Murdoch Kendo Guide
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Content
Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Equipments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Grades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Stance.&.Distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Partner.Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Fighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Remember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
This booklet was written to serve as a small guide.for.beginners,.containing.translations.of.basic.terms.and.commands.for.Kendo .
Keep. in.mind. that. this. book.might.not. be.completely correct. Each dojo has their own sets of rules and etiquettes, so make sure you always follow whatever you are taught in your dojo.
- Bernard Yehuda
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Language
Japanese. language. is. phonetic;. meaning. that.vowels are pronounced in a specific way, and does not change. In English, the letter “a” can be pronounced in different ways, for example “cat” and “car” sound different. However in Japanese, “a” is pronounced like “ah”, as in the “a” in “armour”.
a “ah” car,.camera,.us,.run i “ee” bee,.big,.in,.if u “oo” book,.foot,.blue e “eh” get,.let,.fetch, end o “oh” door,.corn,.on,.off
“g” in Japanese is always the hard “g” found in words like “get”, “gorilla” and “ghost”, and never the soft “g” found in words like “giraffe”, “gentleman”, and “gym”.
Examples of pronunciation:. kirikaeshi. kee-ree-kah-eh-she chudan-no-kamae choo-dan no kah-mah-eh. tsubazeriai. tsoo-bah.zeh-ree.eye
1 ichi2. ni3. san4. shi/yon5. go
6. roku7 shichi/nana8 hachi9. kyu/ku10 jyu/ju
Equipments
(keiko) gi (practise) jackethakama. pants/trousersshinai bamboo swordbokken/bokuto wooden swordbogu. armourtenugui towel used as head wrap
men. helmetkote glovesdo chest protectortare waist protector
men-gane. railings.on.the.menhimo string (e.g. “men-himo”)obi belt (e.g. “tare-obi”)zekken name “sack” worn on the middle flap of the tare
kensen tip of the swordmonouchi cutting area of the swordtsuba. hilt.guardtsuka. hilt
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Etiquette
ritsu rei standing bow za rei sitting bow shomen front of the dojo sensei teacher. senpai. senior kohai junior otagai each other shinpan judge
Shallow bowBend 15º, keep eye contact. Do this when bowing to an opponent or partner during
training .
Deep bowBend 30º, look down to the floor. Do this when bowing in or out of the dojo, or to
the teacher/judges.
SonkyoSquat down from chudan-no-kamae with your sword out. Do this at the beginning and end of training with your first and last partner,. and. at. the. beginning. and. end. of.
fighting (e.g. jigeiko, ippon, shiai).
Kendo has two types of grades: kyu and dan. The grade starts at the 6th.kyu,.and.goes.up.to.1st ..After 1st kyu will be 1st.dan,.and.currently.it’s.only.possible.to.grade.up.to.8th.dan .
You will have to train for at least six months between each kyu grading. From 1st.dan.to.2nd.dan you will require at least a year, 2nd.dan.to.3rd dan two years, 3rd.dan.to.4th.dan.three.years,.and.so.on .
. 6th.kyu. rokkyu
. 5th.kyu. gokyu
. 4th.kyu. yonkyu
. 3rd.kyu. sankyu
. 2nd.kyu. nikkyu
. 1st.kyu. ikkyu
. 1st.dan. shodan
. 2nd.dan. nidan
. 3rd.dan. sandan
. 4th.dan. yondan
. 5th.dan. godan
. 6th.dan. rokudan
. 7th.dan. nanadan
. 8th dan hachidan
. 9th.dan. kyudan
. 10th dan jyudan
Grades
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Commands
mae forwardatto backwardmigi. righthidari left
hajime start/beginyame. stop
ki o tsuke attention/get readyseiza sit downrei bow
shomen ni rei bow to the frontsensei ni rei bow to the teacherotagai ni rei bow to each other
hai. yesonegaishimasu please allow mearigatou.gozaimashita. thank.you
shinai omote grab your swordkamae-to draw your swordkamae-te. ready.your.stancemou-ikkai. one.more.timesonkyo squat downosame-to put away your sword
ashi-sabaki footworksuri-ashi. sliding.motionokuri-ashi. right.foot.leadingayumi-ashi normal walkingfumikomi. stomping
uchi strikesuburi exercisekeiko. practise
jogei-buriSwing the sword all the way to the back until it touches the posterior, and forward
all the way until about knee-level.
naname-buriLike jogei-buri, except with a small twist so the sword strikes at an angle.
shomen-suburi. normal.men.cutssayumen-suburi. diagonal.men.cutskote-suburi. kote.cutsdo-suburi. do.cuts
Note. that. for. naname-buri,. sayumen-suburi.and do-suburi, you should be cutting from the right when walking forward, and cutting from the left when walking backward.
