What is kendo?

**Neil Gendzwill** · 26th January 2010, 09:00 AM

Not many English language pieces "get" kendo but this one comes close. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. If you are curious about kendo, you could do worse than watch this.

**Daniel_klc** · 26th January 2010, 11:01 AM

Yes, this documentary is really good for people who want to "discover" Kendo but also for current practicioners. I watched it a good 5 times already and the more I watch it, the more I love it. Surely the best documentary on Youtube with "The Gruelling Challenge" and "A Single Blow".

This guy fencing with just his left arm is impressive:

"I believe that as long as you keep trying, anything is possible..."

**b8amack** · 26th January 2010, 11:24 PM

Has anyone here tried the 3 hour jigeiko ordeal?

**Neil Gendzwill** · 27th January 2010, 01:39 AM

Originally Posted by b8amack

Has anyone here tried the 3 hour jigeiko ordeal?

Tachi-giri-keiko isn't necessarily 3 hours long. In our dojo, it's just fighting everyone in the club starting with the beginners and finishing with sensei. We do it when someone leaves the club. It's not 3 hours in our club, more like 30-45 minutes. What we do though is that everyone who plays the guy gives it everything they've got. So if you have 2 minutes, you should finish up dead on your feet, but the motodachi (if that's the right word) must carry on. We also play quite a bit rougher, you'll see sweeps, hip tosses, taiatari into the wall, etc. How rough and how hard the practice is scales up depending on who is receiving.

I stickied this video because I thought it was a good resource for new people looking for information from this site. In that vein, I want to emphasize that tachi-giri-keiko in no way represents normal practice. It's a special occasion kind of thing.

**b8amack** · 27th January 2010, 01:43 AM

That sounds like a lot of fun.

**ender84567** · 27th January 2010, 02:35 AM

standard for birthdays 'round these parts

**jjcruiser** · 27th January 2010, 03:33 AM

I enjoyed everything but the host's godawful awful shirt.

**Daniel_klc** · 27th January 2010, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by Neil Gendzwill

Tachi-giri-keiko isn't necessarily 3 hours long. In our dojo, it's just fighting everyone in the club starting with the beginners and finishing with sensei. We do it when someone leaves the club. It's not 3 hours in our club, more like 30-45 minutes. What we do though is that everyone who plays the guy gives it everything they've got. So if you have 2 minutes, you should finish up dead on your feet, but the motodachi (if that's the right word) must carry on. We also play quite a bit rougher, you'll see sweeps, hip tosses, taiatari into the wall, etc. How rough and how hard the practice is scales up depending on who is receiving.

Thanks for this! That sounds great indeed, I would love to do that one day.
When you say that you play a bit rougher, does that turn out in a kind of Ai-Kakarigeiko sometimes, or some advanced members of the club making this person do Kakarigeiko from time to time?

40 minutes is already quite long, that sounds fun, really! : )

**Bokushingu** · 27th January 2010, 09:41 AM

Wow Thanks for posting --very nice! i think I finnally found a series a videos that i can reccomend to my friends that explains Kendo

**Toshiro Mifune** · 27th January 2010, 10:41 AM

You also need to add the kendo episode of Samurai Spirit for the newbie that ask the 2nd practice when do they get to wear bogu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho4T-...om=PL&index=11

**Neil Gendzwill** · 27th January 2010, 11:39 AM

Updated with links to all 3 parts.

**yoda-waza** · 27th January 2010, 01:12 PM

I ran across the same links from these forums in an earlier post. It is such a good overview of kendo that I re-combined the three segments into a single 28-minute video and put it up on our website. I'm hoping our non-profit, non-commercial, strictly-educational use is okay with NHK.

**Splinter** · 27th January 2010, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Toshiro Mifune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho4T-...om=PL&index=11

That's just terribly corny, you can't change your thinking process in two days...he's still going to be competitive (if he ever was to begin with) and he's still going to be intimidated by his more experienced opponents.

Ahahaha blue-eyed samurai...this is why we can't have nice things.

**Bokushingu** · 27th January 2010, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by Toshiro Mifune

You also need to add the kendo episode of Samurai Spirit for the newbie that ask the 2nd practice when do they get to wear bogu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho4T-...om=PL&index=11

the only thing I liked about that show was the interview and explanations by Alex Sensei. In fact I downlaoded only the parts that involved Alex Sensei.

**Daniel_klc** · 28th January 2010, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by Toshiro Mifune

You also need to add the kendo episode of Samurai Spirit for the newbie that ask the 2nd practice when do they get to wear bogu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho4T-...om=PL&index=11

Thanks, I've never seen this one.

The first two minutes are nice, I was a bit shocked afterwards though...