Kenjutsu

Kenjutsu (剣術) is an umbrella term for all (ko-budō) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Kenjutsu is a martial art that puts more emphasis on various real-life sword combat scenarios, compared with its modern adaptation, kendo, which has evolved into a modern sport with fewer target areas and attack patterns and more rules. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also include modern forms of kenjutsu in their curriculum. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "sword techniques", as opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword". The exact activities and conventions undertaken when practicing kenjutsu vary from school to school, where the word school here refers to the practice, methods, ethics, and metaphysics of a given tradition, yet commonly include practice of battlefield techniques without an opponent, as well as techniques where two practitioners perform kata (featuring full contact strikes to the body in some styles, and no body contact strikes permitted in others). Contact striking during kata is used for example in Ono Ha Ittō-ryū. Although kata training has always been the mainstay of kenjutsu, in later periods schools incorporated sparring under a variety of conditions, from using solid wooden bokutō to the use of a bamboo sword (shinai) and armor (bōgu).