bit, and do boxing, wrestling etc, for 1.5 hr classes, drilling, full-on sparring 3 min rounds with 30 secs break etc, chi sao for 1.5 hrs etc, but none of it even touches the kendo.

Starts with kata, kirikaeshi (two-person stepping/shomen drill), then jiyuu-geiko (free practice). 1.5 hrs then a five minute break in seiza, then another half and hour.

Gassed seriously after an hour and fifteen then again about every 5/10 minutes.

There may be a couple of factors. One thing I'd forgotten is how heavy the kendo armour is. OK, so it's not like a weight vest, but with the head-towel, the men, hakama, do and gloves it's heavy enough and hot.

Then there's the kiai... and lots of it.

Plus my teacher reckons I'm still cutting aiki style, which is based on kenjutsu, so my blows are trying to go through the head, whereas he wants a more relaxed gentle sports strike which bounces off the head. As he says, my cuts hurt the opponent and tire me out. Partly this is due to having a longer hilt on my shinai than most people, which gives more power but less speed.

Anyway, just burbling. Thought someone might be interested.

CaptinPickAxe
08-16-2004, 09:14 PM
Thats cool, Mat. I've always wanted to learn a Japanese Sword Art, but they are always few and far inbetween or just bunk...

sucks for me.

Starchaser107
08-16-2004, 09:50 PM
must be good to be in japan

Kristoffer
08-17-2004, 04:28 AM
amen

Mr Punch
08-19-2004, 10:23 PM
Yeah it is.
:D :p

Starchaser107
08-20-2004, 07:47 AM
u need to take pics of some of those hotties if u have a digital and post it up in miss ora 04

unkokusai
08-20-2004, 08:40 AM
Originally posted by Mat
Just started kendo again after a break of 1.5 years or so.

OK, so it was 35 degs and about 80 humidity in the dojo, but I'd forgotten just how hardcore it is.

I run a bit, and do boxing, wrestling etc, for 1.5 hr classes, drilling, full-on sparring 3 min rounds with 30 secs break etc, chi sao for 1.5 hrs etc, but none of it even touches the kendo.

Starts with kata, kirikaeshi (two-person stepping/shomen drill), then jiyuu-geiko (free practice). 1.5 hrs then a five minute break in seiza, then another half and hour.

Gassed seriously after an hour and fifteen then again about every 5/10 minutes.

There may be a couple of factors. One thing I'd forgotten is how heavy the kendo armour is. OK, so it's not like a weight vest, but with the head-towel, the men, hakama, do and gloves it's heavy enough and hot.

Then there's the kiai... and lots of it.

Plus my teacher reckons I'm still cutting aiki style, which is based on kenjutsu, so my blows are trying to go through the head, whereas he wants a more relaxed gentle sports strike which bounces off the head. As he says, my cuts hurt the opponent and tire me out. Partly this is due to having a longer hilt on my shinai than most people, which gives more power but less speed.

Anyway, just burbling. Thought someone might be interested.

Oh yeah. Kendo has got to be one of the smelliest of all Japanese arts. That men really turns into a head cooker in a hurry.

Kristoffer
08-20-2004, 08:59 AM
I just read an article about film producer Akira Kurosawa. Turns out he trained Kendo everyday as a kid. And his father had samurai ancestors.

just wanted to throw that out

unkokusai
08-20-2004, 09:12 AM
Originally posted by Kristoffer
I just read an article about film producer Akira Kurosawa. Turns out he trained Kendo everyday as a kid. And his father had samurai ancestors.

just wanted to throw that out


Interesting.

Lucas
02-25-2008, 11:43 AM
I will be going to view Obukan Kendo Club's practice on Thursday.

( http://www.obukan.com/ )

I am very excited about this. I looked into this kendo club a couple of years ago, however there was not a location/club in my city for me to attend/join. It appears that now the Okuban Club has a thursday Dojo in my vicinity.

I, like many others, have been a large fan of Japanese fencing for some time now. Though I never was able to recieve any formal training, I have taken it upon myself to familiarize myself with many aspects of this art when ever able. I have a friend who used to spar with me a lot with bokken, I think I will persuade him to join as well.

I will post updates of my new adventure in this thread.

sanjuro_ronin
02-25-2008, 12:08 PM
I will be going to view Obukan Kendo Club's practice on Thursday.

( http://www.obukan.com/ )

I am very excited about this. I looked into this kendo club a couple of years ago, however there was not a location/club in my city for me to attend/join. It appears that now the Okuban Club has a thursday Dojo in my vicinity.

I, like many others, have been a large fan of Japanese fencing for some time now. Though I never was able to recieve any formal training, I have taken it upon myself to familiarize myself with many aspects of this art when ever able. I have a friend who used to spar with me a lot with bokken, I think I will persuade him to join as well.

I will post updates of my new adventure in this thread.

Kendo is great fun, and a superb exercise.
It is NOT swordsmanship, but nevertheless, one can train certain tools there.

Lucas
02-25-2008, 12:38 PM
From what I gather they also practice Iaido.

