The origin of Kendo...

[suzume]

August issue of Nippon Kendo covers, as could be expected, the soon to come world championship. Still, the perspective lacks anything international.

Instead of providing the Japanese readership with a word view of what Kendo is, we have another Korea vs Japan paper spiced up by a long article by the French Federation Technical Expert, M. Yoshimura about the "Origins of Kendo", in a reaction to the Korean correspondant arguing that Kendo's root are in Korea. As for the "what is to be expected form this year's tournament", it is relegated towards the end of the issue in a short one page paper.

Wherever the roots are (notice the plural here), it seems to me that there is something that goes beyond the roots and that explains the possibility of Kendo practice all over the world.

Kendo is much more that what the local (read Japanese) federations say it is, ie. "kendo ha [...] minzokubunka de ari [...]" or "nipponminzoku dokuji no bunka de aru kendo [...]"

By defining Kendo that way the Japanese federations totally alienate any possibility of "international" kendo. Kendo has to be "Japanese". Ie. a "budo" is not what is translated as martial arts, a "budo" is a _Japanese_ martial art.

By extension, a budo, defined as such is nothing more (or less) than a defined social practice that aims at reproducing a related specific social frame.

Whatever non-Japanese Kendo players do, it will never (or only very exceptionnaly) be considered "budo" because by being non-Japanese they cannot grasp the subtle nuances of Japanese society transmitted through this social practice.

It seems to me that this restricted definition is extremely harmful. Of course, the sheer number of Kendo practitioner in Japan makes it hard to deny the claim that Kendo _is_ mostly Japanese. So what ?

What is the "critical mass" necessary to create a non-japanese high level base of Kendo ? European experiences could teach us a lot about that.

What are the "universal" or common values that are understood as shared by Kendo practitioners around the world ? Not to be confused with the ritual decorum that pervades dojos and Kendo clubs all around the globe.

Since, as a martial art, Kendo is so much related to death, what is the (quasi-) religious experience that comes with it ? Its relation to zen for example ?

Why do we have to mix Kendo with confucean values (maintenance of a specific social order) or shinto values (related to japanese identity and nationalism) ?

Why do the Japanese federations refuse to accept that the difference between a "sport" and a "budo" is only ideological and not at all related to the reality of the practice, and, more importantly, to the interpretation each practitioner has of the practice itself ?

Keeping in mind all the above questions (while sweating a lot :)) is necessary to improve one's practice because it is important to refuse the cultural neo-colonialism of budo-ideology to find one's own "path". A "do" is something someone has to experience on one's own. A "do" does not allow for groupal behaviorism, it is mostly a non-ideological individual choice.

[Hyaku]

Without going into a lengthy discussion, I thought the Korean Kendo/Kumdo Renmei Kaicho had been interviewed some time ago. He clearly states that he had set up the Renmei after the war with the assistance of a Japanese Sensei (name slips my mind). It's online somewhere.

I have been told that the name used to generalize and encompass all the sword arts in Korea is Kumdo and not particularly just Kendo. Bruce Sims who can be found posting on Ebudo and Sword Forum is well up on this subject.
He is quite versed with this. He does Korean arts and has long researched the possible roots between the two keeping an open mind.
.................
susume wrote: Whatever non-Japanese Kendo players do, it will never (or only very exceptionnaly) be considered "budo" because by being non-Japanese they cannot grasp the subtle nuances of Japanese society transmitted through this social practice.
.................

The above statement I find quite laughable. As a Yudansha in Karate, Kendo, Iaido, Battodo - Acting Shihan of the Kageryu and national representative of The Hyoho Niten Ichiryu I would even go as far as saying they dont know what the hell they taking about!

The only reason people of other countries are not so well versed is a simply a matter of distance and the actual time to do these things. Rest assured the gap will close. Already in Sumo we see a certain amount of foreign domination. Other arts such as Karate have seen World champions. My very good friend Vic Charles took first place seven times if I remember rightly. Judo also has a lot of foreign Olympic champions.

