Kendo

Kendo, a Japanese martial art which is based on the discipline of Japanese Samurai swordsmanship, is made of up two kanjii: ken, which means sword, and do, which translates to way. Kendo, therefore is "The Way of the Sword." Kendo was originally developed in the 16th century as a method which would unify several different techniques. Since 1975, the essence of Kendo has been to discipline the human character through applying the principle of the Katana (Japanese steel sword).

Practitioners of Kendo, called kendoka, are taught using two types of "swords"- one which is made of oak or another hardwood, which is called the bokken or bokuto, and another made of bamboo called the shinai, which is only used during full contact sparring practce. Katana are only used when practicing Kenjutsu, another form of martial art based on sword-fight.

The Kendo uniform consists of woven cotton top called a keikogi and pleated skirt-like trousers called hakama. Practitioners also wear extensive armor, which includes four pieces for the head, body, and hands. Modern Kendo armor designed is fashioned after Samurai armor.

Kendo involves only two types of attacks: strikes and thrusts. Strikes are targeted on only certain areas of the body- the top of the head, the right and left sides of the body, and the forearms. Thrusts, which are only aimed at the throat, can often be done wrong and result in injury, and so are usually not taught until a student is at a high level of learning.

Points are awarded during matches when the attacks are done correctly and strongly to the allowed targets. Good control must be maintained at all times, and attacks are accompanied by a yell in Japanese which confirms which part of the body is being targeted. The winner of the match is the first competitor to score two points.