The last thursday of each month I believe is dedicated to Iaido. Which should prove to be super fun. I only wish they had more than Thursdays available in my area. Though with luck, perhaps there is an informal setting that I can become involved in.

I am hoping that if I can get my friend to sign up, this will re-initiate our personal sparring practice.

We include the following wooden weapons when we spar.

Staff
Bokken (large and small, single and double)
Broadsword (chinese)
Straightsword (chinese)
Tonfa
Sai's (metal, dull)
Naginata
Misc.

It's been about a year since we sparred on a regular basis. Friend had a son.

Secretly this is one way for me revitalizing my friends passion for weapons and sparring. So that we can fight some more :D

Also this will be a great place for me to test various aspects of my training, as well as give me a competative format to play in.

sanjuro_ronin
02-25-2008, 01:23 PM
From what I gather they also practice Iaido.

The last thursday of each month I believe is dedicated to Iaido. Which should prove to be super fun. I only wish they had more than Thursdays available in my area. Though with luck, perhaps there is an informal setting that I can become involved in.

I am hoping that if I can get my friend to sign up, this will re-initiate our personal sparring practice.

We include the following wooden weapons when we spar.

Staff
Bokken (large and small, single and double)
Broadsword (chinese)
Straightsword (chinese)
Tonfa
Sai's (metal, dull)
Naginata
Misc.

It's been about a year since we sparred on a regular basis. Friend had a son.

Secretly this is one way for me revitalizing my friends passion for weapons and sparring. So that we can fight some more :D

Also this will be a great place for me to test various aspects of my training, as well as give me a competative format to play in.

I am not a fan of Iaido, I am one of Kendo, I see very little "matial value" in iaido.

Lucas
02-25-2008, 02:03 PM
It sure looks like fun though!

Lucas
02-25-2008, 02:06 PM
How does Kendo Kata differ from Kenjutsu?

Does Kendo kata use the shinai or bokken, or would that normally be dependant on the style?

GeneChing
02-27-2008, 05:23 PM
Kendo (http://www.martialartsmart.net/Styles_Samurai_Kendo.html) kata is usually performed with bokken, however I've seen it practiced with live blades. That's super hardcore, though. One tiny mistake and...

sanjuro_ronin
02-28-2008, 05:40 AM
How does Kendo Kata differ from Kenjutsu?

Does Kendo kata use the shinai or bokken, or would that normally be dependant on the style?

Kendo is a "generic" term but is usually applied to the sport art of Kendo and is practised with a Shinai- Bamboo stick, simply because that is what you will be using in competition.
The MA of Kendo is practiced with a Bokken/Bokuto and a shinai and with NO protective gear, except for when you spar.

kenjutsu is not a " stand alone MA" per say, it is usually part of a MA ryu ( school), like the Yagyu shinkahe ry or the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu or that Nen Ryu, etc, etc.
It is done exclusively with a bokken/bokuto in most systems or with a special bamboo sword ( not the typical shinai) in certain systems like the Yagyu shinkage ryu.
Iaido is a performance MA, Batto-jutsu or iai-jutsu being the "practical" MA version of it.
Differences being that in Batto-jutsu you don't kneel, you crouch and you MUST test cut.

Lucas
02-28-2008, 10:38 AM
Gene you sly dog. If I join the club and am to purchase gear on my own, i'll be sure to come here. Though I think they will fit me to gear, and may have their own vendor source. Ill find out though.

Sanjuro, thanks for the response.

I'm mainly interested in doing this for the sport aspect. Seems like it will be lots of fun. Though if the club has more representation than just sport kendo, that would not be unwelcome.

GeneChing
02-28-2008, 01:15 PM
...we used shinai (http://www.martialartsmart.net/354.html) and bogu (http://www.martialartsmart.net/35-01l.html) for sparring, suburito (http://www.martialartsmart.net/40-07.html) for drills and bokken (http://www.martialartsmart.net/40-03.html) for kata.

I had an old gunto refurbished for iai and battojitsu. It was an ugly beast, but that was appropriate for me at the time. I still have all my gear but I haven't done any kendo for maybe two decades now. There's actually a club really close to my home, but I barely have time to do my kung fu practice nowadays, so my gear just takes up space... :(

Lucas
02-28-2008, 03:02 PM
rofl @ this

http://karate.dhs.org/graphics/ryute_bogu2.jpg

sanjuro_ronin
02-29-2008, 05:35 AM
rofl @ this

http://karate.dhs.org/graphics/ryute_bogu2.jpg

That my friend is the JMA that is taught to the Japanese Self Defense force ( Japan;s military).
I forget what is called.
It is a very well rounded MA.

Lucas
02-29-2008, 12:36 PM
It just looks funny. Randomly found that image.

It looks like those old cartoons where they have the round little boxing gloves on.

curious, why that headgear? why not regular sparring headgear? If its so they can go 100% full force, why dont more people adopt that headgear?

Ive never worn it, but it seems like it restricts your movement a bit.

sanjuro_ronin
02-29-2008, 12:42 PM
It just looks funny. Randomly found that image.

