What is Kendo
Kendo is a form of Traditional East Asian fencing that typically uses body armour and bamboo swords. Widely practiced in Japan and Korea it is a highly popular martial art that is enjoyed by school children, university students, professional athletes, and amateur adults.
Target Areas
There are four main target areas in Kendo that constitute a valid cut or strike.
Men
The head
This can be cut in either the centre of the forehead - Shomen or the left and right sides of the head - Yokomen.
Do
The body
This can be cut on either right or left sides of the body- Migi Do or Hidari Do.
Kote
The wrist
This can be cut on the right hand only if the player is in the standard stance Chudan no kamae or on both wrists if the player is in the rarer Jodan no kamae, stance with arms raised above the head.
Tsuki
The throat
This is the only stabbing technique in Kendo. It is a small sharp thrust to the Tsuki pad (throat protector). It can be done one handed (katate) or two handed (morote).
Equipment
Kendo equipment is divided into clothing, armour, and weapons. The clothing consists of a heavy duty wrap over jacket Keiko-gi similar to that used in Judo, and a pair of traditional pleated trousers Hakama similar to those used in Aikido. The armour bogu, as you can see in the various pictures below, is made up of four components:
Men
A protective helmet with a metal face grill and a throat pad
Kote
Thick padded gloves
Do
A bamboo breastplate
Tare
A thick layered hip protector