I know there's kendo, Iaido, and Kenjustu, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes. What makes up the differences between the three? Are they all parts of a well oiled machine? Do the differences have historical beginnings? One of the colleges I'm looking at teaches Kendo, with more of a traditional aspect on it as opposed to sport. I am interested in attending the club at some point if I go there, so it just sparked the curiosity of the differences in the Japanese Sword Arts. Bear with me, I know virtually nothing aside from very basic knowledge of Kendo, (knowing it's "The Way of The Sword.", the difference between a shinai and a bokken, what a bogu is, etc.)
Differences between the Japanese Sword arts?
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Aiki Lee
Master of Arts
I’m sure the more experienced the sword people will be on here soon enough but here’sthe basics.
Firstly, kendo, idaido, and kenjutsu are classifications of martial arts. There are multiple styles of each kind each with its ownstrategies, philosophies and techniques.
To generalize everything, kenjutsu arts are sword arts focusing on combat with the sword. Mot kenjutsu systems would predate 1868 asafter that there would be little sword fighting in the modernized Japan.
Kendo is the sport adaptation of kenjutsu. Much like how western fencing is a sport adopted out of European sword arts. Some schools incorporate non sport aspects like iaido or kenjutsu training.
Iaido, Iaijutsu, and Battoujutsu are sword arts revolving around the idea of cutting with the sword as you draw it from the saya(sheathe) as opposed to fighting with the sword after it has already been drawn(kenjutsu). Iaido seems more commonly to refer to a modern budo practice ofperforming the cuts for meditative purposes while Iaijutsu focus on its practical combative methods. Of course this is all semantics and depend mainly just on what the style identifies its curriculum as. Battoujutsu and Iaijutsu appear to have no major differences other than I believe battoujutsu is an older term.
Though, I could be mistaken about that.
Firstly, kendo, idaido, and kenjutsu are classifications of martial arts. There are multiple styles of each kind each with its ownstrategies, philosophies and techniques.
To generalize everything, kenjutsu arts are sword arts focusing on combat with the sword. Mot kenjutsu systems would predate 1868 asafter that there would be little sword fighting in the modernized Japan.
Kendo is the sport adaptation of kenjutsu. Much like how western fencing is a sport adopted out of European sword arts. Some schools incorporate non sport aspects like iaido or kenjutsu training.
Iaido, Iaijutsu, and Battoujutsu are sword arts revolving around the idea of cutting with the sword as you draw it from the saya(sheathe) as opposed to fighting with the sword after it has already been drawn(kenjutsu). Iaido seems more commonly to refer to a modern budo practice ofperforming the cuts for meditative purposes while Iaijutsu focus on its practical combative methods. Of course this is all semantics and depend mainly just on what the style identifies its curriculum as. Battoujutsu and Iaijutsu appear to have no major differences other than I believe battoujutsu is an older term.
Though, I could be mistaken about that.
Aiki Lee
Master of Arts
Also, a shinai is a practice sword and tool used in kendo. It is made of bamboo. It stings if you get wacked with it and can leave some nasty welts. A bokken is a wooden sword.
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Himura's given a decent overview, so I thought I'd fill in a few details.
To begin with, there's Kendo, Iaido, and Kenjutsu.... and Battojutsu, Iaijutsu, and Iai-nuki. And Koshi no Mawari, and Tachijutsu. And Kogusoku, and Kumiuchi Kenden, Kumitachi, Ryotojutsu, Tojutsu, Nitojutsu, Kodachijutsu, and Gekken. Kenpo, and Kendo (different form). Iai might just be Iai, Ken could just be Ken, and so on as well. Or it all might get classed as Heiho, or Hyoho (different pronunciations of the same thing). So, uh, yeah... there's more to it than just "Kendo, Iaido, and Kenjutsu". But let's take them one by one.
Kendo is, realistically, a modern sporting approach to sword... and, although the literal translation is "Way of the Sword", in some ways, that's about as close as it gets. Due to it's context and methodology, it's actually fairly removed from what might be considered genuine swordsmanship. The targeting has been altered to safer areas, specific to those protected by the armour worn (the bogu), and favouring striking over cutting. As a sporting approach, it's fantastic... but it's not really the same as a true combative approach to sword. In fact, these shortcomings are what has lead to a couple of other aspects. The first is Kendo no Kata.
