Kendo is a sport
that has been practiced in
Japan for many hundreds of years.
Originally developed as a means to
train students how to attack and counterattack effectively with a
sword, Kendo has evolved into a highly respected combat sport in its
own right and today. Kendo fighting techniques are
practiced by many
people of all ages all over the world.
Kendo is actually a highly demanding and
very physical sport, although it may not seem so at first to the casual
observer. It is easy to underestimate the skill set that is needed in
Kendo, since the sport does not involve the use of any of the
techniques that are such crucial components of many other martial arts
disciplines.
In Kendo, there are no punches, no kicks, no
throws, no
holds, and no high-flying maneuvers. What there are however are
sticks…two of them in fact, and they can be quite painful if
you are on the receiving end of one.
These sticks are actually bamboo swords
called shinai and they represent the traditional Japanese two-handed
sword. Because of the use of these bamboo swords, Kendo is often
mistaken for Jodo, which is another Japanese martial art that uses
wooden sticks. In that particular martial art though, the wooden
implement is actually a staff and it is not meant to represent a sword
at all.
Kendo is a very fast paced sport that is
heavily dependent on timing. The typical Kendo fighting techniques
include cutting, slicing, and thrusting, and these are usually
delivered to the wrists, the head, the throat and the sides of the
torso at blinding speed. Furthermore, full impact is the norm, and you
can’t expect your opponent to reign in his or her blows.
In kendo, it is often down to instinct
whether you are able to fend off or avoid an attack at all. In fact,
the nature of the sport requires that any move you make should either
be an attack or a counter attack: there are no particular defensive
Kendo fighting techniques.
In spite of this however, injuries are a
rare occurrence in this sport, thanks to the leather armor and
facemasks that combatants normally wear.