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Originally Posted by anatagasuki
A friend of mine takes Kendo and I heard it was pretty fun.
I get the fact that you have to use a wooden sword but can someone explain it better?
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I'm not sure what you're asking exactly, but I'll try to throw out some information.
I haven't trained specifically in Kendo, so my knowledge of it is limited -- very limited. However, I have been taught some basic concepts of
Kenjutsu, and as they are basically the same thing, I would assume some of these concepts also apply in Kendo.
You are taught to master your mind, body and weapon (shinai
a.k.a. wooden or bamboo sword) to achieve victory in combat. Accuracy, speed, technique and focus are what you train for...
My knowledge of the history of it is also very rusty... But it is basically the art of swordplay born from the Samurai that is practiced in a less lethal form.
These days, since you may not train to kill people, you may train for sport. And, therefore, there are certain things in Kendo that may be prohibited or emphasized to translate
into a sport... For example: scoring points based on various aspects of your performance is a primary objective... And dirty or potentially lethal attacks can be made illegal in a match. (However, some lethal attacks are still taught to practitioners for whatever reason.)
Armor is used in matches to protect the fighters from serious injury.
Clean strikes or gaining an obvious advantage through disarming your opponent is what may determine a victor in a Kendo match.
Here are some quick clips [Note: You may find some of them to be very quick and simple; speed and control is very important]:
I hope that helps a little.