Japanese dont win all the medals and until recently did not win "anything" until they started to train abroad. Who wants to watch who came in seventh or in thirtieth place on TV? I want to see which nation won!

Are the majority of Japanese Kendoka practicing Kendo with Zen/death precepts and Confucian values? What nuances? This is news to me! One could apply a few Christian or Hindu values and get more results. Does Kendo teach us that Dad should only spend a few minutes with the kids every week. That abortions are a very profitable system.

I thank you for translating these facts and points and making other people aware of such things.

I have known about this attitude for quite some time but find it far too embarrased to state the facts so clearly.

It brings to question the fact that if this is the attitude held by such people, do we want to do Kendo anyway? If it was not for such people like Gordon Warner who fought to get Kendo reinstated after WW2 based on its educational merits no one would be even doing it now.

I should also add that such stagnant attitudes prevail throughout a lot of things in Japanese Society. Japanese should be aware that a lot of foreigners do not stay here for long because of such narrow mindedness.

I for one will stick it out for some time as some things here in Japan do have a very good side. Some of the people are nice but human values suck.

I can see within my life time a society that wont even be able to sit in seiza anymore let alone want to enter a Dojo.

Obviously a bit more kakari geiko is required and a bit more keiko to knock some sense into people!

To sums it up: "Just as the Japanese thought he got it right some gaijin smacks him over the head and gives him good reason for a rethink! We dont have Junyusho in other countries

Hyaku

[samurai999]

Technically speaking, didn't all Asian sword arts originate from China? I thought that Kendo itself was Japanese.

And Hyaku, most of the part of "won't even be able to sit in seiza anymore let alone want to enter a Dojo" are attributed to the younger "kin-patsu"/"cha-hatsu" generation. They are Japan's version of Gen-X. They are more into baseball and soccer. Some of my relatives quit kendo and went to soccer/baseball because of the superstars on the teams abroad. (ie Nakata, Ichiro, Matsui, Sasaki)
They think kendo is too traditional and boring and nobody is really forcing them to do it so they quit. As a person living in america and sick of the high-stakes glitz and glamor or bball stars and baseball stars making too much money, I wanted to get back to my roots and take up kendo after years of basketball.

Tim

[aru-ma]

Originally posted by samurai999
Technically speaking, didn't all Asian sword arts originate from China? I thought that Kendo itself was Japanese...

Some of my relatives quit kendo and went to soccer/baseball because of the superstars on the teams abroad


I dont think its just sword arts, I'm willing to bet most if not all Asian martial arts can somehow be roted back to china and maybe India (just because its not popular doesnt mean it doesnt exist).

I find it a very common phenomena with the second part. Seeing from an asian point of view, I often see today's youth abandoning their local cultural heritage for other cultures. In terms of martial arts I find upper class youth seems to know more about japanese martial arts rather than their local ones.

[mingshi]

No one point this out yet, but this was a hot / stupid topic for all Kendo/Kumdo folks a while ago:-

Kendo originated from Korea?!?! (http://www.geocities.co.jp/Athlete-Acropolis/6963/)

[Hyaku]

Originally posted by samurai999
And Hyaku, most of the part of "won't even be able to sit in seiza anymore let alone want to enter a Dojo" are attributed to the younger "kin-patsu"/"cha-hatsu" generation.

Tim

But you just mentioned a good 99% of them. The only kids I know that have black hair are those that are forced to through school regulations.

I think its great that at last we may see a little more imaginative out going type of Japanese. Its about time they caught up. This will go a long way towards making more of an international melting pot.

But does not leave much of a future for Kendo and other things does it.

Hyaku

[iwatekenshi]

Yes I think it's great as well, where everybody copies each other. Very imaginative! Dantaishugi does wonders for Japanese pop culture.

