From The Pros - Kendo

Special Interview with my Sensei, Miho Iwamoto

Name: Miho Iwamoto

Country: Japan

Type of Martial Arts: Kendo

Rank / Belt: 5th DanAward /

Achievements:
-Hong Kong Asia open kendo championship '09 champion '10 second place
-'05 Tokyo public offices kendo tournament individual champion
-'05 All Japan public offices Kendo tournament individual Best 8
-'02 Tokyo junior college kendo tournament individual champion

Years of Training: 20years

How / Why you start Kendo?: My grandfather (7dan) has dojo

When was the first time you won a kendo competation?: 11years old

How do you feel at that time?: I was Very happy and I can't stop crying

Why do you think Kendo is a good?: We can become strong not only body but also mind.

What would you advice to Beginners?: Don't think seriously. Please ENJOY first.

Introduction to Japanese Martial Arts

Japanese Martial Arts also commonly interchanged with “Budo” or “Bujutsu” literally means the art of war and/or the application of the Japanese Martial Art techniques in actual combat scenario.

It all started back in the Samurai eras where all the warriors are expected to master various combat weapons as well as unarmed combat, and that is around the time where the purpose of mastering and perfecting the skills of Martial Arts became a Philosophy of Achieving Spiritual Goals began.

Weapons for Armed Combat You might be interested in the type of Japanese Martial Arts especially with the wide range of weapon that the warriors has used, which the COMMON ones consists of:

Bo (Long Wood Staff)

Jutte

Kama

Katana

Naginata

Nunchaku

Sai

Shuriken (Flying Star)

Tanto

Tonfa

Yari

Yumi (Bow and Arrow)

And yes, these are not the only weapons that the Japanese Warriors used, there are actually more, as the tools keep on changing due to the development of the combat techniques, and all these weapons are studied with great depth as the techniques evolved into perfecting the martial art itself.

Koryu and Gendai Budo

In Japanese Martial Arts, there is a slight difference with the rest of the Martial Arts in Asia. The difference is due to Meiji Restoration era where Martial Arts are generally divided into 2, which are Koryu and Gendai Budo.

Koryu is basically known as the “Old School/Traditional” way where the arts are founded before the Meiji Restoration back in 1866-1867. And Gendai Budo is the Martial Arts after the Meiji Restoration.

The Main difference between Koryu and Gendai Budo is Koryu martial arts are used for war and the tradition is preserved since then. And Gendai Budo is the martial arts that have been modified due to modernization where the focus is more to self improvement or self defense.

Images taken from:

Powayshotokan.com

Bubishi.com.au
Freewebs.com
Iconarchice.com
Okinawankarateclub.com
Trueswords.com
Bugei.com
Crimsontigers.com
Oriental-weaponry.co.uk
Weaponhouse.blogspot.com

Introduction to Yabusame

Yabusame is one of the hidden treasures of martial arts, not much of us have heard of it before and for some NON-Japanese like myself, it sounds more like noodles more than martial arts.

Yabusame is actually an armed martial art, or should I say archery, originated from Japan, it is performed while riding a horse. It all begins from the Kamakura Period. Where it begins from the military is alarmed that their army or Samurais is not good for a long distance battle, therefore the Samurai were grouped and Yabusame started from there. Although the use of bow in the Japan started from 300BC, but it is officially made as a type of martial/battle art only during the Kamakura Period.

During the Kamakura Period Yabusame was used as a military training exercise to keep samurai prepared for war. Those archers who did poorly might find themselves commanded to commit seppuku.

Yabusame is not the only type of Horseback Archery, but Yabusame is only 1 out of the 3 type of Horseback Archery and I have outlined some details for your easy reference.

-Yabusame is the most well-known form of Horseback Archery, and it is held at shrines as ceremony which shoots on 3 different targets.

-Kasagake has different sizes of targets each of which is set at different height, and the archer shoots both ways.

-Inuoumono is not in practice anymore. In the practice dogs were used as targets, so it was practical and effective practice to sharpen horseback riding skill as well as shooting skill but I think that most of us will agree that this act is a bit brutal therefore we are happy that it was banned!

A Yabusame performance starts with the archer dressed as a traditional warrior gallops down a 255 meter long track at full speed and controlling the horses with his knees and shooting 3 targets on the way down. The arrow that is used are mainly blunt and round but experience archer are allowed to use a v shaped arrow.

