by Antoine PEBAYLE Heir of a rich Japanese martial history, inheritor of centuries of development and perfection of fighting techniques, Kendo is the modern practice of the way of the sword. This martial art directly descended from traditional swordsmanship (kenjutsu), except that now a real sword has been replaced by a wooden one made from bamboo. But it shares the same physical and spiritual virtues of its venerable ancestor. Kendo trains the body while developing mental qualities. A great way to build yourself up… From steel to bamboo: a brief history of Kendo Kendo is the oldest, most respected, and most popular modern martial art. Its current form has appeared quite recently, in 1952 with the creation of the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei (All Japan Kendo Federation), but Kendo goes back many centuries.
After the troubled Sengoku era, a period of 27 years of civil war, Japan was unified again under the Tokugawa dynasty and enjoyed more than 260 years of peace during the Edo era (1600-1868). The sword was not needed for battle anymore but was still of great importance in the education of the upper classes. In the early seventeenth century, a training sword was created, the shinai, made of bamboo, which allows effective training without the dangers of a real katana. Armour (bogu) also developed at the same time. With the Meiji restoration in 1868, the samurai class was dissolved and wearing a sword was forbidden. It might seem that traditional martial arts were finished, too, supplanted by newly introduced western fighting techniques. However, swords were still used in the training of Japanese police forces. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Americans blamed the disciplines of Bushido (including Kendo) for spreading a militarist ideology, so they were forbidden until their resurrection in 1952. The International Kendo Federation was then created in 1970. The same year the first World Kendo Championship was held in Tokyo and Nagoya. Now Kendo is the biggest sport federation in Japan with around 1,500,000 members. Korea is the second biggest federation with nearly 500,000 registered. In Europe, France has the largest Kendo community with around 5,000 adherents. Kendo is a total art, but it is also the noblest martial art because of its historical traditions and its roots, directly linked to an era when the mastery of the sword was a matter of life and death on the battlefield. The old warriors knew that to kill required a perfect focus and a rigorous mind. Even today, what really matters in Kendo is not the sword but the practical and spiritual aspects it involves. The sword is the pretext, but it is still a good pretext. When focusing on good posture and finding a calm and well-controlled breathing rhythm, the mind is free, serenity is total, and thus it is possible to focus and be vigilant. This is the way to become an accomplished man. In Kendo, body and mind are inseparable. That’s why a valid point is characterized by the synchronization of hitting with the sword, shouting out loud, and striking the ground with the foot: shouting express the mind’s involvement while the foot express the body’s involvement. By increasing physical ability, the mind’s power is also improved. During training, the student must repeat what he has learned for what can seem like an eternity. It is necessary to pass through these repetitions to adapt the body to the rigor of fighting, but more important than that, it is needed to learn the right move (“to have the idea of a move you have to execute it 1,000 times; to know the move you have to execute it 10,000 times, and to master the move you have to execute it 100,000 times”). Repetition is also an excellent exercise for patience and helps to train focusing abilities. Because of the complete armour that protect the target (head, chest, and wrists), it is possible to hit with full power without any fear of hurting anyone. It allows us to release both our conscious and unconscious aggressiveness during training. The reflexes are also trained: the sword is faster than the hand, which is faster than the elbow, which is faster than the shoulders… the reflexes are trained to react quickly to an attack. Kendo also has undeniable aesthetic aspects, given the high quality of its attitudes, costumes, and weapons. It is indeed a total art, and more than that, it can be seen as a lifestyle. Everything learned in Kendo must be applied to everyday life. “Martial art” is a Western concept. It is a neologism originally created during the 1930s to name Japanese fighting techniques. Martial arts have been present in every culture since the dawn of humanity. Originally, they were conceived for self-defence and slowly evolved into warrior arts. They became martial arts in the sixth century when they integrated spiritual notions coming from Indian Buddhism. More than fighting techniques, they became something else, with a goal of achieving the perfect unification of the body and the spirit. They aim to gather deadly efficiency with spiritual awakening. To practice martial arts, then, means to follow a long path to perfection and self-accomplishment. Because of this ambitious quest, nothing is left to chance. Everything has a purpose and a meaning. First of all, there is a dedicated place to train. In Kendo, this is the Dojo. The Dojo has a high spiritual value, it is not a simple training field or a gymnasium. Inside its walls are symbolic objects that remind the disciples of the essence of the way of the sword. There is usually a characteristic calligraphy, a statement about Kendo which is proper to each school. The Dojo itself is a very important part of martial arts, its wooden floor and its walls are the soul of the martial school, but it is also an empty shell without the master and his disciples training inside. A Kendo master is not a sport teacher. He is the one who knows, who retains knowledge and will transmit it. He is present at every training session and will not delegate the training to anyone else. Because he himself has achieved the way of the sword, he is the most able one to guide his disciples. There is no exterior sign that show the rank of the disciples or the master (unlike the “belt system” in other martial arts). You can judge others based only on the quality of their movements. Great respect has to be shown to the master, the disciples (no matter their rank), the Dojo, and the school. That’s why etiquette is crucial while practicing Kendo or other martial arts. At first, the strict rules might seem artificial, but they are needed to recreate the true spirit of Kendo. Politeness, respect, generosity, honour, sincerity are needed inside the walls of a Dojo. Without them, there is no practice in its right form and no progress can be made. Martial arts carry a part of the culture and mentality they come from. Kendo is impregnated by Japanese values, culture, and history. It reminds us that the sword was once used to give death but it also teaches us that the sword can bring life. It is the product of centuries of evolution and perfection. From an art of war, from deadly efficiency on the battlefield, Kendo has become a way of life, a quest for perfection and for self-achievement. On this path, it is not the goal that matters but the way it takes to reach it. The road is long, sometimes hard and painful, but the benefits are beyond expectation for true practitioners. Generosity, honour, courtesy, wisdom, sincerity, loyalty, and piety were once the values of the Japanese swordsmen. They are still alive today and can be found in Kendo for those who practice it with their true hearts. a
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May 2024
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