It looks like those old cartoons where they have the round little boxing gloves on.

curious, why that headgear? why not regular sparring headgear? If its so they can go 100% full force, why dont more people adopt that headgear?

Ive never worn it, but it seems like it restricts your movement a bit.

Tradition I think and also they tend to spar with sticks and bamboo knives ( think small shinai).

Lucas
02-29-2008, 12:45 PM
Tradition I think and also they tend to spar with sticks and bamboo knives ( think small shinai).

ah, ok that makes more sense.

GeneChing
03-27-2008, 09:39 AM
However I have some inside info that the Fight Quest (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49142) guys are headed to Japan in a few months to try kendo. That'll be a twist for that show. If all goes well, the episode will air in late summer.


Cameroon: Martial arts - Japanese Support for Fecakoken (http://allafrica.com/stories/200803270792.html)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Fred Vubem

The federation was offered a consignment of equipment by the Japanese Kendo federation last Tuesday.

The Cameroon federation of Kobudo and Kendo, fecakoken, has received equipment that will enable the six-year old federation to continue with the work of implanting the sports in Cameroon. The equipment including swords, helmets and combat dresses were offered by the Japanese Kendo federation through the Japanese embassy in Yaounde. Offering the equipment in a solemn ceremony in the conference hall of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, the representative of the Japanese ambassador to Cameroon, Tsutomu Avai, who confessed having practised the sports in his youth, called for the judicious use of the equipment.

The Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Augustin Thierry Edjoa, thanked the Japanese government for the support they have been providing to the development of sports in Cameroon in general and fecakoken in particular. A cooperation which he said spans from the construction of primary schools in Cameroon to the renovation of the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium and now the support to fecakoken.

The president of the fecakoken, Roger Feutse equally thanked the Japanese but like Oliver twist, called on the Japanese federation not to end at providing equipment but to also provide help in the training of trainers for the development of the sports in Cameroon. He said Cameroon was the second country in Africa after South Africa, to practice kendo. Kendo, he said, is a Japanese martial art that leads to the mastery of oneself through the qualities of concentration, vigilance, perception and adjustments to the attacks of the opponent. It became a sports discipline only after the Second World War.

Mr Punch
01-21-2010, 08:52 AM
Here. (http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm6046299) You need to sign up, but Niconico has a wealth of Japanese budo and kakutougi vids.

GeneChing
05-26-2010, 09:19 AM
Congratulations to Shozo Kato!


Top-ranked kendo master Shozo Kato aces Japan samurai test (http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/05/24/2010-05-24_samurai_is_rising_son_of_the_city_topranked_ken do_master_aces_japan_test.html)
BY Paul H.B. Shin
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, May 24th 2010, 10:15 AM

New York City now has its own hometown virtuoso in the swordsmanship of the samurai.

Shozo Kato, 54, recently became the third person from outside of Japan to pass the notoriously difficult exam for eighth dan in kendo - the highest rank in the martial art of Japanese fencing.

The pass rate is about 1%, earning it the reputation of being the toughest test in Japan.

"I feel the real training for eighth dan is just now beginning," said Kato, a fine-art photographer by day who has been teaching kendo at the Shidogakuin dojo in Manhattan for some 25 years.

On the flight back from Japan, "it felt like I was still dreaming," he said, adding he now feels a heavy responsibility to propagate the art.

The achievement is all the more remarkable because he didn't have frequent access to high-ranking mentors, said Alex Bennett, a New Zealander who lives in Japan. Bennett passed his seventh dan exam on April 30 - a feat he said "pales in comparison" to reaching eighth dan.

"If you do pass it, you are elevated to demigod status in the kendo community. It's quite an achievement," said Bennett, 40, a Japanese studies professor at Kansai University in Osaka.

In kendo, practitioners wear padded armor and use bamboo swords for full-speed, full-contact combat. In an exam, you must not only score points by striking targets correctly, but also display mastery of the mental game.

Candidates must have held a seventh dan for at least 10 years and be at least 46 years old to be eligible to take the eighth dan exam, which is administered twice a year - in May in Kyoto and in November in Tokyo by the All Japan Kendo Federation.

"The people taking the eighth dan exam are all hard-core kendo people who have been doing kendo for many, many years," Bennett said. "To be that 1% that shines out above everybody else means they have something special."

Kato passed on his sixth try. Some people have been trying for decades.

Dr. Tsuyoshi Ino****a, an oncologist who founded Shidogakuin with Kato 25 years ago, said he was in a meeting in Florida when he learned his good friend had passed the exam.

"I had to get out of the meeting. I couldn't concentrate because I was so emotional," said Ino****a, 59, a seventh dan kendoist who now lives in Portsmouth, Ohio.

"It will give a lot of hope to people in countries where there are not a lot of high-ranking sensei," he said.

Kato said one way he tried to overcome the disadvantage of the lack of local mentors was to make every bout with every opponent count. "Sometimes a student is the best teacher," he said.