[aru-ma]

be imaginative, be an individual, be different! dye your hair to be different like everyone else, wear pre-ripped jeans so you'd stand out, like everyone else, go against the tradition LIKE EVERYONE ELSE:D :D

[iwatekenshi]

Sorry I shouldn't have put that up!!!:(
This has nothing to do with the origins of kendo. The origins of kendo argument just bothers me though. Revisionist history and one angled views of it suck and takes the pure enjoyment out of it. Ok I'm off to practice to meet with friends and have a good time doing something that we just like doing. That's what it's all about...add a beer in there as well :) .

[kendomushi]

Conversations I've had with several sensei on the internationalization of kendo seem to indicate a fear that kendo will cease to be kendo if interpretations of it are relaxed. That is to say, as with karate in the US, there are lots of people teaching crap and who are not qualified to teach in the first place. Unfortunately this kind of teaching is what people usually hear about. Kendo is not just about using the shinai, the self discipline, rules, Confucian, Zen, Shinto, and other values have helped shape kendo into what all of us posting here seem to enjoy. I believe most people are unaware of these elements and just continue doing what they are taught, but to eliminate these things......... would we have kendo, or just another sport in funny gear?
And as for Japanese becomming more imaginative and catching up with the rest of the world....... why is tradition thought such to be a negative thing? If catching up is such a good thing, why is there more and more crime? Why are the young disrespectful, lazy, even violent in many more cases than they were a generation or two ago? Japan has been a part of my life for nearly 20 years now. In that time, the modernization of thought I have seen seems to have brought more negatives than positives.
Everyone and everything has to evolve, grow, or die. That is natural, but finding a balance that preserves the good things in kendo or a culture or anything else....... that is where we run into trouble and risk losing everything.

[Hyaku]

I would have hoped with a bit more imaginativeness and creativeness people might become a little bit more self supporting and feel a need to be a bit more responsible.

I have met quite and few out there particularly those that have ventured outside Japan that give me hope.

Maybe I am just dreaming and hoping as all these people walking about looking like dead coconuts or a circus clowns is one of my pet hates. Withoubt a doubt if you want to be different now natural hair and a will to learn Japanese culture would be quite a unique thing for Japanese people.

At the moment its something like 2% that do M.A. Two percent also like peanut butter but not the same ones I think.

Hyaku

[Simon]

These are common complaints about the young though (I recall being told of a 12th century samurai writing about how crap all the contempory samurai were).

When you were young the older people complained about the same things. Point in the matter is that people (myself anyway ;) don't tend to remember things that are normal, it is the things that piss you off that you remember.... possibly the people who are playing kendo by choice now are the people that will keep it alive in the same way that the majority of people that were forced to play kendo didn't actually contribute to it's growth and simply did it as something they were forced to do...

So you have the idea that you probably only remember seeing the people you disagree with and the old Quantity vs Quality argument.

Rhetorical questions about why tradition is thought to be negative etc are fairly pointless outside of a speech.

People tend to do stuff that other people don't approve of.

Don't focus on the ones that are throwing away what you consider is important. Too much damn work. Focus on the ones that are at least close to your own ideals and try to build them up.

Martial Arts (IMHO) are full of too many dissenting opinions that don't realise it is a small difference and we dilute the power of our convictions with in fighting.

[kendomushi]

Heading further down this path I have to ask, why is it that young Japanese seem to desperately be anything but Japanese?

I agree with Hyaku that some of those who have broadened their view beyond Japan do seem to bring a ray of hope. The problem is that these people are often seen by the rest of society here as being a problem, being no longer real Japanese. What a wonder it would be to see some of these people rise to prominence for what they have learned outside Japan and at the same time hold up some of the best parts of being who they are, Japanese.

Simon is right, there isn't much we can do except be true to ourselves and try to support those who have compatible points of view.

[samurai999]

Japanese kids are heavily influenced by western culture. They watch movies and sports and copy famous people. So what happens? Traditional Japanese culture goes out the window because it is bland, too restrictive, strict and boring.

Its basically the typical "monkey see monkey do" thing. If a popular person dyes his or her hair green, then you'll see about 10-20 people at the persons school the next day with green hair. But that's all good if they know where their roots are and keep up with their heritage. Like I said before, this is Japan' version of Gen-X and this is how they do things.

