KAMINARIKAN BLOG

In 1956, over 20,000 spectators filled the Miyagi Baseball Stadium for the 3rd Tozai Kendo Championship. Alongside the kendo matches, the very first All-Japan Naginata Championship was held. In this translation, we look back at legendary kenshi (including the "demon" Kiyoshi Nakakura), analyze the lightning-fast ippons of the past, and ask an uncomfortable question: why have modern rules and strict crowd control stripped Kendo of its former spectator appeal?

Nito looks impressive, but skipping the basics is a dangerous trap. In this translated article, Takeshi Masago, President of the All Japan Kendo Federation, shares his concerns about the international kendo community. While Nito brings diversity to the art, "mass-produced" two-sword practitioners in regions without a proper methodological base risk falling into the trap of "anything goes."

Usually, when the Kendo Kata are mentioned, only the fact is well noted that in 1906 the Dai Nippon Butokukai made its first attempt to create a set of standardised kata. Seventeen members of different ryuha jointly created three kata under the name Butokukai Kenjutsu Kata. For unknown reasons, the kata disappeared from history.

Although this may now be somewhat old news, as of 1 September 2024, the Temporary Shiai and Shimpan Rules Implemented Until the Containment of COVID-19, which had been in place since the 2020, were almost entirely adopted as permanent regulations. After the AJKC 2020, when the Temporary Rules were first introduced, I wrote an article suggesting that these rules might well be made permanent. It seems many of kendo community felt the same way.

Kendo for Everyone — An Unprecedented Endeavour. The very first All Japan Kendo Championship was held on 8 November 1953 at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo. The first AJKC was the greatest event wherein the recreated All Japan Kendo Federation emerged itself to the public, and also an important milestone foretelling its future development.

An interview with Edo sensei about his views on kendo and the kendo world was published in December 1993 issue of Kendo Nippon magazine: "Interview: The Pride of a Swordsman." We share exclusevly our translation into English and Russian on our website.

Toda sensei was a very successful jodan competitor, but it was as a nito kenshi that Toda sensei was best known to kenshi around the world. Around the beginning of the Heisei period (1989-2019) he started to practice nito-ryu, and subsequently passed the hachidan exam as a nito-senshu. He was then awarded the title of Hanshi in 2010.

This article will help you with better understanding why kendo is kendo as it is and not as you wish or imagine one to be. It is an interesting journey over four centuries of development and systematisation, I say, evolution of what is called kenjutsu and its techniques into modern kendo. If you love history to the same extent as you do kendo, then let’s roll! However, be prepared – the article is over fourteen thousand words.

Discussions of pre-war kendo pop up from time to time with people proposing what it was like.  It seems that those proposals are often supposition based on what someone wishes or imagines it was like instead of the sources that are available.  To that end, please read the translation of Takano Sasaburo’s fifty kendo techniques.

There is a book called 'Kendo Sanmai’ by Nakao Iwao, mostly unknown to general kendo public, which was found and translated by George McCall. To start with, here is George's translation of a – completely random – section of 92 little “poetic sayings” found at the start of the book.

This article will help you with better understanding of each position of a standard kendo team and introduce you to the specific strategy of senpo, jiho, chuken, fukusho and taisho.

This article is meant as a simple and complete guide to bokuto ni yoru kendo kihon waza keiko ho step by step.

In the intervening 10 years I have taught a total of four students the basics of jodan. I had to figure out my own method of instruction, and in this article I will attempt to share something of it.

Some people only think of Tendō-ryū in relation to the naginata, yet one of the its characteristics of is that all naginata techniques are executed against a sword. Moreover, the curriculum has a large number of techniques which do not use a naginata at all. It is a comprehensive sogobujutsu.

Tameshigiri (試し斬り) defines as to test, cut or slice. Testing sharpness and quality of a blade by preforming a cut of a special target with density of the material which equals to approximate that of bone and flesh.

Muscle training, amongst other forms of cross-training, has struggled to become a regular part of kendo keiko.

Kendo is unusual in that we use fumikomi-ashi instead of a more natural walking gait. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not mandatory to stamp to make a successful attack.​

Kendo techniques are actually very simple. Yet it is pretty hard to learn. As we all know, kendo is derived from kenjutsu. So these techniques are based on these kenjutsu techniques. It is recommended to learn these techniques step by step...

In 2019 our kendo federation has introduced new requirements for applicants attending kendo dan exams. From now on these amendments to grading rules add a written exam in addition to usual kirikaeshi and tachiai keiko.

This is not meant as a guide for learning jodan, but more a guide of how to implement jodan training in your dojo...

This short note is directed to people who are in the beginning of a magnificent journey called atarashi naginata. After you read it you will know a little of history, philosophy, principles and terminology.

This short note is directed to people who are in the beginning of a wonderful journey called kendo. After you read it you will know a little of history, philosophy, principles and terminology.