GeneChing
02-05-2014, 09:57 AM
I have no words....:o

Brian Ashcraft on Kotaku
Today 4:00am
Behold, Hello Kitty-Branded Martial Arts Armour (http://kotaku.com/behold-hello-kitty-branded-martial-arts-armour-1516417255)

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbrk9eeoxpng/ku-xlarge.png

You are looking at kendo armour covered in Hello Kitty. That's right. Kendo armour. Hello Kitty. Go figure.

When you think of kendo, you think of tough people, smacking each other on the head with bamboo sticks. You don't think of Hello Kitty. Not that people practicing kendo would actually wear this—at least, we hope not!

For four decades now, Hello Kitty has made a career showing up on all sorts of products—whether that's toasters, toilet paper, or that infamous ********.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbrk8eo0xjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

And here we are now, looking at Hello Kitty bogu (防具) or "kendo armour." And yes, people in Japan think this particular choice is rather unusual.

But, it's not surprising, really. There's a joke in Japan that Hello Kitty "works too much" or "will appear on any product." That sounds about right!

The above Hello Kitty kendo gear was photographed by Twitter user Aya at the recent Hello Kitty Expo in Japan. Details on it are scant (no idea if that is actually for sale); however, you can see more forthcoming Hello Kitty branded products that were on display below:

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbrkbx4aujpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

Non-alcohol ****tails. Flavors include Japanese plum wine, cassis orange, and mojito. Alcohol 0.00 percent, but with that boozy taste you love!

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbvibtabejpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

Beauty masks. Because Hello Kitty is beautiful.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbvi9x37gjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

Air conditioners and air purifiers. Yeah, this isn't freaky. Not at all.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbviaqrecjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

Kitchen electronics and other home goods. Okay, stuff you can see people possibly buying.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbzge1y9qjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

One of several Hello Kitty-themed musical instruments. Hey, that's clever.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eqcbzgeqt16jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

The Very Hungry Hello Kitty. Why? No, why?

-N-
02-05-2014, 11:33 AM
I have no words....:o

Wearing Hello Kitty armor while you defeat your opponent is to ensure that you utterly and completely crush his spirit.

sanjuro_ronin
02-05-2014, 11:52 AM
She's a little thin, but I'd "shinai" her :D

-N-
02-05-2014, 01:23 PM
she's a little thin, but i'd "shinai" her :d

8077

:)

GeneChing
03-10-2014, 02:30 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN9SDF05nX0

sanjuro_ronin
03-11-2014, 06:54 AM
Just another example of how quickly Kendo went from "sword fighting" to stick fighting.

GeneChing
06-12-2017, 05:50 PM
Kendo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?50231-Kendo) match: Enbu Taikai: Ota (Age: 102) and Takasaki (Age: 93).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbLpfxbHyJE

Give it up to the elderly!!!!! (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57037-Give-it-up-to-the-elderly!!!!!)

GeneChing
01-25-2018, 10:00 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=AsTp4QyHK_o

Thread: Kendo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?50231-Kendo)
Thread: Fencing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?9851-Fencing)

MightyB
02-20-2018, 02:06 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTp4QyHK_o

GeneChing
10-31-2018, 08:29 AM
Nice story. :)


Meet Esther Kim, the Clark Kent of martial arts (http://www.espn.com/espnw/life-style/article/25083288/meet-esther-kim-clark-kent-martial-arts)
By Doug Williams | Oct 26, 2018
Special to espnW.com

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2018/1025/r452781_800x450_16-9.jpg&w=800
Albert Facultad/AF Image
Esther Kim has won four junior national titles and two women's titles in the sport of kendo.

When she's not wielding a sword or wearing a helmet and armor, Esther Kim is a bit like Clark Kent.

She's described as quiet and even shy by her longtime kendo coach, Jonathan Chinen. Yet when Kim steps on a kendo court, she changes. Suddenly, she's aggressive and fearless.

"She turns on that switch and she's a totally different person," says Chinen.

At 21, Kim already has won two national women's championships in kendo, the Japanese martial art in which combatants duel like samurai using bamboo swords. Kim has been on two U.S. national teams at the world championships and won four junior national titles before her first women's championship at age 16 in 2014. Now a senior cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Kim is a force in any tournament she enters.

She knows she's not always the fastest, the strongest, or even most experienced in every match, yet she always believes she can win.

"I know that if I have a goal, I'm going to reach that goal," Kim says. "Having that mindset, I know some people are scared before they enter the court. They go in and are like, 'Oh, my god, this person is nationally ranked,' or 'Oh, my god, what do I do?' I'm more of the type to just go in, and they're also a person. I don't care where they stand. ... It's my strong suit."

Chinen and his father, Katsuo Chinen, have coached Kim since she was 12 or 13 at the Gedatsu USA Kendo Dojo near her home in Downey, California, just south of Los Angeles. Jonathan Chinen says Kim's dedication in practice always has set her apart. She's always put in more effort and intensity than those around her.

"She takes it very seriously," he says.

Chinen says Kim's strength has been her ability to react and attack. She's also become quicker. "Her best skills are what we call, it's a counter move," he says. "Anything her opponent has practiced, she's countering her opponent's attacks back at them."

