Murdoch University Kendo Club

Kendo Guide

What is Kendo

Kendo (剣道) literally means "The Way of the Sword". Kendo is one of Japan's oldest martial arts, and one closely associated with the samurai. The concept of kendo is to discipline the human spirit through the principles of the sword.

Wayde Kendo

The practitioners, called kendoka or kenshi, wear a practice jacket called keiko-gi, and a divided trousers called hakama, along with a set of traditional armour called bogu. We use a bamboo sword called shinai which represents the katana.

Shinai Diagram

With these we learn to strike the opponent's weak points, which are men (head), kote (forearm), do (torso), and tsuki (throat).

Valid Targets

Kendo is not a martial art that teaches any self-defense techniques for street fighting. We only strike the areas that are well protected by the armour. For more information, please see the Concept of Kendo.