Image taken from komei-juku.com

Kendo Terminology

Equipment:

-Bogu: Protective armor used in kendo
-Bokken / Bokuto: A wooden sword used in martial art and kendo training also known as a bokuto
-Dou: Chest protector in kendo. Also refers to the target area covered by the chest protector
-Gi: A training uniform, Upper part of the uniform, Short for keiko gi
-Hakama: A training uniform, Lower part of the uniform, Traditional pleated divided pants
-Katana: A Japanese long curved sword
-Men: Head or Head/face protector which is part of kendo protective armor
-Men Buton: The wing-like sides of the men
-Shinai: A kendo practice sword made of bamboo strips
-Himo: Strings, as on practice uniforms, protective equipment or armor
-Kote: Protective mitts that protect the hands and wrists that are a target
-Sakigawa: The leather tip of a shinai
-Tare: A kendo hip protector.
-Tenegui: A small cotton towel with a wide variety of uses, including to cover the -kendoka's head under the men
-Tsuba: A hand guard on a shinai, boken or sword.

Training Instructions:

-Ashibaki: Footwork
-Ayumiashi: A normal stride or walk
-Hajime: Begin
-Hidari: Left
-Hidari-Do: The left of the torso protector, a target in kendo-Hidari-Men: Left side of the head, a target in kendo
-Hikiwake: A draw (no winner) in a kendo match
-Haya suburi: Striking practice where sword strikes are done quickly while moving towards and then away from the target
-Ippon: One point
-Issoku-Itto No Ma: The basic combatant distance in kendo where one step forward will bring the two participants into striking range
-Kendoka: A kendo student or practitioner
-Kirikaeshi: The repetition of strokes of the shinai, often done as an opening exercise
-Mokuso: Command to close the eyes and begin meditation
-Mate: Wait, pause, stop
-Ma-Ai: Combative engagement distance
-Men Tori: A command to remove the men, or face/head protector used at part of kendo armor
-Migi: Right
-Migi-Do: The right side of the torso protector, a target in kendo
-Migi-Men: Right hand side of the head, a target in kendo
-Mushin: An empty and clear mind: a mind not fixed or occupied by thought or emotion and thus open to everything
-Okuriashi: A sliding step commonly used in kendo
-Rei: Bow
-Sage to: Carrying sword posture, the position used to carry a sword into the practice or performance area
-Seiza: Formal sitting
-Sempai: Seniors
-Sensei: Honorific expression used by students in addressing their teacher or instructor
-Shidachi: The defender in a kendo kata
-Shomen Uchi: A strike to the head
-Sonkyo: A crouching position used at the opening of kendo bouts wherein partners show one another respect before starting
-Suburi: Repetitious practice of basic sword strokes as in kendo
-Tenouchi: Gripping the shinai
-To Ma: A distance of more than one step (in order to strike) from an opponent
-Tsuba Zerai: A kendo technique of closing with the opponent and immobilizing their shinai at the hand guard
-Tsuki: A thrust to the throat that is a target area
-Tsukuri: A pulling action used to off balance an opponent in kendo
-Uchi Dachi: The aggressor in kendo kata
-Uchikomi: Attack practice done repeatedly
-Yame: Command to stop or finish
-Zarei: A bow from a kneeling position

Stance

-Chudan No Kamae: A stance in kendo in which the opponent is faced directly and the shinai is held at the center of the body
-Gedan No Kamae: Stance in which one faces the opponent directly, but the shinai is held with the tip pointing towards the opponent's knees
-Hanmi: Triangular stance, where one foot is in front of the other and where the hips are at a 45 degree angle to the opponent
-Harai Waza: Warding off techniques
-Jodan No Kamae: A sword stance where the sword is held with both hands high above the head, elbows spread wide to maximize vision, one of the basic combative engagement postures in swordsmanship and kendo
-Hasso No Kamae: A stance where the sword or shinai is held at the right side of the head, one of the basic stances (kamae) in the sword arts
-Kaeshi Waza: Deflecting a shinai by using the power of the opponent's strike
-Kamae: Combative engagement postures
-Kansetsu Waza: Joint techniques or attacks
-Kata: A prearranged sequence of movements
-Katsu: Resuscitation techniques
-Nidan Waza: Two step techniques
-Nuki Waza: Techniques that utilize dodge tactics
-Oji Waza: The practice of feints, deflections or parrying followed up with an immediate counter of a technique
-Sandan Waza: Three step techniques
-Sayu Men: Strikes to alternate sides of the men
-Shikake Waza: Catching an opponent off guard and attacking
-Shinzentai: A natural stance
-Suriage Waza: A method of sliding up a shinai (practice sword) to ward off an shinai attack so as to be able to counter attack
-Uchi Otoshi Waza: Practice of striking a shinai (practice sword) down and immediately attacking
-Zanshin: Passive, non-threatening stances and kneeling in such a way as to be always ready to draw a sword indicate the fact that

