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About Kendo Overview
of Kendo
Definition of Kendo Origin of Kendo Philosophy of Kendo Modern Day Kendo Kendo in the US 
After a period of time participating in this sport, some of my ideas of kendo were overturned while others received their validation. Furthermore, I realized that kendo is much more than what I had envisioned and what I had saw in my first contact with it. Is kendo physical? - Yes, Kendo is extremely physical. You wouldn't think that from watching it, but you will certainly feel it when you are sparring. At times, you will feel that the best kendo comes when your mind shuts down and you are only acting based on trained muscle reflex. Is kendo mental? - Yes, much of kendo happens in the mental sense for higher level kenshis. Limits of speed and reaction time is reached or comes close to being reached with sufficient training. After a certain level, the competition becomes one of timing, distance and order of execution. Often times, I have heard strategies in kendo referred to much like those for chess players. It is the one that thinks of the most moves out that has the advantage.
It is not surprising to find that there is a high attrition rate in Kendo for beginners, particularly in two stages. First stage is shortly after beginning of training for the new student, especially if their expectation of kendo prior to beginning the class is different than what they realize they had to go through. The second stage is when the student puts on the bogu for the first time and realize that there is a certain amount of physical punishment they must endure.
Kendo has also been commonly called "Sword Fighting" or "Japanese Fencing" by those who try to associate it with something familiar. Almost everyone knows that Kendo originated from Japan. It is one of the oldest and most respected forms of martial art (budo) around.
In the 17th century, Japan entered the relatively peaceful era of the EDO period and techniques of killing with the sword gradually evolved into a more peaceful art of inner personal development. Kendo originated in the early 1700s when the bamboo sword (shinai) and the armor (called kendo-gu at the time) were developed for training. The shinai and the kendo-gu eventually evolved, over the next 100 years or so, to become equipment that is similar to what is being used today. Throughout history, there had been several times when the popularity and the legitimacy of kendo faced serious obstacles. During early Meiji period (or the latter half of the 19th century), popularity of kendo declined as Japan started dissolving the samurai class and prohibiting the wearing of katana swords. Additionally, kendo was prohibited in the US during World War II and was also suspended in Japan after the war. After WWII, kendo resumed in the US and Japan independently. There is not one singular philosophy which applies to kendo that would be accurate among all the individual and schools. In fact, the All US Kendo Federation refuses to post a set philosophy on kendo stating that "Each Dojo will have similar but slightly different ideas of what Kendo should be. The student must discover through their Dojo and themselves what this is." - (Full content of excerpt can be seen at the AUSKF site) The "similar but slightly different" concept of kendo referred to by AUSKF would be in line with what the All Japan Kendo Federation presented: "The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword)." (Full content of excerpt can be see tat the AJKF site). Most schools of kendo would accept a philosophy similar to this. The All Japan Kendo Federation had also developed the following "Purpose of Practicing Kendo" in 1975. The
purpose of practicing Kendo is: This
will make one be able:
There are just as many of those who practice kendo for the sake of competition and winning as those who would not think twice about comparing themselves to others. I will not make a judgment on which should be the accepted method, but would, rather, each individual decide for themselves. There are kendo federations and dojos in just about every modern country around the world. The international kendo federation (IKF), headquartered in Tokyo Japan, divides the regions into the following: North
America Each region is then subdivided into national kendo federations, then further into regions within the particular country. The largest kendo event held would be the World Kendo Championships (WKC) where kendoists from all over the world gather to compete. The Championships happen every 3 years with the last event held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2003. The next championship will occur in 2006 and will be taking place in Taiwan. Any dojos or clubs in the United States wishing to be recognized by the US Kendo Federation would need to join one of the following state or regional kendo federations. AEUSKF
-- All Eastern United States Kendo Federation
There are also many nonaffiliated clubs and dojos, but if your participation in kendo is restricted to one of these non-affiliate groups, it is likely that you are missing out on many of the opportunities available and, therefore, limiting your kendo experience.
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Kendo
is one of the most difficult form of martial arts to master. It
is one of the few exercises which demands use of a physical implement
in fighting where competitors move at full speed and full strength.
On the surface, it looks like a purely physical sport... and a
messy one at that. At my first experience seeing kendo, I was
not able to distinguish between what is a valid point and what
is not a point. Opponents seems to just be striking each other
quickly and hastily with occasional pushing and shoving. What
I observed was nothing close to what I envisioned prior to starting
Kendo. My thoughts were "if this was done using real swords,
someone should have gotten killed a long time ago". The kendo
that existed in my mind was something more cool and calculated
where the expert swordsmen would always make the clean kill as
was in all the samurai movies I watched as a kid. Despite these
thoughts, I still decided to start kendo when the opportunity
came about. 
Additionally,
kendo requires a great deal of control from your body, the shinai
you hold in your hand, your instinct and urge to make certain
moves, and your natural reaction to sudden or anticipated movement.
It is not the easiest of activity to accomplish, but it forces
those who participate in it to think about what they normally
wouldn't and to push their endurance to the limit. 
Kendo
is defined as "The way of the Sword". This is
derived from the literal meanings of the kanji characters. The
first word, is
pronounced "Ken" and literally means "Sword".
The second word is pronounced "Do" and means
"The Way" or "The Path". Put these together
and you have "The Way of the Sword". 
The
Japanese katana has been around and used for combat since the
11th century. Japanese sword has been in existence since prior
to that time, however, since the production techniques of the
Japanese sword had not yet been clearly defined, we will not go
over it here. 
Kendo
today has evolved quite a bit from the days of its origin, but
has maintained much of the roots in its intentions. There are
those that treat kendo as a competitive sport But there are just
as many of those who view kendo as a way of cultivating self-discipline.
These two main line of thoughts are both accepted and common to
see. 
All
of these state and regional federations belongs to the All United
States Kendo Federation (