Kimonos Aikido, Kendo

A brief overview of Aikido and Kendo

Aïkido

Aikido is a Japanese martial art that does not require the use of force. Indeed, the goal here is to use the strength and movements of the opponent to return the attack. Aikido is a martial art that can be practiced with bare hands but it is possible to use weapons such as the bokken (wooden sword), jo (short stick) and kanten (wooden knife).

Kendo

Kendo is also a Japanese martial art.
Unlike Aikido, Kendo is more like fencing.

The term Kendo means "the way of the sword". As the name implies, Kendo is a fight between two practitioners, dressed in protective gear, seeking to strike each other with a bamboo sword wielded with both hands.

Kendo is a martial art that requires a lot of personal involvement.

The kendoka is evaluated according to 3 criteria :

• The energy of the strike (Ki): it is important to know that in Kendo, the practitioner has to shout, not because of pain, don't worry. This scream is simply to announce which part of the body was hit by the impact. This is a sign that they have been thinking about their strike and that the impact did not happen by chance.
• The execution of the strike (Ken) : when moving with the weapon, the impact must be energetic and sufficient to be able to cut if it had been a classic sabre.
• The harmony of movement (Taï) : the kendoka should always move energetically and smoothly when attacking with the weapon. It is important to move quickly in order to gain an advantage over the opponent.

What to wear for Aïkido?

The outfit to be worn to practice Aikido is called "keikogi". A keikogi is composed of a jacket and trousers, often white.

What to wear for Kendo ?

To practice Kendo, we use to wear loose and pleated trousers called "hakama" and a Kendo jacket.

Beware, a Kendo jacket is different from an Aikido jacket. . The Kendo jacket has a straight cut to prevent the lapel from falling down to the hips during a weapon slide (bokken).

In addition to the outfit, the kendoka will have to equip himself with a sword; there are 3 types: the bokken (wooden sword inspired by the katana), the shinai (sword made of 4 bamboo blades) and the kodachi (short sword often made of oak). In addition to the weapons, the kendoka will have to wear an armour if he fights with a shinai.