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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