The wearing of protective equipment allowed competitors to engage in striking without fear of injury. In shinai training, fights take place in a ring, and points are given for target strikes to specified parts of the body. It involves fencing with a bamboo sword or shinai, and practitioners wear protective equipment called bogu or kendo-gu.
The name is relatively modern and was not commonly used until 1920. Kendo, the way of the sword, developed from sword techniques used on the ancient battlefields of Japan. There are several schools of ninjutsu, the majority of which teach a mix of ninja skills and samurai fighting arts. Some sword techniques included pulling a sword with the left hand, then striking the opponent with the handle, or pulling the sword from behind the back. They mastered the skill of pulling the sword out of its scabbard in confined spaces and using it while walking, especially when moving along a wall or jumping through obstacles.Īll weapons and techniques of the ninja were designed to mislead their enemies. The ninjas generally used ninjato swords, usually with straight blades and longer hilts than the usual samurai sword, and they served as a multifunctional tool. Each ninja could master all these arts and had training in disguise, concealment, and unusual methods of attack. However, ninjutsu consists of several disciplines, from sword fighting techniques to unarmed combat, throwing edged weapons, and using fire or explosives. The ninjas were groups of spies and assassins of the powerful lords of feudal Japan, and the ninjutsu was derived from their training and practices. Modern iaido is a non-competitive art, though, in competitions, two practitioners perform kata side by side, with a panel of judges deciding on the winner. Known for its defensive sword drawing, the iaido movements include drawing the sword from its scabbard, cutting, removing the blood, and sheathing the blade. In tameshigiri, a sensei or martial arts instructor uses a shinken or a live blade to cut through targets like tatami mats and bamboo. For safety, partner kata is performed with wooden swords or bokken. In partner exercises, a practitioner develops proper timing, distance, and footwork. They may practice with an unsharpened long sword katana or a short sword wakizashi. It also trains the practitioner to block and cut with proper stance and balance.
In waza practice, practitioners use iaito, an unsharpened metal sword to develop the proper techniques in dealing with imaginary opponents who may attack alone or in groups from various angles. Iaijutsu training consists of waza or technique, partner exercises, and tameshigiri or test cutting practice. It dates back to feudal Japan when samurai warriors began wearing their katana through the belt with the cutting edge upward, contrary to the tachi worn hung from the belt with the edge facing down. Before iaido emerged, the iaijutsu was developed as a way of drawing the sword out of its scabbard quickly to save crucial seconds in case of a surprise attack. Iaijutsu or Iaidoīoth iaijutsu and iaido involve perfecting the control of the sword and attacking from scabbard. They also developed techniques using swords to defeat an opponent armed with other weapons, such as spears, halberds, sticks, and even shuriken. In training, kenjutsu practitioners utilize a bokken of similar size and weight to a Japanese katana sword. His 17th-century work, The Book of Five Rings, also known as Go Rin No Sho, is a text on kenjutsu and narrates his famous duels and his skill in double swordsmanship. The most famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is often depicted wielding two bokken or wooden swords. The swordsman raises his sword and brings it down as if he intends to cut his opponent, but the blade must stop before touching the opponent’s body. It is a performance art where dueling opponents perform kata or prearranged movements. One of the highly respected martial arts, kenjutsu, the art of the sword, is based on battlefield experience. Sometimes, it is described by the particular use of a sword, such as iai or drawing, in iaijutsu. The style of combat is often identified by the name of the weapon used, such as ken or sword in kenjutsu. In Japanese martial arts, jutsu means art, method, or technique, while do means way or path. Let’s explore the world of Japanese sword fighting and the different training swords used. Sword fighting schools became influential, and some still exist in a revised form through their various offshoots. Several types of Japanese sword fighting were established in feudal Japan and are still being taught today.
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