Kendo no Kata is a series of fundamental kata, 7 for long sword, 3 for short sword, that are taught as part of Kendo. They were put together as a result of a desire for standardization when Kendo (along with Judo) was introduced into schools (around 1911... there was an earlier attempt, in 1906, but that one proved less popular, and didn't survive to be passed on), and aim to teach proper sword handling to Kendo students, being formulated by members of a range of Ryu-ha, with a heavy emphasis on Itto Ryu (a few different forms). As time has gone on, Nihon Kendo no Kata has been more or less ignored by many Kendoka, with the kata only being taught or studied really to satisfy grading requirements, often only for higher Dan rankings. But some teachers do place emphasis on this method, and insist on the kata being studied from early on in the students developments. Odds are that if your prospective club is advertising itself as being more "traditional", this is what their referring to... as pre-WWII Kendo is rather different (what I would consider closer to "traditional Kendo").
Just for fun, here's some old footage... firstly, Kendo no Kata:
Next, some old Kendo footage from the 50's (note the sweeps):
And here's some from 1897 (note the alternate weapons, such as Kusari-Gama, as well as takedowns and grappling):
Kendo's development has been something that's not that easy to follow, though, and here is where it all intertwines with Kenjutsu... in the 17th Century, wars were no longer a common thing... yet Kenjutsu flourished for a range of reasons. Among the various old and new schools of Kenjutsu, a number, such as Kashima Shinryu and (Yagyu) Shinkage Ryu, developed safer training alternates to the established bokken/bokuto (wooden sword). What they came up with was an item called a fukuro shinai... almost literally a "bagged bamboo sword". This was made up with a body of a number of strips of bamboo, covered in a leather casing, and allowed a level of contact to the training not possible with live blades, or even with the hard wood bokken in common usage. As time went on, there were variations to this design being used, and duels (friendly ones, at least) began to be conducted using these safer (and faster) versions. It got to the point where a number of "famous" duelists of this era were known for their specialization in the use of a shinai, often having personally designed or preferred weapons. One in particular gained his notoriety by essentially having a much longer shinai than anyone else, giving him a decisive reach advantage over all others. Interestingly, there were legal restrictions at the time on the size and length of swords that could be worn and used, but not shinai, and it was this loophole that was exploited, primarily to gain fame and followers, with the appearance of a greater skill (due to not being defeated). This didn't last, and the Tokugawa government eventually regulated the lengths of shinai, which was the first step to standardizing what would come to be known as Kendo. It was only by the late 19th Century, after the Meiji Restoration, that what we know as Kendo really started to take shape... but, as seen above, there were still some rather major differences! Many of the rules and regulations that removed the striking, grappling, alternate weaponry and so on, occurred after WWII... although there are some who are trying to bring Kendo back to what it was. You'll be hard pressed to find it outside of certain dojo in Japan, though...
That brings us to the other aspect which was as direct responce to Kendo... Seitei Iaido. Seitei Iaido is, again, a standardized form of an approach to swordsmanship, and was originally developed specifically to give Kendoka some experience and exposure to the way a real sword actually handles, feels, and moves, as well as teaching proper cutting mechanics (rather than the more "striking" approach of shiai-based [competition based] Kendo). It was originally a series of 7 kata, put together in 1969, with another three added in 1981, and two more in 2000, bringing the current list to 12 kata. They are drawn from a small number of classical systems (albeit with small-to-major alterations), such as Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu/Muso Shinden Ryu, and Hoki Ryu. Although the original intent was more about just giving Kendoka some experience with a sword, as a supplement to their Kendo training, Seitei Iaido has become very much an art taught for it's own sake. This has lead it to a level of, well, some might say anal-retentiveness that goes beyond many other arts... even the Koryu systems they draw their methods from. The level of precision and attention to detail in modern Iaido is incredible, in order to give students the emphasis on refining the self through the refining of the performance of the kata.
Of course, this is modern Iai. There are a large number of classical (Koryu - literally "old styles") arts out there, some of which are just Iai (in various forms), such as Mugai Ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, Muso Shinden Ryu, Tamiya Ryu, Hasegawa Eishin Ryu, Shinmuso Hayashizaki Ryu, and so on, or might be a more holistic approach to martial arts which include an Iai component, such as Tenshinsho Den Katori Shinto Ryu, Kashima Shinryu, Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage Ryu, Tatsumi Ryu, Hontai Yoshin Ryu, Sosuishi Ryu, Araki Ryu, and many, many more. These arts might use the term Iai, Iaido, Iaijutsu, Iai Nuki, Batto, Batto-do, Battojutsu, Batto-ho, Koshi no Mawari, and so on... and might use a variety of terms even within the one system (such as Katori Shinto Ryu, who use the term Iai to refer to their initial methods, which are all seated, as well as their secret methods, which have both seated and standing, and Battojutsu to refer to their standing methods). It is said that the originator, or at least, the person claimed to be responsible for popularizing the term and art of Iai was Hayashizaki Shigenobu, with many established systems of Iai all tracing back to him in one way or another... although, again, there are a range of arts that don't have any connection to him, or even pre-date him.