Watch Great Teacher Onizuka. Its a drama and fictitious of course but some parts of these are derived from true events.

Tim

[kendomushi]

I think its much more serious than a Gen-X thing. Society here has certain expectations of its members but there seems to have been a complete disconnect in teaching those expectations to the young.
I've always said that one of the biggest mistakes in the Japanese education system was the elimination of a requirement to study some form of budo. My reason for this is that there are things about Japanese society, culture, history, and mind set that are not taught in the home and not taught in any text books. But they can be learned or at least understood often times by training in budo. Now while the requirement to study was dropped, the values, benefits, and learning it imparted are still expectations of society as a whole, but no effort has been made to teach them.

I've watched Great Teacher Onizuka. Sadly yes, some of the events used in the story are derived from real life. Unfortunately its ususally the tragic, disheartening, demoralizing, and saddening ones.

[Fraz]

Japanese society is disintegrating...?

Time for a Battle Royale...:)

Seriously though, Teenagers will rebel against anything or anyone that stops (or tries to stop) their instant gratification.

Unfortunately this is not just a Japanese problem. In the UK crimes caused by 'children' are rising. In Scotland in particular 'Ned Culture' is on the increase..

As a society matures it relaxes it's controls on youngsters, These kids grow without a sense of where societies boundries lie.

Martial Arts, Scouts, National service and youth groups are all methods of instilling this.

Just my 2 pence worth..:)

[James]

Originally posted by Simon
These are common complaints about the young though (I recall being told of a 12th century samurai writing about how crap all the contempory samurai were).


...Earlier than that, Socrates was berating the people of Athens for not teaching their kids proper values, as kids were being taught immoral debating techniques by those Sophists (foreigners).

Kids will rebel, that's their job. Even if it is in big peer herds copying eachother.
Seems strange that people are expecting Japanese kids to keep Japanese traditions, when the majority of people on this forum are Westerners persuing Japanese traditions.

Shouldn't we all be out jousting or something?

I'm strapping a Falcon to my wrist as I speak.

[kendomushi]

Jousting? How about swinging a claymore? :)

The problem with looking at Japanese teens the same way we do western teens is that they aren't western teens. Japanese society is not a close relation to what we know in the west though it is changing along with the rest of the world day by bay. Japanese teens have always rebelled as well, but not like they are today. (why do I suddenly feel old? lol)

In any event, Japan is changing lets just hope the majority of it is ulltimately for the best.

[iwatekenshi]

Exactly! Westerners who get their info through the eyes of the media seem to think that this kind of rebellion is what goes on their own country as well. It's not the same.
Japanese teens are not the same as Western teens. They will have similarities as teen all do but, but deep inside their reasons for rebellion are much different.
Here's an example....
After asking a bunch of teens how they feel about their hometown here in the sticks of Iwate they say they want to get out. They don't like their parents telling them what they should do and how hard they should study. They want to wear their school uniforms in some kind of fashionable style that's totally against the rules. They want to drink and they just want to break the silly rules that run their daily lives.
Hmmm...this seems all familiar...any teen in the world has these feelings based upon their culture's status quo. They want out!
The strangest response I get is when I ask them what about their future? Almost 100% of them say they want to come back to the sticks. Meaning that they want to come back to their ancestral home. Do you think a Western teenager will give a resonse like that? I don't think so.
Before saying this and that...please keep in mind this is the countryside NOT Tokyo or Osaka. Not everything happens in Tokyo and you can't judge a culture with what happens there and what happens here in the countryside.
Oh I can just see it little Johnny and little Jenny wants to go back to his or her ancestral home in (hometown,add a western country here) after spending a rebellious teenage life and then finding a job away from home.
This ain't the WILD WEST folks! This is WILD ASIA, things are a bit different here.
Sorry for my tirade, but I don't like it when people start to equate things without the experience.

