through solo movements, as well as choreographed patterns with two students, known as kata. Free fighting, while liberated from the constraints of kata, was also real fighting. Combatants could use either a real sword or the bokken, but the results were often deadly. Even the wooden training sword can be fatal in the right hands. The famous swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, for instance, used a wooden sword with fatal effect in a number of duels. With live blades, the probability of injury was even higher. Japanese swordsmen figured that, in any duel, they had one chance in three of coming out unhurt. The samurai felt that if two opponents of equal ability crossed swords, the extreme sharpness of the katana probably meant that both would be killed or seriously injured. If a warrior fought someone of superior skill, he expected to die. Only if the fighter was confronted with an opponent of inferior skill could he hope to emerge unscathed.
Combat, in other words, was the proving ground of sword skill in feudal Japan. Once the country was unified in the seventeenth century, however, the samurai did not have as many opportunities to refine their swordsmanship. Controlled free fighting that was nonlethal was impossible with a real blade, and only marginally better with a wooden one What was needed was a relatively safe training aid that would permit a type of free fighting without fear of injury.
The shinai, a fencing foil of split bamboo bound together with leather, is what emerged. A more detailed description of the evolution of Kendo is presented in Part IV, Wind, but after a century or so of evolution, the shinai was developed in its modern form.
shinai specifications by class
| Class | Length | Weight |
| Adult | < 1. 18 meters | >468 grams |
| High School | < 1. 15 meters | 415- 485 grams |
| Middle School | 1.10 meters | 300-375 grams |
The shinai is different from a real or wooden sword in a number of ways. In the first place, it is longer, the handle having been lengthened to accommodate the protective mitts worn in Kendo. In the second place, the shinai is not really a cutting implement at all. It is roughly tubular, and so has different aerodynamic properties from a real or wooden sword. The shinai is also much lighter than the other two. A glance at the different swords used today in various martial arts concerned with swordsmanship shows an evolutionary progression toward a nonlethal implement that can mimic the action of a sword. What modern Kendoka use, in other words, is a type of symbolic sword that captures the essence of the swordsman's intent, but can by no stretch of the imagination be thought to impart a complete knowledge of swordsmanship. In fact, the reason for the inclusion of kata training in Kendo is, in part, to familiarize students with how to use a wooden sword, which requires greater use of the hips and different use of the hands. The advantages of paired work with bokken, hearkening back to traditional patterns of training, is emphasized through the study of kendo no kata (see Part IV, Wind). Finally, no swordsman's studies are complete without training in iaido, where real katana or replica swords known as iaito are used.
Shinai and its parts
The importance of the shinai (and therefore of Kendo) is that it permits trainees to engage in simulated combat without fear of serious injury. No Kendo sensei would say, however, that this freedom means that the proper attention to proper form and to basic techniques should be overlooked by any serious trainee.
The shinai is made of four bamboo staves bound together. The saki-gawa is the covering that is placed over the tip of the weapon. A string runs from the tip down the symbolic "top" of the shinai shaft. About one third of the way down, the staves are bound together by a leather tie known as the nakayuki. Finally, the handle, or tsuka, also of leather, serves as a place to grip the stave and to hold the base together. The shinai is both a practical and aesthetic object, and there is a specific way of tying the various components together. A basic guide is replicated on page 20.
Trainees should take the time to maintain and care for their shinai. The bamboo staves that are the weapon's main component will splinter after hard use. Before every practice session, the student should carefully examine the shinai and its fittings to make sure that no jagged splinters are exposed. Use a piece of sandpaper or a sharp knife to trim jagged edges. Small cracks that develop in the individual staves can be repaired using carpenter's glue.
The leather ties and string that secure the sakigawa, nakayuki, and tsuka in place should also be routinely checked, tightened, and replaced when necessary. Finally, the shinai should be oiled to keep it from drying out. With proper care (and good technique) a shinai can last the Kendoka for a year or more (although it is always a good idea to have an extra handy, particularly during matches). In recent years, graphite shinai have been produced for serious practitioners. They are flexible and strong, and do not wear like more traditional shinai. They are, however, considerably more expensive than bamboo foils and, because these graphite models are relatively heavy, some Kendoka prefer using bamboo shinai in sparring.
Through the use of the shinai, Kendo students can also replicate the fast-paced, emotionally charged experience of a duel. As anyone who has experienced this sort of competition can tell you, it is a grueling test of an individual's ability to apply the basics of what he or she has learned to a fluid situation.
Ideally, Kendoka should train with all three types of swords. It is particularly important as the student progresses that he or she gain some familiarity with the use of the katana, since handling it effectively is a very different matter from using the shinai. This conviction has led to the well-known saying in Japanese swordsmanship that Kendo and iaido form two wheels of the same cart—both are necessary to go anywhere.
Bogu
body armor
Kendo bogu was modeled on the battlefield armor of the feudal samurai. This armor was lightweight and flexible, compared to that worn by European knights, and this tradition has endured to influence modern Kendo's protective coverings.
Bogu today consists of four pieces of equipment: a face and head protector made of metal and fabric that serves as a modified helmet and is called a men, a lightweight chest protector called a do, a cotton hip protector, or tare, and a pair of mitts, or kote, to protect the Kendoka's hands and wrists. Clad in the sweeping training uniform of a hakama and keikogi and swathed in protective bogu, a kendo trainee cuts an exotic figure that is reminiscent of Japan's feudal tradition (and also seems to have influenced the futuristic costumes of Star Wars).
Bogu represent a significant investment for a trainee—even a set of inexpensive beginner's bogu can run around four hundred dollars—and should be appropriately cared for. As in the rest of the art, there are certain "do"s and "don't"s regarding bogu.
When donning bogu, the student sits in the formal position known as seiza. The kote are placed side by side (palms down) in front and to the right. The men is laid face down on the kote. The tare, or hip protector, is put on first. The cords are wrapped around the back, crossed, and brought to the front. They are tied underneath the central flap of the tare.
The chest protector is then put on. There are two cords on each side of the do. The top cord, which is longer, is brought up and across the back and then tied to the loop on the front of
