What is Kendo

Kendo is the art of Japanese swordmanship and its

etymological meaning is the road of the sword
(Ken= sword, Do= road).
The trainees in the art of Kendo are calledKendoas
and instead of the Japanese atana they are !sing
"am"oo swords called shinai. The targets of Kendo
are the following # $en (head), Kote (wrists), Do
(%ans of the "ody) and Ts!i (nec) and are
co&ered "y "og! (special protecti&e e'!ipment).
The de&ising of shinai ()) years ago appro*imately
and of the protecti&e e'!ipment "og!, allowed the
safe and free practice.
+n Kendo yo! are trained how to o"ser&e the
mo&ements of the opponent, to react immediately
and to !se the "rains and the "ody at the same
time, Taing ad&antage of e&ery opport!nity for
attac that comes !p. Thro!gh practicing in Kendo
yo! learn to percei&e the en&ironment, to
recogni,e the &ario!s sit!ations and, maintaining a
state of stand-"y, to react directly to e&erything
that is happening and to mae fast and correct
decisions. Kendo techni'!es follow strict r!les and
re'!ire the e*istence of !nity "etween the "ody,
the spirit and shinai, in order for an action to "e
considered as s!ccessf!l (+ppon) and to "e
reconed as a &ictory.
Jodo helps in de&eloping self-discipline and self-
control, in de&eloping the coordination "etween the
"ody and the spirit and constit!tes an e*cellent
physical e*ercise for "oth men and women of all
ages.
+t is a martial art that comes straight from the era
of the sam!rai warriors and as s!ch, is still eeping
the spirit of "!do.
The str!ct!re of the practice
Training in Kendo starts "y learning ihon datots!
("asic techni'!es), and ashi sa"ai (mode of
mo&ement). When the trainee achie&es a
satisfactory le&el in these, he.she proceeds to
practicing against an opponent and this practice
incl!des a n!m"er of di/erent forms with the 0nal
form "eing the practice in 1igeio (free match),
always with the safe !se of shinai ("am"oo sword)
and "og! (protecti&e e'!ipment). 2t the same
time, Kendoas are practicing in 3ihon Kendo Kata,
4) pre-de0ned forms that are carried o!t in pais
!sing "o!to (wooden swords).
2ttire and e'!ipment
D!ring practice the trainees wear the haama
(traditional large tro!sers), and eiogi (traditional
coat). The attire is !s!ally "l!e and made of cotton.
The protecti&e e'!ipment ("og!) consists of the
head and nec protection (men), chest protection
(do), pel&is protection (tare) and glo&es (ote).
+n the front part of tare a ,een is worn, which has
the name of the trainee and the name of the school
to which he.she is a mem"er.
5ederation
6ractice in Jodo follows the standards of the
7ellenic 5ederation Kendo +aido 3aginata
(8.9.:.;.<.), !nder which the school comes.
=.>.K.+.3. is a mem"er of the =!ropean Kendo
5ederation, =K5 and +nternational Kendo
5ederation, 5+K and thro!gh them it is associated
with the 6an-Japanese 5ederation Kendo (2ll Japan
Kendo 5ederation ? @en 3ihon Kendo Aenmei),
which constit!tes, from the point &iew of
techni'!e, the directional &ector for Kendo at an
international le&el.
6an-Japanese 5ederation of Kendo in 4BCD iss!ed
an oEcial anno!ncement pertaining to the p!rpose
of practicing Kendo#
The p!rpose of practicing Kendo is # the shaping
of "ody and mind and the c!lti&ation of &igoro!s
spirit. Thro!gh proper training and strict practice
we are searching to impro&e the art of Kendo, with
dignity, indness and honesty, we associate o!r
fellowmen sincerely and constantly see self-
impro&ement. 2s a conse'!ence we achie&e to
promote indness, honesty, lo&e for the co!ntry
and society, the de&elopment of art and we
enforce peace and progress among all people .
Fames
Kendo is partic!larly competiti&e. =&ery match has
a normal d!ration of G !p to D min!tes. The
s!ccessf!l mo&e is called +ppon and ( +ppons are
re'!ired for the match to end prior to the
termination. +f !pon the completion of the period
the res!lt is )-) or in case of draw 4-4 the match,
depending on the case, will either end as a draw or
e*tension is gi&en !ntil the 0rst +ppon is achie&ed.
There are se&eral national and international racing
acti&ities with leading ones "eing the World
Hhampionship held e&ery three years and the
=!ropean Hhampionship which is held the two
years in-"etween.