[iwatekenshi]

Sorry for my tirade, but I don't like it when people start to equate things without the hands on experience. Don't judge a book by its cover i.e. through the media.

PS here's another bit of info...that probably most Westerners don't know. This has nothing to do with teenage rebellion or chapatsu, but did you know most towns outside the large metropolitan areas are still without the convenience of a sewage system? Yup that's right folks a tank to catch your feces and then a truck to suck it up. After the war the local municipalities are still working on it. Many of them have a goal. My parents home still have an indoor outhouse (that sounds strange??). Geez... isn't this the land of mini-cellphones and all that high tech stuff??? Again this is Asia and we're still sucking shite out of a bucket. BUT WE'RE WORKING ON IT!!!
Sometimes I like to put it as Japan being the most modern third world country! ;)

[iwatekenshi]

BTW wanting to come back to their ancestral home I find that absolutely facinating. That longing for their FURUSATO, as it is said in Japanese, is still much in the hearts and minds of teenagers.

[bukowski]

The question of whether Kendo is Japanese or Korean is very silly. The japanese term for martial arts is BUDO, which, when fully translated, means something equivalent to "the path to enlightenment through the practice of a martial skill." True, Kendo is distinctly tied to Japanese culture, BUT-
Kendo is not hitting another person with a shinai, it is not sword practice, it is, at the core, a deeply religious experience meant to cultivate the mind and spirit. Any argument spawned about where Kendo comes from shows a lack of the true understanding of Kendo on the part of the aggitators. Kendo is a Japanese word for heaven's sake, but they seem to have forgotten what their own word means. After this World Championship (USA finally places for the 1st time since the 70s!) a high ranking Kenshi from Japan spoke and said that, with all of the emphasis on tournaments and winning, the true purpose and nature of Kendo is becoming lost. For Japan and Korea to argue like this is to be assinine. Period.

[kendomushi]

iwatekenshi,

Very well said. Having lived in Japan basically my entire adult life I have seen many times exactly what you speak of but I know that such ideas to my peers back home in Chicago would be an anathema.
The one thing I always tell westerners about Japan is that I expect no one to enjoy living here like I do, but I think everyone should experience it if they have the chance because it is as a culture and society, no matter how modern in most ways, different from anything you know growing up in the west.
Granted I live in the suburbs of Tokyo and have real plumbing, but when I was married to a woman from Kyushu, I don't think I visited even one family home with a real toilet. And don't forget that even in Tokyo, most homes and even huge 400 or more unit apartment buildings do not have a stove, they have only a 2 or 3 burner gas top with a tiny grill slot and are run by tanks of LPG (liquid Propane Gas). For those of you in the USA, thats the same stuff people have wired up to campers and your gas BBQ grill out back.

[James]

Originally posted by kendomushi
Jousting? How about swinging a claymore? :)

No that would be Scottish, whole different country! (and I probably couldn't lift one).

Sorry for staying off topic, but I find it interesting what KM and IK are saying. Maybe there should be another thread about tradition/ values etc.

I might take issue a bit with IK saying that Western teenages would not want to return to their ancestral home. It depends where in the West you are talking about, if you are talking about the USA and UK, I would probably agree with you. Both my parents were immigrants to England. (Irish and Basque) and my father made it *very clear* that he was to be buried in Ireland.
I guess they moved for economic rather than teenage rebellion reasons, so maybe this is not the same topic, but I think that in many parts of the West concepts such as ancestral belonging/tradition are still v. strong. In my experience (only) less so in Western societies that are not so cohesive. eg. St. Patrick's day being more celebrated in England than St. George's day. In my experience rebellious Basque teenagers are also v. different from rebellious English teenagers, and your question to a Basque teenager would probably get the answer they would expect to end up in the Basque country, (after moving out and becoming sucessful in a big city somewhere else first). I think it is just that Japan has maintained a cohesive society for longer than most (but not all) now fragmented Western cultures. As KM says the rate of change is faster now, but the world is smaller.

