Kendo is a modern Japanese martial sword art. It is based upon the principles of combat of the Japanese Samurai warriors while in its modern form it includes sports games. During kendo training the practitioners try to strike one from the four protected targets of the armor – bogu – of the opponent (Men – Head, kote-Wrist, tsuki-Throat, do-Torso) using a shinai, a bamboo weapon.
About Kendo:
Kendo is a Japanese style of fencing. The term consists of two components – Ken (sword) and do (road) – and it is attributed as the road / path of the sword.
Kendo does not have a specific founder nor are there different styles of Kendo as in other martial arts. Todays Kendo is an evolution of educational practices developed by the samurai from 1800 onward ( read here a brief history of the development of Kendo).
Modern Kendo has more similarity to combat sports rather than martial arts. It is very technical sport and is unique among the martial arts in that it has has no limit of weight or age. With age matures and technique.
The kendo is a safe martial art since the protective equipment ( bogu ) provides the necessary protection having the unique advantage to have full contact with opponent using bamboo sword ( Shinai ) during training ( keiko ) and games ( Shiai ).
5 Reasons to Start Kendo:
- Improves body posture and walking
- improves strength and fitness
- develop both teamwork and fair play
- it is an absolutely technical sport
- it is a method of spiritual cultivation
- provides basic knowledge of self defense (only with an umbrella or a stick ).
- offers the opportunity to participate in national and international competitions (National team ).
