Kendo means the Way of the Sword. It is one of Japan's oldest martial arts and is closely associated with the Samurai. Today it is a highly competitive sport enjoyed by men and women around the world. Students of Kendo are called kendoka.

Kendo was developed in Japan between 1868 and 1912 from the two-handed sword fighting techniques of the samurai. Kendo is practiced today with bamboo swords and fighters wear protective gear covering the main target areas. The main target areas in Kendo are the head, wrists, and abdomen. The protective gear is called 'Bogu' in Japanese, and the sword is called 'shinai'. Suidents wear a hakama, a wide skirt, underneath their protective gear.

The bamboo sword(shinai) is about 4 feet long and is made of four bamboo pieces fit together, forming a hollow cylendar. A rope or chord runs along the length of the shinai and to make a valid strike the kendoka(student) must strike his opponent with the side of his sword opposite the cord.

Kendoka generally practice in pairs although the basics of posture, movement, grip and swing are learned in supervised solo practice. Kendo's heavy equipment allows kendoka to spar with full speed and power. Kendoka also practice kata in which they carry out a set of pre determined attacks and defences against each other with their shinai.

In modern times Kendo is more of a sport than a combat oriented style but originally the philosophy of kendo was, "Victory means survival, defeat means death". Students are reminded to practice hard and keep this philosophy alive, not because they will need to fight, but because they want every student to become the best they can be. The goal of Kendo is to train the kendoka's soul through discipline and the rules of their art.

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Before kendoka begin training, they have to ensure that they have all their equipment on and that their shinai is not splintered and is in good order. After a short warm-up to loosen muscles and tendsons, kendoka use their shinai for swing practice called Suburi. Suburi exercise combines basic swings with rhythmic footwork.

Every training session starts and finishes with a kneeling bow(zarei). Kendo Students line up according to their rank, and take the seiza, or kneeling position. Traditionally two bows are performed: the first to show respect to the training area, and the secnd to show respect to the instructor.

Each training session begins with kihon, basic practice. This consists of drills of basic techniques, posture, stance, footwork, drawing(of shinai), returning(of shinaid) vocalizations, distance and timing, striking, thrusting, and mental focus.

Some of the basic drill techniques are:

Suburi - Focuses on an overhead swing with forward and backward movement. The goal is to make sure posture is correct at the moment the shinai strikes th target.

Kirikaeshi - The most common form of this training involves a single strike to the center of the men, followed by four yokomen strikes going forward (starting on the receiver's left side), and five strokes going backward. This form of practice is the basic foundation of Kendo training. It helps kendoka learn proper distance and timing, accuracy, rhythm, and smoothness.

Uchikomi geiko - Uchikomi geiko is known as single-step striking. This type of practice was developed to aid the student when attacking a passive opponent. The opponent will allow a target on thier body to open, adn the goal is for the kendoka to strike the open target as if it were a real match. The goal of this training is to develop mental focus and physical readiness to strike at the opponent at a precise moment.

Once a student has mastered the basic techniques, he or she is shown more advanced training methods.

Kakari geiko - The kendoka will partner up with their teacher, and the teacher will open a target on their body for the student to strike. If the student's technique is improper or they have not judges proper distance or timng, the teacher will deflect the students attack. Only correct techniques with proper mental focus will get through to the target area. In this way the teacher reinforces correct technique to the student.

Waza - This type of drilling is used to illustrate specific combat tactics. Each tactic is explained in detail so the students understand why the tactics will work.

Kata - Kata are prearranged sequences of attcks and defenses performed with a partner. Each kata is designed to teach specific lessons about strategy, tactics, and mental focus.

Ji Geiko - free sparring. All power of focus and concentration must be used in order to be successful.