BTW if you're under the impression I'm 'a Westerner who get their info through the eyes of the media', my wife is from 'the sticks of Iwate'.

[Shinaido]

This is a tangent, I know...

One of the common misconceptions of western swordcraft is that the swords were heavy and unwieldly. True, there were some styles of sword that grew to around two meters in length, but these were specialized weapons and were usually choked up (grab the leather wrapped lower portion of the blade) after chopping off the head of pikes. For the majority of the European sword era swords were quite reasonable in weight. This would make sense from a Darwinian point of view, as iron ore is awfully similar in Japan and Germany; laws of physics seem to be pretty similar, too. A sword has to be a certain lightness in order to be agile enough to use.

The biggest difference is the shape of the blade, and even that is somewhat in question, as there were curved blades, though of different proportions, in Europe as well.

We are talking swords ranging from 2lbs 12oz to 3lbs, generally, for European blades, though claymore designs did run heavier, pushing 5 lbs.

Check here for some replicas of European swords:
http://66.0.193.114/cgi-bin/www11651.storefront

Jonathan

[Fantasia]

This is a tangent, I know...

One of the common misconceptions of western swordcraft is that the swords were heavy and unwieldly. True, there were some styles of sword that grew to around two meters in length, but these were specialized weapons and were usually choked up (grab the leather wrapped lower portion of the blade) after chopping off the head of pikes. For the majority of the European sword era swords were quite reasonable in weight. This would make sense from a Darwinian point of view, as iron ore is awfully similar in Japan and Germany; laws of physics seem to be pretty similar, too. A sword has to be a certain lightness in order to be agile enough to use.

The biggest difference is the shape of the blade, and even that is somewhat in question, as there were curved blades, though of different proportions, in Europe as well.

We are talking swords ranging from 2lbs 12oz to 3lbs, generally, for European blades, though claymore designs did run heavier, pushing 5 lbs.

Check here for some replicas of European swords:
http://66.0.193.114/cgi-bin/www11651.storefront

Jonathan

Iron ore may not vary greatly place to place (the purity would of course, but aside from that) the methods to make steel were vastly different in different places of the world. Iron by itself made pretty worthless weapons.

Something else I'd like to point out is that most European curved swords still were double-bladed, unlike the katana.

Anybody know anything about why katanas were developed with a single edge?

[Shinaido]

I agree that methods for making steel varied geographically as well as temporallly. However, my point was that the process of natural selection would lead to a similar, superior product wherever the swordsmith may be. Smiths who made better steel could make lighter, more agile, stronger blades, which would serve their wielders better and ensure return customers. The market would reward metalurgical progress and the smith who can produce the best blade would prosper, until that method was wide spread throughout his society.

More briefly, swordsmen in Europe and in Japan needed strong, light blades and they got them. This did change with the use of full plate armor, leading to the use of the estoc and similar weapons (also seeing a shift in preference to hammers, maces, etc.). However, full plate armor was not a common thing as it was so expensive.

I was not aware that there were many curved, double-bladed swords in use in Europe. I know that some historians theorize that the falchion saw more use than straight bladed swords, but I don't know about the double-edged design.

Jonathan



Iron ore may not vary greatly place to place (the purity would of course, but aside from that) the methods to make steel were vastly different in different places of the world. Iron by itself made pretty worthless weapons.

Something else I'd like to point out is that most European curved swords still were double-bladed, unlike the katana.

Anybody know anything about why katanas were developed with a single edge?

[Eldritch Knight]

Didn't Musashi make a huge contribution to modern kendo based on Gorinsho? I read through that and everything in there reminds me SO much of whatever my sensei taught me (about posture, and seme, etc.).

[ben]

August issue of Nippon Kendo covers, as could be expected, the soon to come world championship. Still, the perspective lacks anything international.

Whatever non-Japanese Kendo players do, it will never (or only very exceptionnaly) be considered "budo" because by being non-Japanese they cannot grasp the subtle nuances of Japanese society transmitted through this social practice.

