The origin of Kendo...

[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.