Warding Off Attack/Harai Waza
Forestalling Attack/Debana Waza
Receiving Techniques/Oji Waza
Dodging/Nuki Waza
Parries
Up Parry/Suriage Waza
Downward Parry/Uchiotoshi Waza
Lateral Parry/Kaeshi Waza
Close Quarters/Tsuba Zerai
Pushing Off Attack/Hiki Waza
Zanshin
Spirit
4. The Shiai
The Psychodynamics of Competition
Pride
Anger and Excitement
Winning and Losing
Part Four: Wind
1. Tradition
2. Historical Development
3. Kata
The Spirit of Kata
The Kendo no Kata
Bokken
Sage-to
Bowing In
Stepping In and Stepping Out
Overview: The First Five Kata
Ipponme
Nihonme
Sanbonme
Yohonme
Gohonme
Performance Dynamics
Part Five: Void
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
No book is perfect and, with a subject as complex as Kendo, I am sure that this work is no exception. The faults contained here are the product of the author's personal limitations and in no way reflect on the kind assistance I have had from various groups and individuals.
Gratitude is owed to all the people and groups who have assisted (wittingly and otherwise) in this project. First, my thanks go to those (often anonymous) Kendoka who have assisted me in my exploration of this art by their example and their patient teaching. Special acknowledgment is made to Kataoka Noboru Sensei, who serves as a guide for those of us studying Kendo in Western New York today. My thanks go as well to the members of the Buffalo Kendo Club, fellow travelers on this martial path. I am deeply indebted to Kimura Hiroaki Sensei for his warm yet demanding instruction.
Above all, I appreciate the love and support of my wife Kitty and my children Erin and Owen, to whom this book is dedicated.
INTRODUCTION
Kendo (literally the "Way of the Sword") seems to some observers to be the modern martial art that has the most overt links to traditional Japanese culture. Its etiquette, training methods, equipment, and techniques are the product of a long historical development. The philosophical concepts that have helped shape the art and that lie behind its practice are central to Japanese culture. The art of Kendo is not only an exciting and profound discipline on a personal level, it is also an opportunity to gain a great deal of insight into the Japanese character.
What is Kendo? Kendo is the modern, ritualized version of Japanese fencing. There are many Japanese sword arts in existence today. They span the range from true classically-oriented combat systems that attempt to train individuals in traditional Japanese military skills (often termed bujutsu) to more modern, specialized systems such as iaido, which focuses on the technique and esthetics of drawing the long sword. As a generic term, in fact, Kendo can refer to any system of Japanese swordsmanship. As I use it here, "Kendo" refers to the modern martial art referred to as Nippon Kendo. It can be considered a sport, as well as a physical and mental discipline. It is, in some sense, all of these things. When properly and conscientiously practiced, Kendo is a Do, a path or way that can lead the trainee to self-cultivation. It combines the stress and excitement of competition with the potentially profound insights that can be gained from the practice of the Japanese martial arts.
Kendo is not, however, the same art that was practiced by the feudal swordsmen of Japan, the bushi or samurai. It is a modern system that developed out of these arts, but it is very different. Kendo has rules, combat does not. The restriction of Kendo blows to eight areas has led to a noticeable change in Kendo bogu (armor) when compared to the war armor of the samurai. The shinai, the bamboo foil used in Kendo, is used differently from a real sword, and is shaped and balanced differently from the katana, or long sword of the samurai. Kendo's stance and movements have been conditioned by the fact that Kendoka (Kendo practitioners) typically train indoors on a hardwood floor. Feudal warriors fought on battlefields. These are a few examples of technical considerations that have decisively affected the evolution of technique and equipment in Kendo.
All modern budo (martial ways) are substantially changed from their feudal predecessors. This does not mean, however, that they are not worth our study or interest. Like any aspect of culture, a martial art such as Kendo is valuable because it is a vivid reminder of the past. It also continues to contribute to human life in the present precisely because of the changes it has undergone in its adaptation to modern conditions. Kendo has its roots in Japan's feudal age, but endures in the modern era precisely because these roots have made it strong enough to bend in the winds of history, and yet to endure. Kendo is linked to the feudal samurai not in substance, but in spirit.
I have consciously attempted to underscore that link by creating a structure for this book that echoes that of Miyamoto Musashi's Go Rin no Sho (Book of Five Rings). Musashi's work is widely interpreted in the West today as a book about swordsmanship that is more than just a book about swordsmanship. It has, many feel, applications for strategic thinking and action in numerous disciplines. Musashi himself clearly felt that the insights he gleaned from the events of a violent life had implications for a wide variety of people.
From our perspective today we can argue about the real merits of Musashi's life—one concerned with a seemingly compulsive search for conflict and conquest that left him alone at the end of his life, holed up in a cave, penning notes for unknown generations. We can acknowledge, however, that we can benefit from his experience, even as we question his wisdom. In this sense, I have seen merit in organizing this book into five headings that echo Musashi's chapters—Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, Void.
The reader will note an interpretive tone to this book. This is due to my background. I first became interested in Kendo while conducting research on Japanese culture. I have also trained in