It seems to me that this restricted definition is extremely harmful. Of course, the sheer number of Kendo practitioner in Japan makes it hard to deny the claim that Kendo _is_ mostly Japanese. So what ?

What is the "critical mass" necessary to create a non-japanese high level base of Kendo ? European experiences could teach us a lot about that.

What are the "universal" or common values that are understood as shared by Kendo practitioners around the world ? Not to be confused with the ritual decorum that pervades dojos and Kendo clubs all around the globe.

Since, as a martial art, Kendo is so much related to death, what is the (quasi-) religious experience that comes with it ? Its relation to zen for example ?

Why do we have to mix Kendo with confucean values (maintenance of a specific social order) or shinto values (related to japanese identity and nationalism) ?

Why do the Japanese federations refuse to accept that the difference between a "sport" and a "budo" is only ideological and not at all related to the reality of the practice, and, more importantly, to the interpretation each practitioner has of the practice itself ?

Keeping in mind all the above questions (while sweating a lot :)) is necessary to improve one's practice because it is important to refuse the cultural neo-colonialism of budo-ideology to find one's own "path". A "do" is something someone has to experience on one's own. A "do" does not allow for groupal behaviorism, it is mostly a non-ideological individual choice.


Excellent post Suzume. A lot of these questions are valid ones but I think their urgency depends one whether you do kendo in Japan or not. I for one find the Confucian values and Zen influence in kendo extremely stimulating, partly because I know I can leave them in the dojo. Were I living there I know (from experience) that I would find them much more oppressive. IOW I don't feel pressured to embrace anything about kendo I don't wish to.

I do however disagree with the kendo=sport assertion. I think the difference is more than ideological, or rather the fact that it is 'merely' ideological is more than enough to make the difference. I see the emphasis on personal development and constant practice in kendo, rather than the playing of discrete competitive seasons until a certain age barrier is reached as in most sports, to be more in line with a practice like yoga.

This is my approach to kendo. It's very traditional. It means I do have to "sweat a lot" to find answers to some sticky questions about politics and history, and a way to rationalise learning a combative artform while holding a largely pacifist viewpoint. But it makes me quite different to those who wish to see kendo unburdened from its history and become some portable, borderless sporting commodity.

b

[MikeMJH]

I am an aspiring bladesmith, so I have done some research on swordsmithing techniques.

As for the katana, I have a few theories. The curve of a katana is largely due to the differential heat treating used in its creation. Clay is used on the back of the sword (the dull side) to allow it to cool more slowly; this way less martensite crystal structure forms in the steel, making the spine of the blade more soft. The softness would allow for better shock absorption. The single edge is likely to have been used for this purpose: to allow for a soft spine composed of pearlite or banite crystalline structures.

This is sort of off topic, but a lot of people seem to have a misconception about Katana forging, and speak about the superior quality of Japanese swords compared to Euorpean swords. A common misconception is the folding of steel. Folding steel was used in both Europe and Japan. However it was more prevalent in Japan, as folding steel allowed for carbon migration in the steel and 'purified' it, as Japanese steel was on average far inferior to the steel found in Europe (this is not due to craftsmanship, but geography; worse iron ore was found in Japan). Also, a katana will weigh, according to my research, only a bit less than a well made German or Italian longsword.

Just my two off-topic cents.

[Grautr]

This is a tangent, I know...

One of the common misconceptions of western swordcraft is that the swords were heavy and unwieldly. True, there were some styles of sword that grew to around two meters in length, but these were specialized weapons and were usually choked up (grab the leather wrapped lower portion of the blade) after chopping off the head of pikes. For the majority of the European sword era swords were quite reasonable in weight. This would make sense from a Darwinian point of view, as iron ore is awfully similar in Japan and Germany; laws of physics seem to be pretty similar, too. A sword has to be a certain lightness in order to be agile enough to use.

The biggest difference is the shape of the blade, and even that is somewhat in question, as there were curved blades, though of different proportions, in Europe as well.