Other:

-Chikaku: A position of advantage outside of an opponents front foot.
Chu: Middle, or center
-Dan: A category used to describe the rank (black belt or dan level) of an advance practitioner of a martial art
-Dojo: A martial arts training hall
-Hanshi: An honorary certificate signifying a master, usually issued to those who have achieved a ninth or tenth dan
-Hantei: A judgment or decision as in a tournament
-Jin: Tendons or muscles
-Kamiza: A place of honor or deity seat often the front wall of a dojo were there may be a Shinto altar, scroll or picture of a teacher or founder
-Kiai: A shout which can have an incredible emotional impact. To hear the kiai in a kendo training hall is to experience kiai as the unity of body and spirit
-Kissaki: The point of a shinai or tip of a sword
-Kodachi: A Japanese short sword
-Onegaishimasu: A formal way of asking for a favor which in kendo and other martial arts has come to mean, "please practice with me," the wording used (often with a seated bow) to start practice
-Renshi: An honorary certificate signifying a trainer, usually issued to those who have achieved a fourth through sixth dan
-Saika tanden: A point on the lower abdomen, also called the center, considered to be the body's center of gravity and locus of energy
-Shiai: Contest
-Shiaijo: Contest area
-Shimpam: A referee
-Shoshinha: A beginner in kendo
-Tachi: A Japanese long sword
-Taikai: Tournament
-Taiko: A large drum used for signaling in many traditional dojos, such as to call class to order
-Uke: Partner, the person being thrown
-Waza: Technique
-Zen Nippon Kendo Remei: All Japan Kendo Federation

Image Taken from: martialartsfashion.com

Introduction to Iaido

Iaido means the immediate reaction on the metal way or in a direct translation, Iizasa Ienao founded Iaijutsu which later was changed to Iaido.

Iaido is normally often mistaken as a part of kendo or kenjutsu but infact it is a totally different thing. Iaido is associated with the smooth and controlled movements of drawing the blade, with immediate reaction cutting an opponent and removing the blood before replacing the blade back into the scabbard.

Normally students or Iaidoka will use a shinken (unshapened blade) but there are also Dojos that use the real thing on their practices, while new students only uses a boken. The teachings are based on 90% of Katas, please do correct me if I’m wrong, the Katas can have up to a few imaginary opponents but there is no sparing or combative competition for Iaido.

It is quite hard to find a pure Iaido dojo, normally it is shared between Kendo or Akido and even it’s uniform are similliar which consists of Gi and Hakama.

Iaido is very much confused with kendo or kenjutsu and the difference for, Kendo is that kendokas are not taught the techniques of drawing and replacing blade back to it’s scabbard and also Kendo has sparing sessions as well as using Shinai, Boken and Metal Blade. Where else Kenjutsu are normally practiced with a partner in a form of Kata which is quite similar to Iaido except the partner part.

I really like the part of Japanese Martial Arts and the way they show respect to a lot of stuffs like the Dojo and your sparing partner, this image is a normal procedure that was practiced to show respect to the blade before and after practice.

Image Taken from: www.onlinedojo.ca

Introduction to Judo

Judo which stands (JU = Gentle) + (DO = Way) was originated from Japan in the 19th century. The reason why it is called the gentle way is because of its feature such as throwing, grappling, locks or executing a choke, not like other martial arts where the focuses on hitting it’s opponent. In Judo it does have Thrusts, Strikes and Weapons and used for Katas but it is not allowed to be used in competition or practices and also Judo uses the opponent's strength, weight and momentum against the opponent itself. As most of the “Non-Judo” practitioner might think that it this art is quite similar to Sambo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but in fact, Judo is like the grandfather to these arts as these martial arts are developed due to the spread of Judo to worldwide.

