Governing Body

[Gbaldi]

Does Kenjutsu have a Governing Body in the UK or world wide?

[JSchmidt]

Does Kenjutsu have a Governing Body in the UK or world wide?


Kenjutsu is a a generic description used for Japanese sword arts and not a single art form, so it does not have a governing body. Anything that will call itself a governing body for kenjutsu would be fake.

The various disciplines will sometimes have a governing body, although most of the old 'original' arts are still governed by 1 person. For the bigger more generic arts like kendo and iaido, there is governing bodies, with the biggest (and by far most influential), being the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei. This is represented in the UK by the British Kendo Association.

[Gbaldi]

Does the BKA govern Kenjutsu as well as Kendo, Iaido and Jojutsu?

[ScottUK]

No. Kendo, iaido and jodo only (plus ancillary arts).

[JSchmidt]

Does the BKA govern Kenjutsu as well as Kendo, Iaido and Jojutsu?

No, as I said, there's no such single art as 'kenjutsu'.

[Anonymous]

He already answered that in his first post.


Kenjutsu (and iaido too) are generic terms for a large number of different arts with different methods of teaching. Google the rest, its not that hard.

[ScottUK]

Gbaldi, whereabouts in the UK are you?

[Gbaldi]

Gbaldi, whereabouts in the UK are you?

East London

[Gbaldi]

No, as I said, there's no such single art as 'kenjutsu'.

I was thinking more along the lines of this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenjutsu

as opposed to kendo, iai etc. I understand there are different Ryu, but was curious if there was an umbrella organisation that provided insurance, arranged seminars, maintained dojo lists and promoted the art in general.

[pgsmith]

I understand there are different Ryu, but was curious if there was an umbrella organisation that provided insurance, arranged seminars, maintained dojo lists and promoted the art in general.
Nope! The closest thing to that would be the Dai Nippon Butokukai or the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai. Both of these organizations are in Japan, and are more about the preservation of the koryu rather than the promotion of the koryu. Also, many legitimate koryu ryuha do not belong to either organization. To understand some of the differences between the koryu and more modern arts like kendo and karate, check out some of the articles at Koryu.com ... http://www.koryu.com/koryu-curious.html

[Gbaldi]

Nope! The closest thing to that would be the Dai Nippon Butokukai or the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai........ ... http://www.koryu.com/koryu-curious.html

Cheers Mr Smith!