We are talking swords ranging from 2lbs 12oz to 3lbs, generally, for European blades, though claymore designs did run heavier, pushing 5 lbs.

Check here for some replicas of European swords:
http://66.0.193.114/cgi-bin/www11651.storefront

Jonathan

Hi,
Isnt the Japanese no dachi the equivilent weight of a European great sword or there abouts? Although I was looking in an antique weopons shop down the Haymarket a good few years ago and came across a great sword which apparently belonged to one of the bodyguards of the Duke of Zurick. The huge elaborate guard on it must have been as heavy as the blade.

be whole,

[Bokuto no Ryu]

Sorry for my tirade, but I don't like it when people start to equate things without the hands on experience. Don't judge a book by its cover i.e. through the media.

PS here's another bit of info...that probably most Westerners don't know. This has nothing to do with teenage rebellion or chapatsu, but did you know most towns outside the large metropolitan areas are still without the convenience of a sewage system? Yup that's right folks a tank to catch your feces and then a truck to suck it up. After the war the local municipalities are still working on it. Many of them have a goal. My parents home still have an indoor outhouse (that sounds strange??). Geez... isn't this the land of mini-cellphones and all that high tech stuff??? Again this is Asia and we're still sucking shite out of a bucket. BUT WE'RE WORKING ON IT!!!
Sometimes I like to put it as Japan being the most modern third world country! ;)

I found this (and your previous reply) quite familiar because it reminds me in sorts of were I live and the difference of mentalities.
I was born in the USA and lived there until I was 12, when my parents decided to return to Portugal (for what reason, I've yet to know). I came to a new country, a new continent, and inevitably a new way of thinking. What I've found from my stay here is that most of the Portuguese that do emmigrate all have the same desire - to return here. They do not wish to seek a new way of life abroad, to embrace a different path, but rather to do what must be done and return to the motherland. As forthose who do not leave the country, what they want is to not have to leave where they were born. To be born in the city, raised there, to work there, and eventually to die there. Those born in the rural areas always tend to return there when they retire. Mayhap taking risks and doing something new isn't in their blood.
The majority of youngsters here also have a similar problem - they want to be everything else but Portuguese, while at the same time thinking that there are none better than they. If they see something on the TV, most assuredly everybody will immitating/saying it the next day.
And even though "we" are a part of the EC (and so, supposedly an industrialized country) there are many a place without any sewage systems, electricity, etc. Even in the cities. And yet the Prime-Minister is more worried about attaining the goal of 50% of the population being connected to the internet by 2005...
That's why I find posts like these so revealing, because they show me how much Japan and Portugal have in common (as what they do not).
To conclude, I find it to be a sad day for kendo when we have people griping over who "invented" it. IMHO, I believe kendo to be above those kinds of things. Isn't it all about perfecting ourselves, about making us better people?
Anway, that's just my 2cents. So sorry for the long (and somewhat non-related post).

[Kozushi]

Modern Kendo is essentially a method of practicing swordfighting safely with bamboo swords and special armour. This was developed in Japan in the 18th Century. This method of practice was created to train in the use of the 2-handed, single-edged sword called 'Katana' in Japan. The same type of sword was the most popular in Korea also, and from very early times. The Koreans had their own sword-kata, based on those of China. Training involved solo and dual kata, and competitive training with wooden swords where the blows were pulled back at the last moment: before the invention of bogu and shinai in Japan, the samurai trained in the same way. This, you see is the link between Kumdo and Kendo. The Koreans liked the Japanese bogu and shinai, and they adopted them enthusiastically this past century. Kumdo is not a religious thing for hardly anyone in Korea or in Japan. Kendo is a safe way of learning to fight with the Katana. The Bogu and Shinai are most certainly Japanese inventions, but the Katana is a shared heritage of both countries. 'Kendo', if you take it to mean 'training for combat with the Katana' is most certainly tied in with Korean history, and they have every right to see it as part of their heritage. It has a great role to play in promoting friendship between the two countries.