That mental duel, says Kim, is one of the aspects she likes best about kendo. "I'm not super athletic, so I try to use my advantages I have," says Kim, who is studying in Japan for a semester. "I like to think ahead. So if I do this, how would they react, and what would I do if they react this way? If they don't react this way, what would I do then? I like to play around with that and unfold it."

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2018/1025/r452783_600x600_1-1.jpg
Albert Facultad/AF Image
Esther Kim competing at the 2017 world championships.

Kim was introduced to kendo when she was 10 when her older brother returned to the sport in high school. At the time, her other brother also took it up. "My mom thought it would be cool if all of us did it together," she says.

Kim's heritage is Korean -- she grew up in Southern California speaking both English and Korean -- and her mother had seen the sport in South Korea (a variation called kumdo) and wanted her children to try it.

Kim loved it immediately. She loved its discipline and enjoyed learning something new, meeting new people and what the martial art -- and the culture surrounding it -- did for her. She sees it as more art than sport. She has achieved the rank of 2 Dan (similar to second-degree black belt). The sport's name means "the way of the sword" and is modeled after the bushido (honor) codes of the samurai.

"You learn how to respect other people and at the same time learn how to get respect from other people," she says. "And the fact you can do it at any age, at any time. It builds up your concentration."

And, once she won her first junior national title, she wanted more. "After I had a taste of what it feels like to win, after that I was like, 'OK, just get at it, get at it.'"

A women's kendo match lasts four minutes and takes place on a marked court in front of three judges. Those judges award points for a correct strike on an opponent's wrist, head or torso with the shinai, a bamboo sword. A match is won by the first competitor to get two (of a possible three) points, or whoever has the lead when time expires.

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Scoring a point is difficult. Opponents test each other, clashing swords and feinting. When they attack, they must show spirit by shouting out their intended target and stomping their forward foot in coordination with the strike. That shows the judges it's a planned strike with momentum.

"You're basically focusing all your energy on one attack," says Kim, who represents the Southern California Kendo Federation in regional and national tournaments.

To be fit, she focuses her training on her legs and core. She works out six days a week, with three days for cardio (long runs and sprints) and three days for weight training.

There's no kendo club at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, so she carves time out from her academic and duty schedule -- about an hour to 90 minutes a day -- to watch kendo videos and practice moves on her own with the swords she's brought from home.

After graduation this academic year, Kim isn't sure what role she'll have in the Air Force. She's interested in both logistics and languages (she speaks Japanese and Chinese as well as Korean). Her military commitment is for five years, but she's interested in making it a career because she says "the military lifestyle" fits her personality. No matter where she's eventually stationed, she says she'll continue practicing kendo.

"Even if I don't continue actively competing, I think it's something that can calm my mind, help me forget about any of the problems I may be dealing with," she says.

When Kim won her first national championship at 16, she said it was a surprise because she was the youngest competitor. When she successfully defended the title last year, it was a challenge because of her time away from regular practice while at the academy. But she's come to realize the benefits of kendo are with her wherever she goes and whatever she does.

"I may not be the best in academics or I may not be the best at running," she says, "but I know that one thing I have special to me is kendo. That gives me confidence within my life, and I think at the same time, it really helps me build the self-discipline within myself that I need in life, to know myself, to reflect upon myself. Those tools, I'm super grateful kendo was able to give to me."

Former sports editor, San Diego Union-Tribune
Freelance writer based in San Diego
ESPN.com contributor since 2010

GeneChing
03-28-2022, 08:11 AM
At 83, a Japanese Master Still Makes Martial Arts Gear by Hand (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/fashion/craftsmanship-kendo-martial-arts-tokyo.html)
Kiichiro Ito spends his days creating uniforms for kendo, an ancient form of fencing.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt6/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt6-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
Kiichiro Ito at work in his shop in Tokyo. He has been making gear for kendo, a form of fencing that uses bamboo swords and protective armor, since the 1950s.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
By Vivian Morelli
March 27, 2022
TOKYO — When my 6-year-old son recently joined a local kendo club, I found myself at Yamato Budogu, a family shop that first specialized in equipment for the ancient Japanese martial art in the 1930s.

Kendo — the Japanese characters mean “the way of the sword” — is a form of fencing that uses bamboo swords and protective armor. And equipment for what is considered modern kendo originated in the 1700s.

My son needed a beginner’s outfit: a shinai, or bamboo sword; a dogi, the kimono-like top; and hakama, wide-leg trousers. A uniform for an older or more advanced practitioner has four additional items: a men, a type of face mask with metal bars to protect the head and shoulders; a do, or breastplate; kote, gloves to cover hands and forearms; and a tare, a thick cloth belt with flaps to protect the hip area.

