MOSCOW KENDO & NAGINATA DOJO

Kendo-guide is the most complete kendo FAQ for beginners available on the internet. Including instructional kendo videos and explanation on most common cases. Essential kendo RTFM!

You should also read the following manuals prior any real keiko you are willing to experience. Better prior any training at all!

• Kendo Training Handbook
• Kendo Beginners’ Guide

It would be much easier for you to maintain your equipment if you use every trick of kendo equipment manual including how to fold a hakama, repair your shinai and tie your men properly as well as other similar issues.

For those of you who is about to purchase their first brand-new bogu set, it is crucial to measure your head properly syne a helmet is the most important part of your armour, thus we advise to stick with the following measurement guide kindly provided free of charge by Kazutaka, a superior kendo equipment manufacturer.

For those who has already been following the way of sword for a while, it will be extremely handful to dive into the ocean of kendo details. One may find helpful the following works of kendo masters

• Kendo Reader — Noma Hisashi, kendo nanadan kyoshi (1910–1939). Noma Hisashi sensei was one of the youngest nanadan kyoshi, who had developed kendo philosophy background during his brief life. Kenshi has followed his postulates ever since without any notion where did they come from...
• Kendo – Culture of the Sword — by Alex Bennett, kendo nanadan kyoshi
• Kendo Philosophy, History and Means to Personal Growth — Minory Kiyota sensei
• Kendo that Cultivates People — Sumi Masatake sensei, kendo hanshi. The legend...
• Ki — Prof. Oya Minoru, kendo nanadan kyosho, Reidan Jichi, KendoWORLD magazine 4.1, 2007
• Seme — Prof. Oya Minoru, kendo nanadan kyosho, Reidan Jichi, KendoWORLD magazine 4.1, 2007
• A brief introduction to Omori Sogen’s breathing method — Omori Sogen sensei
• A brief history of Russian kendo — KendoWORLD magazine 1.2, 2002
• A short memo about kamae (stances) in kendo.
• Shiai and Shimpan Handbook — by All Japan Kendo Federation, 2021

This is the most complete and comprehensive guide into fantastic world of atarashi naginata. Every page is accompanied by instructive illustrations for your convenience and amusement of course.

This book includes all necessary tricks you have to learn to maintain your naginata equipment, which slightly differs comparing to kendo.

Additionally, time to time you might take part in tourneys, so you may find it convenient to look into a comprehensive handbook of naginata competition administering and regulations.

Upon one has spent sufficient amount of time for atarashi naginata practice and has participated in countless events, kenshi might be ready to dive deep into core of naginata. The core is the practice itself which is polished with great attention. One can’t even imagine to pass gradings for kyu without said notion of perfection. Thus, we strongly advise to cast an eye on the following literature:

• Naginata Handbook — by All Japan Naginata Federation
• Naginata: History and Practice — Alex Bennett, naginata godan. A budo enthusiast.
• Tendo-ryu Naginatajutsu — a simple handbook to learn Tendo-ryu bujutsu curriculum to the fullest extent possible (including swords, ksurigama, etc.).
• Waza and Feminine Virtue in Japan — a short article defining the place of a woman in the society through budo study.

Kenshi 24/7 is a practical blog about kendo in English. It contains plenty of useful and unique information and references to kendo literature and articles.

Some of published articles are available via our relevant page.

It is inevitable that one day each kenshi will face an inner struggle: to use or not to use the jodan-no-kamae (a stance of fire or upper stance). Reasons for that may differ. You can sustain an injury of your right heel, knee or shoulder one day, or you just find yourself in search of new inspiration or self-development. They say it is not advisable that someone lower than kendo sandan takes jodan as well lower kendo godan to use jodan during grading. I think, you should always keep in mind that kendo is infinite and bound by your own imagination. It is quite a problem to find a jodan teacher outside Japan, a worthy one — impossible though. Find sufficient information on jodan is at leats as hard.

Thanks to our sempai's efforts who have been practicing jodan for quite a while we can offer you a comprehensive collection on jodan-no-kamae:

• Kendo jodan manual can give a hand in practicing duly jodan kihon.
• A jodan-kenshi can only commence keiko with opponents after training for a while with an uchikomidai. Starting from this very moment you should practice a set of techniques which will bring you closer to a jigeiko.
• It would be wise to learn some thoughts of great jodan masters or just wise kenshi, which our sempai put together in one convenient compilation.
• Understanding jodan is a key point in defeating it from chudan-no-kamae. The following manual can give a hint or two.
• There is a chapter dedicated to jodan in the book Kendo Fundumentals and Waza to Win by Nobue Hirakawa sensei, one of the wisest and prominent kenshi of our time.
• Cherry on the top of a cake, every kenshi who is truly into kamae of fire must watch anime 'Musashi no Ken’.

You might want to look up several jodan articles at our relevant page.

We restrain from practicing any form of iaido in our dojo. We only practice Tendo-ryu sogobujutsu time to time. Tameshigiri is practiced only by kenshi of our dojo skilled with a sword in iai or kenjutsu.

As for jodan same applies to tameshigiri — a proper teacher is required. You have to learn iai prior commencing a tameshigiry practice. We highly recommend to cast an eye over following manuals:

• Construction of a katana sword and how to tie its bag properly?
• Naked Blade — by Toshishiro Obata, a very mediocre book, but it contains lots of tips and explainig simple to understand and use
• The book by Musashi Miyamoto — Gorin no Sho or Book of Five Rings
• Art of war by Yagyu Munenori, shogun’s fencing master — Heiho Kodansho
• Muso Shinden ryu iaido handbook
• A video guide into Shindo Munen ryu
• Not quite related to Japanese martial arts, however Fior di Battaglia by Fiore de'i Liberi is a comprehensive manuscript and a must for any fencer who is perfecting own skills.

For those of you who seeks a samurai spirit or philosophy known as samurai code, which you shan't looking for at our dojo, you may find this Hagakure book by Yamamoto Tsunetomo very entertaining (version by Alex Bennett), or famous zen monk Tokuan Soho’s work, who actually introduced the concept of mushin to kenjutsu, as well as the monumental work of Japanese literature Daibosatsu Toge by Kaizan Nakazato. It is good to know who were the samurai, the answer you may find in Japan the Ultimate Samurai Guide.

If you find Japanese swords concerned with beauty and you are into the crafting and maintaining process you should visit very interesting source of information made available by Usagiya sword-craftswomen. You may also like the following books about swords through the years:

• Katana – the Samurai Sword
• The Art of the Japanese Sword – the Craft of Swordmaking and its Appreciation
• Art of the Samurai – Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868

Thanks to efforts of our friend – Japanese sword collector you are able to visit an online exhibition of very interesting and rare weapon collection.