Equipment and Clothing

Kendo is practiced wearing a traditional Japanese style of clothing, protective armour (防具 bōgu) and using one or, less commonly, two shinai (竹刀 shinai).

Equipment

The shinai is meant to represent a Japanese sword (katana) and is made up of four bamboo slats, which are held together by leather fittings. A modern variation of a shinai with carbon fiber reinforced resin slats is also used.

Kendōka also use hard wooden swords (木刀 bokutō) to practice kata.

Kendo employs strikes involving both one edge and the tip of the shinai or bokutō.

Protective armour is worn to protect specified target areas on the head, arms and body. The head is protected by a stylised helmet, called men (面), with a metal grille (面金 men-gane) to protect the face, a series of hard leather and fabric flaps (突垂れ tsuki-dare) to protect the throat, and padded fabric flaps (面垂れ men-dare) to protect the side of the neck and shoulders. The forearms, wrists, and hands are protected by long, thickly padded fabric gloves called kote (小手). The torso is protected by a breastplate (胴 dō), while the waist and groin area is protected by the tare (垂れ), consisting of three thick vertical fabric flaps or faulds.

Clothing

The clothing worn under the bōgu comprise a jacket (kendogi or keikogi) and hakama, a garment separated in the middle to form two wide trouser legs.

A cotton towel (手拭い tenugui) is wrapped around the head, under the men, to absorb perspiration and provide a base for the men to fit comfortably.

• Outline
  

  SPORTS WORLD

  Kendo

  Is a modern Japanese martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and many other nations across the world. Kendo is an activity that combines martial arts practices and values with strenuous sport-like physical activity.

  History: Swordsmen in Japan established schools of kenjutsu (the ancestor of kendo), which continued for centuries and which form the basis of kendo practice today. The formal kendo exercises known as kata were developed several centuries ago as kenjutsu practice for warriors.

  Concept and Purpose: Kendo is a way to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana.

  Equipment and Clothing: Kendo is practiced wearing a traditional Japanese style of clothing, protective armour (防具 bōgu) and using one or, less commonly, two shinai (竹刀 shinai).

  Practice Session: Kiri-kaeshi (切り返し) Striking the left and right men target points in succession, practicing centering, distance, and correct technique, while building spirit and stamina.

  Techniques: First practicing slowly and then as familiarity and confidence builds, the kendoka and motodachi increase the speed to match competition level.

  Rules: A scorable point (有効打突 yūkō-datotsu) in a kendo competition (tai-kai) is defined as an accurate strike or thrust made onto a datotsu-bui of the opponent's kendo-gu with the shinai making contact at its datotsu-bu, the competitor displaying high spirits, correct posture and followed by zanshin.

  Advancement: Technical achievement in kendo is measured by advancement in grade, rank or level. The kyū (級) and dan (段) grading system, created in 1883, is used to indicate one's proficiency in kendo.

  Kata: Kata, are fixed patterns that teach kendoka the basic elements of swordsmanship. The kata include fundamental techniques of attacking and counter-attacking, and have useful practical application in general kendo.

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kendo", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.