The founder Kano Jigoro was a son to a Shinto Priest and government Official, Kano was a student of Jujutsu back in the late 1870s and after mastering the art of Jujutsu Kano start to develop techniques like kata-guruma and uki goshi back in 1880s, and with new ideas on developing the art of self defense Kano went to study his art of evolved jujutsu with a few students in a Buddhist temple which the place is later known as Kodokan. The art at that time was known as Kano Jiu-Do which later changed to Kodokan Jiu-Do and finally known as Judo at this age.

If we were to talk about Judo, besides the founder Kano Jigoro, all of us in Martial Arts Asia gives the highest respect to Keiko Fukada, 9th Dan and it made her the highest ranking women in the Judo World, born in 1913 who is the direct student of Kano Jigoro, the Keiko is still teaching Judo up to date. Yes, there is no typo error here, she should be 96 this year and the coming Judo camp will be on July 24-26, 2009 in San Jose and yet she still still actively teaching Judo.

Judo Primary focus is on nage-waza (throwing) and ne-waza (groundwork), I have listed a simple break down on the list of techniques to help us to understand more on the techniques.

nage-waza (throwing) is divided into 2 categories which is tachi-waza (standing techniques) and sutemi-waza (sacrifice techniques)

1. tachi-waza (standing techniques)
- te-waza (hand techniques)
- koshi-waza (hip techniques)
- ashi-waza (leg techniques)

2. sutemi-waza (sacrifice techniques)
- ma-sutemi-waza (thrower fall backwards)
- yoko-sutemi-waza (thrower fall sideways)

ne-waza (groundwork) is divided into 3 categories

1.kansetsu-waza (attacks against joint locks)
2.shime-waza (strangleholds)
3.osaekomi-waza (pinning techniques)

There are seven official forms of kata that are recognised by the Kodokan:

1. Randori (Free practice)includes of 2 two different kata:
1a. Nage no Kata (Throwing forms)
1b. Katame no Kata (Grappling forms)
2. Kime no Kata (Old style self-defence forms)
3. Kodokan Goshin Jutsu (Modern self-defence forms)
4. Ju no Kata (Forms of "gentleness")
5. Itsutsu no Kata (The five forms)
6. Koshiki no Kata (Ancient forms)
7. Seiryoku Zen'yō Kokumin Taiiku no Kata (National Physical Education kata)

However there are also other katas that is not recognized by Kodokan with other focuses.

Weight Divisions, are to separate both the parties to have a equal advantages over each other, the divisions are as below

Men
Under 60kg
60-66 kg
66-73kg
73-81kg
81-90kg
90-100kg
Over 100kg

Women
Under 48kg
48-52kg
52-57kg
57-63kg
63-70kg
70-78kg
Over 78kg

Judo is firstly seen in the LA Olympics in 1932 where the founder Kano Jigoro and about 200 students gave a demonstration, and Kano passed away before seeing Judo being officially taken in as an Olympic sport in Tokyo Olympics in 1964 for men and in 1988 for women.

For this posting, we would not talk about it’s belt and grading as it varies for different countries, we’ll leave it for another time and we hope you have enjoyed reading so far.

Image taken from: ultimate-judo.com

Introduction to Sumo

Most of us will have this perception that oversized people do not do martial arts but it is not the case. In Sumo it is a battle of strength where one wrestler will attempt to force their opponent to fall or to go out of the dohyo (circular ring). Sumo is a very unique type of martial art where it is one of the few that has rituals before the competition like Muay Thai.

Originated from Japan, this sport is considered as a Modern Martial Art although it has been around for many centuries. Sumo Wrestlers are to stay at the heya (training stables) where the wrestlers have to strictly follow tradition like the dress code, and even the hairdo.

It was back in the Edo Period in Japan that Sumo started as a form of entertainment or for warriors to find an alternative source of income. The official tournament started in Tomioka Hachiman Shrine back in 1684 and the tournament rules has been changing since.

Professional sumo tournament are organized by Oyakata, which is formed by former sumo wrestlers. Oyakata are members of the Japan Sumo Association and Oyakata are the only trainers that are accredited to teach Sumo officially to new wrestlers in their training stables.

There are few levels for Sumo Wrestlers unlike other Martial Artist where they obtain a belt/rank and get to keep it. For sumo, it solely depends on their performance. Even if they reach the top division, the sumo practitioner need to work for it keep the title or they will be downgraded to a lower rank. The thing that interests me most is their salary range. I found this range in wiki. It was shocking but at least you know know how much these big guys earn a month (as of year 2006) excluding the additional income that they can make 6 times a year in the tournaments.