Motion
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kamae. stance
chudan-no-kamaeNormal stance with the sword pointing
to.the.opponent’s.throat .
jodan-no-kamaeStance where sword is raised above the head.
hidari-no-jodanJodan stance with the left foot leading.
migi-no-jodanJodan stance with the right foot leading.
maai. distance
issoku-itto-no-maaiOne-step.one-cut.distance,.kensen.crossing .
chikamaCutting distance, swords crossing.
toumaLong distance, swords not touching.
tsubazeriaiClose.distance .
Stance & Distance Partner Work
kakarite attackermotodachi/aite defender/receiver
taiatari. pushing.in.tsubazeriai
uchikomi-geikoExercise where motodachi makes an
opening for the attacker.
kakari-geikoExercise where the attacker has to make their own opening. Variants include one where the motodachi is allowed to do counter-attacks, or one where both players can attack each other.
kirikaeshiAssume chudan-no-kamae.Start.from.touma .Step into issoku-itto-no-maai.Attack men, and taiatari.Four sayu-men going forward.Five sayu-men going backward.Go back to touma.Repeat.step.3.to.7 .Attack men and zanshin through.
1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9 .
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ji-geikoFree. sparring,. designed. to. let. players.test each other and utilise the techniques
they have learnt.
ipponLike ji-geiko, except it ends when
someone.scores.a.point .
sanponA three-point match where you need to
score twice to win.
shiaiTournament/competition fight.
men-ari score with a men hitkote-ari score with a kote hitdo-ari score with a do hittsuki-ari score with a tsuki hit
hansoku. penaltygogi. referee.conferencenihonme. second.roundshobu final roundenchou extensionshobu-ari fight has ended
Fighting Techniques
waza technique
shikake-wazaAttacking/opening technique.
oji-wazaCounter-attacking technique.
hiki-wazaTechniques from tsubazeriai.
ni-dan wazaTwo-step technique, e.g. kote then men.
harai-wazaFlicking the opponent’s shinai away.
nuki-wazaDodging the opponent’s attack.
suriage-wazaParrying the opponent’s attack and
attacking from the same side.
kaeshi-wazaParrying the opponent’s attack and
attacking from the opposite side.
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kiaiYelling to exert your spirit when cutting.
zanshin“remaining spirit”
Showing that you are ready for the next attack right after you make your cut, usually shown
by moving away from the opponent swiftly.
seme“assault”
Both. physical. and. mental. pressure. on.the opponent, usually refers to having control of the centre while you move.
ki-ken-tai-no-icchiSpirit, sword, and body as one.
sutemi“no care for your life”
To completely commit to your attack without fear nor hesitation.
san-satsu-no-ho./.san.sappoThree methods of killing: to kill the shinai,
to kill the technique, to kill the spirit.
Principles
Always bow when entering and exiting the dojo. Remove your shoes to keep the floor clean as we practise with barefoot.
Treat your shinai respectfully like a sword. Do not lean on them, do not swing them around, do not drop them, do not step over them.
Take. care. of. your. appearance .. Wear. your.uniform. neatly .. Take. care. of. your. hakama’s.pleats by folding them properly. Hang your uniform after each training and let them dry. Wash.them.regularly .
Check your shinai constantly. Retie the string and.nakayui.if.needed,.and.sand.the.splinters.off. Oil the bamboo sleats every few weeks.
Etiquette is important. Say “onegaishimasu” and “arigatou gozaimashita” loudly. Let your partner know that you appreciate their help and thank them for training with you. When answering, yell a strong “hai”.
Do not show your weakness. Stand up tall and proudly, no matter how tired you are. Start strong and finish strong.
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Remember
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