Kendo
Kendo is the modern way of the sword. Solo work is rich: suburi, footwork, and the Nihon Kendo Kata with a bokken.
Starter program (from zero)
- Daily: 10 min footwork + 100 suburi (30 joge, 30 shomen, 20 sayu men, 20 haya)
- Twice a week: both sides of the kata you know, slowly
- Weekly: five sets of solo kirikaeshi
Kata / Forms
Kata 1 — Ipponme 一本目
FundamentalJodan vs jodan — evade by stepping back, finish with men.
Kata 2 — Nihonme 二本目
FundamentalAgainst kote: withdraw and counter-cut kote.
Kata 3 — Sanbonme 三本目
FundamentalThrust against thrust — pure centre-line contest.
Kata 4-7 四〜七本目
IntermediateIntroduce hasso/waki guards, kaeshi and suriage.
Kodachi kata 1-3 小太刀
AdvancedThree short-sword kata — closing distance and entering.
Techniques & Strikes
Suburi
- Joge buri
- Large full swings opening the shoulders.
- Shomen suburi
- Centre cuts finishing at men height.
- Sayu men
- Alternating diagonal men cuts.
- Haya suburi
- Jumping fast suburi — the conditioning benchmark.
Datotsu (targets)
- Men
- Centre and sides of the head; cut, stamp and kiai together.
- Kote
- The right wrist — a small, sharp cut.
- Do
- The torso, cut diagonally with a drawing action.
- Tsuki
- Throat thrust — advanced only.
Footwork
- Okuri ashi
- The sliding step underlying all kendo movement.
- Fumikomi
- The stamping step at the moment of the strike.
- Suriashi turları
- Sliding-step laps in all four directions.
Kirikaeshi
- Kirikaeshi (solo)
- Shomen + nine alternating men + shomen; solo it is a breath-and-rhythm drill.
Tips
- Suburi and footwork can be trained daily without bogu; conditioning and form both develop without armor.
- Avoid aggressive fumikomi on hard floors — it strains joints over time; use soft flooring or a flatter foot strike.
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