Yokozuna: $24,500 USD / Month
Ōzeki: $20,400 USD / Month
Sanyaku: $14,800 USD / Month
Maegashira: $11,300 USD / Month
Jūryō: $9,000 USD / Month

According to the rules the amateur tournaments are divided into the following weight classes:

Male
Lightweight: Maximum weight of 85 kg
Middleweight: Maximum weight of 115 kg
Heavyweight: Above 115 kg
Open Weight: Unrestricted entry

Female
Lightweight: Maximum weight of 65 kg
Middleweight: Maximum weight of 80 kg
Heavyweight: Above 80 kg
Open Weight: Unrestricted entry

Image taken from: talesfromanopenbook.files.wordpress.com

Introduction to Jodo

Jodo also known as jojutsu is a type of armed martial arts that uses short staffs called that is called jo which is about 3-5 feet long. This art is focused on Defense especially against sword and not that much on the Attacking side. There are 2 branches of Jodo called Koryu and Seitei Jodo and now this are very famous among Japanese Police and was refered as keijojutsu (police stick art)

Jojutsu is an exclusive martial art of the Kuroda Clan until the early 1900s, then the art was taught to the general public. It started back to the late 16th Century, where assassination and murder is common in Japan at that time. The Founder Muso Gonnosuke was a warrior who had trained in several Martial Arts school as well as a Shinto Priest training in bojutsu or the art of long staff. Gonnosuke is also a legend that is always compared to Miyamoto Musashi (also known as Sword Saint) as both are undefeated in battlefield.

Gonnosuke is believed to challenge Musashi twice which he won the challenge the 2nd time after Gonnosuke took up concepts from spear, halberd, staff and sword he developed what eventually became known as today’s JoJutsu. After Gonnosuke won the match against Musashi his reputation grew overnight and started to teach his art of Jodo. It is also where further refinements came and over the centuries his students added in other weapons and forms to form a complete school of combat.

Image taken from: hugin.demon.co.uk

Introduction to Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu is known as the art of endurance / perseverance/ patience, the Chinese and Japanese characters for Nin (忍) in Ninjutsu is a combination of 2 other word which is sword (刃) on top of the heart (心). There are a lot of movies or animation out there that brought the art of Ninjutsu to the public like American Ninja, 3 Ninjas, Shinobi, Ninja Turtle and Naruto.

Ninjutsu was traced back all the way to the 14th century feudal Japan with the war during Iga Province and Kōga of Japan, Samurais warriors that fought in the “actual” battle while shinobi are used as Spies, Assassin, and Thief. Ninjutsu is an art that should be taught to a shinobi in the ancient days but in this modern age it is taught to the public. During the ancient times, the male ninjas are known as Shinobi or Ninja where the female ninjas are known as Kunoichi. Although both practice the art of Ninjutsu but the focus is different.

Ancient Shinobi’s training can include techniques of gathering information, techniques of not being detected, avoidance, misdirection, disguise, escape, concealment, archery, medicine, explosives, and poisons.

There is a total if 18 different skills/disciplines that will be taught to a shinobi and it depend on them to choose the skill that they prefer to master.

The 18 Discipline:

1. Seishin-teki kyōkō – A Technique where one refine their mind and soul, Where a practitioner form a mindset to push the body to the limit allowing them to accept pain during training and actual battle.

2. Taijutsu – Unarmed body combat that teaches the practitioner to break / snap bones, striking on weak points of a human body, understanding the posture and how to fall without injuring one’s body, Striking patterns, Throws and Locks.

3. Kenjutsu – The art of sword fighting which is the same technique that Samurai uses. Kenjutsu is also considered as the mother of Kendo.

4. Bojutsu – The art of staff fighting, techniques involve are slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the staff. On Modern day Bojutsu is associated either with kobudō or koryū budō.

5. Shurikenjutsu – The art of throwing shuriken, in traditional Japanese martial arts of throwing shuriken. Shuriken comes in 2 forms, Bo-shuriken which is a straight metal spike which looks like a small iron chopstick but sharp the one that was used by Naruto is a Bo-Shuriken. The other one is a Hira-shuriken, which looks like a flat star with approx of 3mm in thickness and 10 - 12 cm wide.

6. Sōjutsu – Or known as the art of spear, The first design which was brought in from mainland China and was later modified to what it is now.