The only real characteristic that is found in all Iai forms is that the methods begin with the sword sheathed. Most commonly, kata are performed solo (most Japanese arts, whether Kenjutsu, Bojutsu, Jujutsu, or anything else, are passed on by paired kata, rather than solo... in quite a different form to the method of kata found in, say, karate systems), and contain a range of aspects, namely:
Nuki-uchi (drawing and cutting in one action)
Kiri (cutting, once the sword is out)
Chiburi/Chiburui (a ritual movement of the sword, varying from system to system, often erroneously believed to be "shaking the blood off the blade", or cleaning the blade... it's not)
Noto (resheathing the sword).
Additionally, concepts such as Zanshin (awareness after the encounter) are considered vital, just as they are in all Japanese martial arts.
However, these aspects are also not universal... systems such as Sosuishi Ryu don't use Chiburi, they do what is called Chinugui... which is fairly simply wiping the blade clean with a cloth carried for that purpose. Others, such as Tatsumi Ryu, omit anything of the kind, feeling that such actions have little practical value, certainly none as a method of cleaning the blade, so don't bother with it. Then you have arts such as Asayama Ichiden Ryu, who also buck the trend by having all their Iai methods done as a paired kata, instead of solo.
Kenjutsu, on the other hand, is even more varied. Taken simply, it's a combative approach to the use of a Japanese sword... but exactly what that might entail is really up to the system itself. It might just be specializing in single long-sword methods... or might also include short sword, or both at once (or two short swords, in a couple of systems). It might include Jujutsu, or staff weapons, or small weapons as well... and might be geared up to face an armoured opponent (yoroi, Japanese battle armour, not bogu, or Kendo armour), or against unarmoured opponents (suhada)... or might have methods for both. It might include an Iai aspect, or it might not. The opponents might always have a sword, or they might have a variety of other weapons.
To give a potted history, though, the oldest extant art from Japan is believed to be the Maniwa-Nen Ryu, who claim their methods from the 14th Century, and are a source school of many other arts. The Maniwa-Nen Ryu is a branch of the original (no longer existing) Nen Ryu, coming from the Maniwa region, and has a rather unique footwork, giving rise to a very powerful usage of the weapon. The Tenshinsho Den Katori Shinto Ryu, founded in the mid-15th Century, is thought to be the oldest "complete" system... it is what is called a Sogo Bujutsu, or composite system, but centers it's teachings around the sword, believing it to be the most versatile weapon in the warriors arsenal. The late 16th Century saw the rise of a number of arts that trace themselves back to Katori Shinto Ryu, or the arts of the nearby Kashima Shrine, including Kage Ryu, which gave rise to Shinkage Ryu, itself becoming/giving rise to Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. This art gained fame by being known as the teachers of the Tokugawa Shoguns, and Yagyu Munetoshi, as well as his son Munenori, being advisors to the Tokugawa's. There was another art that was taught to them, though, which was Ono-ha Itto Ryu... a much more direct system, branches of which (such as Hokushin Itto Ryu) have been a huge influence on Kendo. Other arts of note are Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, the school of Musashi Miyamoto, founded in the mid 17th Century, after a long career of dueling across Japan, and Jigen Ryu, a very intriguing system from Satsuma, known for it's brutal methods, and terrifying practitioners.
So, what's the difference? A hell of a lot. What's the difference between Karate, Judo, and Aikido? Same type of question....
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Langenschwert
Master Black Belt
Chris pretty much nailed it, so I have nothing to add in that regard. However, be careful and do your research when getting into JSA. Kenjutsu in particular has attracted a lot of frauds who set up shop and unfortunately do quite well. The nice thing is that the most (in)famous JSA frauds have been outed on the internet, so there's really no excuse to be taken in by any of them.