“I can make every part of the uniform and repair everything,” said Kiichiro Ito, 83, the president of Yamato Budogu Seisakusho and a bogu craftsman (bogu is an inclusive term for kendo equipment).
His specialty is the men, the face mask. Its fabrication begins with two preparatory steps: layering pieces of cotton, wool and other fabrics to form a protective pad and wrapping rice straw around the rim of a manufactured metal face grill, called the mengane. The straw provides a base so the pad can be hand stitched to the grill, and the edges of the whole assembly is then bound with strips of rawhide to reinforce the structure and improve the piece’s overall appearance, Mr. Ito said.

The process takes about two weeks of work to produce the basic model, while higher-end models, which require finer stitches and decoration, can take as long as three to six months.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inytweb2/28sp-crafts-kendo-inytweb2-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
Patterns for kendo uniforms.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inytweb1/merlin_196489308_b7c08b19-cd6a-4296-972a-8d01789690e8-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
Kendo uniforms in Mr. Ito’s shop.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
Mr. Ito also collaborates with other bogu craftsmen around Japan: For example, one of them, in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, specializes in aizome, or indigo dye. The artisan dyes textiles thread by thread and then sends rolls of fabric to Mr. Ito’s atelier, where it is cut and added to protective pads. (Other indigo-dyed textiles from artisans in other prefectures are used for the cotton dogi and hakama set.)

The family business was started by Mr. Ito’s grandfather in 1936 in Aoyama-itchome, an area in southwestern Tokyo. Over the decades the workshop moved, shifted to equestrian equipment when some martial arts were banned after World War II and, in the 1970s, was rebranded as Yamato Budogu by Mr. Ito’s father.
Mr. Ito joined the business in 1957, at age 19, and his younger brother, Tsuyoshi, came into the business a few years later. They took over the shop when their father died in 1980.

“Kendo is usually a family business,” Mr. Ito said. “I learned from my father, who was also a bogu craftsman. It’s not something you can learn at school. Some particular techniques or skills are related to certain families and handed down.”

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt8/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt8-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
The exterior of Mr. Ito’s shop, Yamato Budogu, in Tokyo.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
The shop and the atelier are in Mr. Ito’s house, in the Shibuya ward, another area in southwestern Tokyo (“We used to be able to see Mount Fuji from here, but now all the buildings block the view.”). The shop, on the ground floor, is so small that two people can barely get inside: Once they slide open the front glass door, there is just a small genkan, or entry way, with bamboo swords and uniform pieces stored in glass case displays.

But when they take off their shoes, step up and walk through a doorway, there is the atelier, a large room that measures almost 900 square feet and has been outfitted with tatami mats and two long tables where the cutting and sewing are done by Mr. Ito, an apprentice and two female employees, 86 and 73, who are relatives of Mr. Ito.

Rolls of textiles, bottles of lacquers, cardboard boxes and small wooden drawers filled with tools have been crammed into any available space. Until its recent death, a large black and white cat named Fuku roamed around or napped by the gas heater.

Mr. Ito usually sits near the window on a zabuton, a Japanese floor cushion, with a blanket on his lap and a small wooden worktable nearby. Next to him is another zabuton — but that work space has been left empty for the last two years, ever since Tsuyoshi Ito died. “I wish you could have met my younger brother,” Mr. Ito said. “He was very entertaining and talkative.”

Yean Han, the 33-year-old apprentice, sits across from Mr. Ito. He is from Brunei, and had met Tsuyoshi Ito at a workshop in Malaysia in 2013. “I was already interested in how bogu is made since I was training for kendo,” he said.

When Mr. Han moved to Tokyo in 2016 to study robotics at Waseda University, his frequent visits to the atelier slowly turned into a training program.

“I became so interested and naturally I just sat here,” Mr. Han said. “Sometimes he would just throw small things at me, like ‘Try this, try that’,” he said. (Mr. Han first learned from Mr. Ito’s brother, but now Mr. Ito trains him.)

“We talk a lot sometimes. Other times he just does his work and I sit across from him for one hour or two and I just watch,” he said.
Mr. Ito seems to appreciate his apprentice: “Mr. Han is the one who welcomes customers. He speaks Japanese very well.”
continued next post

GeneChing
03-28-2022, 08:12 AM
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt7/merlin_196489281_fdb0d085-ee41-4af0-8f75-e0466db03469-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
Mr. Ito, right, with his apprentice, Yean Han, 33, who is learning how to make kendo gear.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
Mr. Han said he was still learning skills. “I still have a certain way to go before I can be entirely responsible for making something. What Sensei will do when he creates something and thinks he can trust me with certain parts of the process, he will ask me to do one part,” he said, referring to Mr. Ito as sensei, a term of respect for someone who has attained a certain level of mastery. (He doesn’t train any longer, as Mr. Ito gave him a choice: practice kendo or make bogu.)

Mr. Ito’s handcrafted bogu is a rarity: Today, he said, less than one percent of the world’s kendo gear is made in Japan; other Asian countries, such as China and South Korea, manufacture it. Yet in the 1970s and ‘80s, when kendo was particularly popular in Japan, his shop had 14 employees and would distribute to vendors. Now it does business with individual customers.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt2/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt2-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
The elaborate stitching on the body armor of a kendo uniform.Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/style/28sp-crafts-kendo-inyt3/merlin_196489233_3b29f6d5-4b86-44fb-bdb7-1558695c5dda-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
According to Alexander Bennett, a professor of Japanese history at Kansai University and editor in chief of Kendo World magazine, “The golden age for kendo in Japan was in the 1970s and 1980s for children. There would have been a waiting list to get your child into kendo.” Now, however, the country’s low birthrate means there are fewer children, and kendo may not be as appealing as soccer or baseball.