7. Naginatajutsu – The art of naginata, Naganita looks like a sword attached to a pole / wood staff. This are most seen in battlefield in the Ancient times where mostly used by soldiers and warriors.

8. Kusarigamajutsu – This style of fighting uses weapon is quite unique and it is normally used by Shinobi only The Kusarigama is made up of the Kama, a wooden handle with a curved blade on one end that look like a sickle. The Kusari, a chain attached to the Kama and a small Iron weight on the other end that allows the user to swing the weapon.

9. Kayakujutsu – The art of handling explosion, Sorry as I cant manage to write in more details regarding this as there was not much information.

10. Hensōjutsu – The art of impersonation and it is not like what you see in Ninja Cartoons. Hensōjutsu is an Art of disguise / impersonation where the shinobi will be doing a role-play to avoid being spotted and blend in well with the crowd by appearing as a farmer or priest and ect. Hensōjutsu is a specialized art for kunoichi as the chances of being suspected is lower. And for those who are well trained in this art, it is believed that they can even impersonate others in terms of appearance.

11. Shinobi-iri – The are for stealing and silent movement, this allows the shinobi to enter enemy’s terittory without being spotted

12. Bajutsu – The art of horse back riding and battle on horses.

13. Sui-ren – The are of water, water can be used in many ways, examples are like making boats or rafts and how to control the raft without being spotted, weakening bridges, poisoning water source, hiding in water and finding water in unlikely places.

14. Bōryaku – Tactics / Strategy to assist influence to the opponent.

15. Chōhō – secret information and it was one of the duty of the ninja were spying, it is like the ancient CIA

16. Intonjutsu – The art of escaping, basically Shinobi will be tied up during the training and was expected to escape from it.

17. Tenmon – The art of understanding and using the weather towards the advantage of the Shinobi.

18. Chi-mon – Known as modern day geography to assist the Shinobi’s escape or Sabotage.

I’m not sure on current subjects that the current Ninjutsu schools are teaching at the moment but according to sources, the dojo’s focus towards the practitioner are more towards Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and other armed discipline.

Karate Uniforms

There is no clear guideline on the uniforms that a Karateka wears, some wear white and some black, and also the arrangement of the belt differs from schools / dojo.

Referring to Shotokan Karate Belt Structure from Sensei Robert, the colours start from:

White

Blue

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Purple

Purple with 2 White Stripes

Brown

Brown with 2 White Stripes

Brown with 2 Red Stripes

Black (Dan and above)

those with different schools and different colour structure, please inform us...

Thanks

Introduction to Karate

Karate-do in Kanji, means the way of the empty hand, most of us when we think of the Art of Karate, we should relate more to the movie Karate Kid (1984) or Mr. Miyagi's Wax On and Wax Off. Karate began as a common fighting style among the Ryukyuans from the Ryuku Island. There are a lot of influence of Chinese Martial Arts in Karate from the White Crane and 5 Ancestors school of martial arts. This happen in 1392 where both Japan and China had a Cultural Exchange program and both countries shares knowledge of Science and Arts.

Karate become more popular during 1429 with the Policy of Banning Weapons by King Sho Hashi. The main focus of Karate is an art that uses Punch, Kick, Knee and Elbow to hit the opponent, but other techniques like Knife-hands, Grappling and locks are also taught in some schools.

For any Karateka, the name Grandmaster Anko Itosu (1831 – 1915) should ring a bell, as he is considered as the Grandfather of Modern Karate, it is because of Grandmaster Anko Itosu the art of Karate was introduced to Public Schools in 1901. Grandmaster’s other attributes are including creating many other forms that is used is most of the Karate Schools. Also he had trained many other famous masters including Kenwa Mabuni and Motobu Choki.

Due to there is too many types of Kata, there are 2 different Federation that recognized their own style:

World Karate Federation (WKF) - recognized by International Olympic Committee
- Gōjū-ryū
- Shitō-ryū
- Shōtōkan-ryū
- Wadō-ryū

The World Union of Karate-do Organizations (WUKO)
- Gōjū-ryū
- Shitō-ryū
- Shōtōkan-ryū
- Wadō-ryū

Additionals for (WUKO):
- Shōrin-ryū
- Uechi-ryū
- Kyokushinkai
- Budōkan

Image Taken from shotokankarate.co.nz

Kendo Uniforms

Bogu Set

Men or the face mask is the most important protection that minimized the impact from the practitioner from getting a Tsuki (strike to the throat) and a hit at the Men. The Megane are the steel bars on the Men are to protect the practitioner from getting any strike to the face, a good quality men would have steel made out of Titanium.

