• The Official Guide for Kendo Instruction

    Assisted by my brother Blake, and supervised by Satō Nariaki-sensei, for the past year I have been working hard on a translation of the Kendō Shidō Yōryō (The Official Guide for Kendo Instruction). This book, as the title suggests, is the official be-all and end-all textbook authorized by the All Japan Kendo Federation. This is the book that outlines the “correct” way of executing all of the kendo techniques, and definitions for terms and concepts. It is used in Japan as the standard text for seminars, and is what people studying for their Kyōshi examination have to memorize. Actually, part of the reason for doing the translation is in preparation of the International Kendo Federation (FIK) Kyōshi exam system which is being organised at the moment. More to come on that later. The book will be a useful, nay, indispensible guide for all instructors of kendo. As the “bible” of kendo explaining how all aspects of it should be done, the text can be quite dry in places, but is very detailed and is a “must have” for all kendoists. You can buy the book here on the AJKF’s homepage.

    l A Short History of Kendo and its Evolution 剣道小史剣道の流れ
    l What is Kendo? 剣道の在り方
    l Kendo Instruction 剣道指導の在り方
    l Kendō-gi, Hakama, and Training Equipment 剣道着・袴および用具
    l Rei (Etiquette)
    l Kihon-Dōsa (Basic Movements) 基本動作
    l Applied Movements (Techniques) 応用動作(対人的技能)
    l Training Methodology (Keiko-hō) 稽古法
    l Shiai 試合
    l Warming-up, Cooling-down and Strengthening Exercises 準備・整理運動と補強運動
    l Glossary 主な剣道用語
    l Appendix

    The following excerpt is taken from the introductory section where Fukumoto Shuji-sensei gives information surrounding how the book came to fruition.

    “The Yōshōnen Kendō Shidō Yōryo (“Kendo Guide for Instructing Children”), first published on March 15, 1977, was substantially revised and republished on November 1, 1985, based on input and opinions by numerous specialists. It was reprinted several times after this, and by April 25, 2001, it had reached its tenth edition. Despite the title, this book has been utilized for many years to instruct people of all levels and ages, not just children.

    Twenty years have passed since the first revised edition was made available. To incorporate the sentiments of instructors, and gain consistency with other publications produced by the AJKF, the federation (President Takeyasu Yoshimitsu, and Managing Director Ōtani Masatoshi) organized a committee on June 27, 2006, to consider further modifications to the original text. In total, forty-five meetings were convened in which the ideas of many instructors and experts were heard, culminating in the publication of the Kendō Shidō Yōryō (The Official Guide for Kendo Instruction) on July 1, 2008. This publication is the English translation of that book.

    This fully revised edition will provide kendoists all over the world with comprehensive information to learn and teach kendo properly. Of course, the intention is not unify all teaching methods. Instead, the content is designed to provide instructors with clues on how kendo should be taught, and as such, it is my hope that it is employed by teachers far and wide.”
    This article was originally published in blog: The Kendo Bible! It’s Here Now! started by Alex
    Comments 51 Comments
    1. ben's Avatar
      ben -
      Fantastic. Bought it.

      b
    1. b8amack's Avatar
      b8amack -
      Just ordered it. Looking forward to reading it!
    1. 0746's Avatar
      0746 -
      nice. Ordered one as well.
    1. Shinsengumi77's Avatar
      Shinsengumi77 -
      Methinks I've found a suitable birthday gift...
    1. verissimus's Avatar
      verissimus -
      Was having some difficulty getting a hold of the book, since I could not see it on the KW 'books' page. Did not see the link to the AJKF page. Dense moment there.
    1. Neil Gendzwill's Avatar
      Neil Gendzwill -
      Ordered, and thanks for all the hard work in making this available!
    1. yoda-waza's Avatar
      yoda-waza -
      Thanks for this. Mine is on its way.
    1. Hisham's Avatar
      Hisham -
      This comes at the nick of time, with our sensei just going back to his home country. Thank you very much.
    1. Santiman's Avatar
      Santiman -
      Hello Alex!
      What paperwork does it take for me to produce a Spanish translation version for the AJKF?
      Regards,

      Santiago
    1. Alex's Avatar
      Alex -
      Lots and lots probably... Let me talk about it with the powers that be and see what they say.
    1. neanderthal's Avatar
      neanderthal -
      my book has just arrived and its by far the best kendo book on the market!!! i highly advise everyone to get a copy.
    1. neanderthal's Avatar
      neanderthal -
      my book has just arrived and its by far the best kendo book on the market!!! i highly advise everyone to get a copy.
    1. Alex's Avatar
      Alex -
      Dear Santiago-san,

      I just got off the phone to the AJKF. They have no intention at this stage of publishing the book in any other language. However, they did say that people from non-English speaking countries want to use the content for seminars and the like, are allowed to translate sections for this purpose. However, the text cannot be reproduced for sale or any other money-making purposes, and any translation that is done must clearly state what it is a translation of. i.e., no pirated copies or translations for retail are permitted... This basically menas that if you want to make some translations for teaching materials, as long as it is referenced properly and not sold for profit, then it is okay.
    1. b8amack's Avatar
      b8amack -
      My copy came in the mail this afternoon. Leafing through it now. It's nice to have such well-lit colour photographs in there.
    1. b8amack's Avatar
      b8amack -
      My copy came in the mail this afternoon. Leafing through it now. It's nice to have such well-lit colour photographs in there.
    1. neanderthal's Avatar
      neanderthal -
      best kendo book ever!!!
    1. Black Knight's Avatar
      Black Knight -
      Extremely well done book! Superb English translation. Hooray for Alex and Blake! This really is a wonderful resource.
    1. ジャン's Avatar
      ジャン -
      I just bought the 'Kendo Fundamentals I+II' book which was produced together with Nariaki Sato.. is this the same?

      They have removed the other one from their shop, I guess this is a revised version?
    1. Alex's Avatar
      Alex -
      No, it is completely different.
    1. turboyoshi's Avatar
      turboyoshi -
      For those of us who are still a long way from being instructors, would this book still be useful? Also, will this be made available in an electronic version?