“Kendo is traditionally known for discipline and for teaching children good manners,” he said. “But nowadays parents give their children more freedom of choice, and parents do not see the value of kendo the same way they used to.” Still, he said, the All Japan Kendo Federation estimates there are 1.5 million practitioners in Japan today; the population is around 126 million. (For comparison, there were four million to five million practitioners in the 1970s and ’80s.)
Mr. Ito is worried the old ways will disappear. “Martial arts are too ‘old school’,” he told me. “And compared to other martial arts, kendo is expensive, probably the most expensive, which could be a factor. You have to think about the costs in the long-run if your son continues kendo.”

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/28/multimedia/28sp-crafts-kendo-inytweb3/merlin_196489296_353ae5c1-3cc3-4ffa-8848-dbb6a8da22dc-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
Models wearing kendo gear. The adult uniform includes a face mask, a breastplate and gloves. Credit...Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
My son’s simple cotton set and shinai, or sword, cost less than the equivalent of $100, while his teacher’s garments, bought from Mr. Ito, were around $300 and a full outfit, with shinai, can cost $500 to $1,000, depending on the quality.

But well-crafted bogu can last: Mr. Ito mentioned a client who has kept his uniform for more than 40 years. “High-quality, handcrafted items can be repaired and used for a long time,” he said as he repaired a kote, or glove, for a girls’ kendo team at a local high school. The kote was lined with deer leather, which is easily worn out and may need to be replaced as often as five times a year because the team practices daily. But Mr. Ito replaces just one small area so the team doesn’t have to keep buying new ones.

Mr. Ito’s wife, Yasuko, 79, also is part of the business: She used to take care of the deliveries, but now handles administrative tasks. “A lot of burden goes to my wife,” Mr. Ito said, and she is in charge when they all take a break for oyatsu, or afternoon snack, at 3 p.m. each workday, handing out cups of tea and sweets. “The sweet is different every day,” Mr. Han said.

Mr. Ito doesn’t take much time off. He said he doesn’t have any hobbies, but he loves the annual matsuri, a traditional festival held in September in Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s entertainment and business districts. “If you allowed me to talk about it, I could talk about it forever,” he said.
Even though the official business hours of the shop are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Mr. Ito usually works late in the atelier. “There is no end time,” he said.

“At my age, I’m often asked if I still do this as a hobby or for pleasure, but I do this to make a living,” he said. “I don’t receive any pension money like people who used to work in big companies. As a craftsman I don’t have that, so I have to keep working.”

“I’m the last bogu craftsman in Tokyo,” he said. “When I pass away, there won’t be anyone.”

What a beautiful story...

GeneChing
03-30-2023, 12:49 PM
High-tech 'sassen' duels are an active otaku's dream (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2023/03/25/lifestyle/sassen-swordfighting-digital-sport)
https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/np_file_217810.jpeg
Part fencing, part kendo and part freestyle swordfighting, sassen combines multiple disciplines into an undeniably engaging package. | OWEN ZIEGLER
BY OWEN ZIEGLER
STAFF WRITER

Mar 25, 2023

It’s an otherwise normal October night in the Akihabara district in Tokyo as tourists and locals alike plod along the glowing neon streets. Young women in maid outfits beckon half-heartedly to men ambling in and out of ramen shops, PC parts suppliers and anime retailers.

Several floors above? It’s fight after fight to the death.

Figuratively speaking, of course — combatants grasp not steel katanas but carbon fiber batons laden with accelerometers and other sensors, all wrapped in foam to soften the inevitable blows. They swing not to maim or kill but for points, though there’s still a palpable, primal aggression in the air when two competitors face off.

From more than 2,000 entrants competing at satellite preliminaries across the country, a few dozen had won the right to come to Akihabara for the tournament finals of “sassen” and to vie for a ¥100,000 ($767) prize — a decent purse but somehow less motivating than the energy in the air I sensed that day.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/np_file_217809.jpeg
From more than 2,000 entrants, only a few dozen advanced to Sassen’s national finals in Akihabara in October. | OWEN ZIEGLER
A mix of traditional kendo, modern fencing and freestyle sports chanbara (a multidisciplinary combat sport that simulates historical Japanese melee combat), sassen can be difficult to define. First begun in 2016, the sport still has a nascent community, the technology underpinning it isn’t without its occasional hiccups, and the name itself is a created word combining inspiration from satsuzen, a Japanese word meaning “wind-breaking” or “dashing” speed, plus techniques used by famed Sengoku Period (1482-1573) swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

That all might be secondary to a much more salient point, one that snaps into focus as soon as you brandish your electronic sword and stand across a likewise armed opponent: sassen scratches an otaku-shaped itch like few other pursuits.