Do is to protect any slicing to the stomach area, and normally the better quality ones are made out of bamboo splits for extra protection.

Kote is the hand protector, it protects the practitioner from getting a direct hit to the hand, and trust me, you won’t want to go to a practice without one.

Tare is the waist and hip protector that minimize the impact from the hit using the Shinai

Weapon

The Bamboo Sword or Shinai is made out of made of four splints of bamboo held together with a leather handle (Tsuka) slid over the splints and another small leather cup (Sakigawa) at the tip. There is also a rubber Tsuba to protect the practitioner’s hands from getting a direct hit.

Uniform

In Kendo the Basic uniforms are Gi (Shirt) and Hakama (Trousers), the normal combination for both male and female is:

Gi: Indigo / White
Hakama: Indigo

White Gi and Hakama are mostly worn by Females, some schools will only allow the Sensei to wear this combination no matter of what sex but there are also Males that wear the full white set it is more like a personal preference thingy also although Hakama looks like a skirt but it is actually a separated trousers that look like a long skirt.

Others

Tenugui is the piece of cloth that wraps your head before putting the Men on.

Zekken is the name tag where you wear it in front of your Tare, I would have to borrow the image from e-bogu as I am still waiting for mine.

Bokken/Bokuto is the wooden sword used for the kata, not for sparing cause it may cause serious damage to your opponent

Introduction to Kendo

Kendo is known as “The way of sword” or Japanese sword fencing was a Martial Arts technique that evolved from Kenjutsu. Before every class starts the Practitioner has a do a Mushin or a meditation because kendo have a very strong influence from Zen Buddhism, this process allows the practitioner to empty their mind and getting ready for battle.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1233) sword fencing is known as one of the most famous “Armed Martial Arts” in Japan and in order for the Samurais to practice this martial arts, they invented the bamboo sword (Shinai) Protection Gear (Bogu) during the Shotoku Era (1711-1715) and it was used up to today. The protection gear is now more refined by having metal grills on the “Men” and extra thick cotton protecting the “Kote” and since then Kendo can be practice at full force without having to fear of injuring your sparing partner.

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai established in 1895 promote, and standardize martial disciplines in Japan and in 1920 the name of Gekiken was amended to kendo. In 1946 all Martial Arts in Japan was banned in 1946 in response to the wartime militarization of martial arts in Japan and in 1950 Kendo was returned to all it’s people as Shinai Competition.

In 1952, the name for Shinai Competition was changed back to Kendo Competition and All Japan Kendo Federation (AJFK) was founded following the restoration and lift on the ban. In 1970 International Kendo Federation (FIK) was founded as a governing body to promote Kendo Globally and since then World Kendo Competition was organized every 3 years up to date.

Image Taken from: www.likendo.com

Introduction to Taijutsu

Image taken from: dragonattire.com

When we speak of Taijutsu, the 1st thing that we might think of it Rock Lee and Gai Sensei from Naruto,Taijutsu is an ancient martial art from Japan, which means body skill or movement, is a techniques that rely on a science of body movements.

Taijutsu is studied by ancient ninjas because it focus on spontaneous and natural movement and most importantly this martial art is know for breaking bones and striking at preasure points which might cause the enemy to black out or malfunction of the ememy's arms or legs.

Taijutsu is a very common martial are in the ancient days where the practitioner practices unarmed combat and besides on hitting the preasure points or breaking bones it also focus on alot of throwing and and locks. Taijutsu is a mixture in this few types of style

Koppojutsu

Is a martial arts that focus on attacking bones or breaking them

Koshijutsu

Is the main substance for taijutsu where it is a study on the human body that focus on striking the nerve points or muscles to cause numbness, sharp pain or even death

Taihenjutsu

Is a system of body movement that focus alot on coordination, agility, and bone alignment. "The Skill of Body changing" is tha basic translation of Taihenjutsu and the practitioner's bodies allows them to escape injury from strikes, throws and falls.

Dakentaijutsu

Is the strike and fist formations that focus on hard strikes it is the meaning quite similliar with karate but it relies most on both Koppojutsu & Koshijutsu.

Jutaijutsu

Is where the Throwing and Joint locks comes in.