Kendo

Terminology

This is a part of the Beginners HowTo Guides

One thing to note here. You don't actually need to go and learn this stuff, you'll just pick it up along the way. So you can just ignore this page for now

Week 1

  • Bokken / Bokuto - A wooden (usually oak) sword
  • Shinai - A bamboo sword, with leather fittings
  • Bougu - The armour used in kendo
  • Men - The helmet
  • Kote - The gloves
  • Dou - The chest protector
  • Tare - The thigh protector
  • Tsuki - A thrust to the throat
  • Tsuki dare - The armoured part protecting the throat
  • Tsuka - Sword handle
  • Tsuba - The hand guard on the sword
  • Kamae - Posture
  • Chudan no Kamae - The middle posture in Kendo
  • Kensen - The tip of the sword
  • Ashi sabaki - Footwork
  • Suriashi - Sliding footwork

Week 2

  • Saki gawa - The fitting at the tip of the shinai
  • Nakayui - The fitting in the middle of the shinai
  • Tsuka gawa - The handle fitting
  • Tsuru - The string running down the back of the shinai
  • Saki gomu - The rubber stopper inside the kensen
  • Take - The bamboo used in the shinai
  • Reigi - Manners, Etiquette
  • �Kiritsu� - �Line up�
  • �Chakuza� - �Sit down�
  • Mokuso - �Begin Meditation�, The meditation done at the Beginning and end of every practise.
  • Rei - �Bow�, The bow used in kendo
  • �O negai shimasu� - �Please teach me�
  • �Arigatou Gozaimashita - �Thank you very much�
  • Suburi - Practise cutting
  • Shomen - A straight cut to the head

Week 3

  • Kiai - The shout used in kendo
  • Kakegoe - The initial shout before any cut
  • Yoko men - A diagonal cut to the head
  • Renzokyu - Continuous
  • Sa � Yu - Left � right
  • Katate - Single handed
  • Ki Ken Tai no Ichi - Mind, Sword and Spirit as One

Week 4

  • Men uchi - A cut to the head, or men
  • Kote uchi - A cut to the wrist, or kote
  • Dou uchi - A cut to the body, or dou
  • Fumikomi ashi - The stamping footwork used in Kendo
  • Sonkyo - The squat done at the start and finish of every practise
  • Mono uchi - The cutting area of the shinai

Week 5

  • Ma ai - Distance
  • Toi Mai - Long distance
  • Chika Mai - Close distance
  • Issoku itto no mai - One step one cut distance
  • Motodachi - Reciever or the senior side
  • Kakarite - Attacker or hitting side
  • Zanshin - Awareness of yourself and your opponent after every cut

Week 6

  • Bokuto no Kihon Keiko no Hou - Lit. A method of practise with wooden swords
  • Kiri kaeshi - Lit. Cut and Return, A setpiece using shinai
  • Kyu - The junior grades in kendo
  • Dan - The senior grades in kendo