Rules of war
The basic rules of sassen are simple — the first to score two hits anywhere except their opponent’s head in a 60-second match wins. But pick up a “sassen-to” (the company’s native nomenclature for its high-tech swords) and you quickly learn that this is no simple game of high-tech tag.

For one, competitors are discouraged from swinging wildly. A dedicated official keeps track of the five total swings per match allotted to each contestant. Once those are used up, all you can do is evade your opponent until time runs out. The illuminated batons are also configured so only one section registers as the cutting portion of the would-be blade. Swinging wildly at your opponent may land a hit, but if contact is only with the deadened section of the baton, the embedded sensors won’t register a successful strike. Forget where your edge really is and the decisive blow you think you’ve landed might be the opening your rival is waiting for.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/np_file_217808.jpeg
Strength is less important in a sassen duel than speed, positioning and accuracy. | OWEN ZIEGLER
“Each baton is only about 300 grams and 65 centimeters long,” says Seita Sukisaki, chief technical and financial officer at Sassen, who spearheaded the Bluetooth-supported technology underpinning the equipment. “But the carbon sleeve inside has about ¥200,000 (about $1,520) worth of electronics.”

All that alone would be a solid foundation for thrilling duels reminiscent of bygone warriors, but sassen goes one step further: If a combatant lands a successful blow (signaled by a slashing sound played over the PA system), the other has an infinitesimal window, no more than a few tenths of a second, to land a counterstrike. If both combatants effectively cut each other down in the same breath, the two strikes cancel each other out, a sharp ringing sound blares instead of a slash and the breathless match continues.

Over the course of the afternoon, this game mechanic shows itself time and again to be a defining element of sassen. If one competitor outmatches another on footspeed, the other times a lifesaving counterblow instead. Conversely, if an overcommitment to an opening attack leaves a competitor defenseless, presence of mind and a quick wrist keeps them alive for one more moment and one more swing.

“Sassen is meant to be a martial art but one where there’s no real threat of injury or harm,” says Ryoma Motomura, creator of sassen and founder of parent company Satsuzen, who also served as emcee, play-by-play commentator and instant replay judge for close calls during the October competition. “I come from a family of karate-ka (karate athletes), so I know how difficult training and participating in traditional martial arts can be. Sassen, on the other hand, is for everyone — young and old, veterans and newcomers.”

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/np_file_217806.jpeg
Sassen founder Ryuma Motomura serves as emcee, play-by-play commentator and instant replay judge for some sassen sessions. | OWEN ZIEGLER
Suffering a blow from one of the batons doesn’t feel good, per se, but anyone who managed to walk away from a swiftly thrown dodgeball back in elementary school gym class can also bounce back from even the stiffest of strikes during a sassen match. According to Motomura, sassen is also priced much more invitingly for newcomers than other traditional martial arts. A beginner’s kendo set might run around ¥20,000 to ¥30,000, but one-off trial passes for drop-in sassen sessions go for around ¥1,000 to ¥2,000 with nothing other than your own athletic clothing required.

“Sassen’s soul is a martial art,” says Motomura. “But it’s a much more modern approach — and that’s to do with more than just the technology.”

Triumph and defeat
Astride the blue and black mats, two swordsmen bounce around each other on the balls of their feet. One might feint with their baton to the left; the other might shift his momentum to the right. A swing and a miss draws a few gasps from the modest crowd watching the tournament’s championship match — and when Rikitake Yuto manages to slip his opponent’s attack and counter with his own strike over the top, his half dozen friends explode into cheers.

With six straight wins to advance through the bracket, Yuto, a 20-year-old student and fencer at western Tokyo’s Chuo University, has emerged ahead of the more than 2,000 competitors that originally entered the full tournament.

“It’s my first time at sassen, but it feels great to win,” Yuto tells me, adding that a fellow fencing teammate (who had bowed out of the tournament in an earlier stage) had invited him.

“Kyori machigatta! (I got the distance wrong!)” the vanquished runner-up exclaims, grasping his baton with frustration in both hands above his head.

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A sense of camraderie pervades the sassen community despite its relative newness. | OWEN ZIEGLER
For whatever momentary disappointment there was, the mood quickly shifts to something much more communal as Motomura addresses the crowd of competitors and spectators and hands out trophies and awards. Many participants I spoke to emphasize that while the nature of sassen is inherently combative, there are rarely ever heated disputes about who struck who first or whether a particular point should be replayed. Indeed, tournaments like these are still rare for sassen as a whole — many just prefer to drop in and spar with like-minded players in this rented space in Akihabara, outside in a Tokyo park or anywhere else a few rounds might be had.

But what is the champion going to do with the ¥100,000 prize now rightfully his?

“We’re all going out for ramen,” Yuto says — much to the delight of his fencing comrades as they all prepare to spill back out on Akibahara’s lambent streets.

Jedi-Academies (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65368-Jedi-Academies)
Sassen (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?72490-Sassen)
Kendo (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?50231-Kendo)