Best regards,
-Mark
Best regards,
-Mark
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Not a problem. With regards to bokken in Kendo, yes, they are occasionally used, most often for Kendo no Kata, sometimes for suburi (practice cuts in the air). For higher levels, Kendo no Kata should be done with Shinken (real swords), but are more often done with a specially made Kendo no Kata Mogito (an unsharpened metal sword, but different to an Iaito in that it is not made of aluminium/zinc alloy, to ensure it can stand up to the contact found in Kendo no Kata). For kihon (basics), tate-uchi (target striking) and shiai (competition), as well as most training, shinai are used.
Just seconding this as well... honestly, when I read that the prospective Kendo school has "more of a traditional aspect rather than sport", it sent a few flags up for me... Kendo is Kendo, really, there aren't different forms of it (same as Judo is Judo, there isn't Kodokan Judo, Shinbukan Judo, Wally-down-the-road Judo.... it's either Judo [Kodokan], or it isn't). And Kendo is a sporting approach to sword. To minimize the sporting side is to minimize the entire system, and move away from actually being Kendo. At present, I'm thinking that it just means they don't go for many tournaments, and probably teach Kendo no Kata fairly early... but, as seen in the clips I linked earlier, I doubt that it's really traditional (as in what was traditionally done)... but, then again, I'm not sure how many are aware of such things being what "traditional" really means here.
Langenschwert
Master Black Belt
The only exception would be the Kendo practiced by the police in Tokyo... they still do takedowns and all that good stuff. Very cool.
-Mark
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Yep, that's exactly who I was referring to earlier... One of the guys I train with has trained with them, lots of fun stories!
Aiki Lee
Master of Arts
So the chiburi isnt for getting excess blood off thesword prior to cleaning it? Does it serve no practical purpose then?
This may be a little off topic but this comment leaves me with a question for everybody (one that might encourage me to start another thread even).
Judo is judo and kendo is kendo. The terms refer to specific arts created and maintained by specific organizations, but suppose you have studied and are skilled in those arts but decided to make some changes in your own studio or dojo or whatever you teach out of? How much change do you think can be made before the judo or kendo or karate or any system is no longer that system but something else entirely?
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Depends on what you're referring to as "practical"... Here's a blog that gives a good description of alternate reasons for the action: http://kenshi247.net/blog/2011/09/05/the-myth-of-chiburi/
Once it's no longer the original art, it's no longer the original art. How much can change will be dependent upon the art itself... in some cases, just no longer being associated with the main dojo is enough for it to be no longer considered (in some views) the original system.... in others, there can be a fair amount of lee-way. In the case of Judo or Kendo, either it is, in which case it's recognized by others, either by being part of the associations (or the Kodokan, in Judo's case), or by it's methodology (commonly both are required), or it isn't.
Aiki Lee
Master of Arts
So if you practice judo and then remove yourself from the organization and found a new one teaching the same thing just under a different org, it would not be judo? Thanks for the link about chiburi. 
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Hmm, no, not quite. It wouldn't be Kodokan Judo... and at the present time, Kodokan Judo is Judo.... so without being a part of the Kodokan, there's no sanctioning/authorizing of what is being taught as being Judo. So, in that sense, yeah, it wouldn't be Judo... but it might be a derivation of Kodokan Judo. Is that still Judo, then? Well, maybe. It'd depend on the reasons for the change, and what the change is... in Brazil it became BJJ... others have formed other approaches to Jujutsu from Judo methodology... but it's entirely possible that the change might be purely political, and, if there is enough that leave to form a new organization, there might be an alternate non-Kodokan Judo around.
Thanks for the link about chiburi.
Not a problem.
Thank you for the link to that interesting article on chiburi, Chris. A good read and the general ethos that comes through is the same as I have been taught i.e. that chiburi is an exercise of the mind and your awareness rather than a practical 'cleanng' motion.
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Yep. But the question, of course, is why the term used (historically) is Chiburui (almost literally "shaking off the blood").... my take on that is that it's representative of shaking off the effects (shock, adrenaline etc) of having just killed someone. In that sense, the term is perfectly suited. It's a method used to allow you the time to settle yourself again, and, simply, "shake off" what's just happened.
Of course, it could just be a way of preparing fish....
Of course, it could just be a way of preparing fish....
That is exactly how my sensei has described it to me {not the preparing fish part :lol:}. It is dealing with the emotional consequences of extreme violence done at zero notice and allowing yourself to maintain your dignity and control in the eyes of others (and yourself of course).
I've heard so many explanations of chiburi over the years that I don't know what to believe any more.
Hyoho
2nd Black Belt
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Thing is as the samurai cast were left unemployed by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Some turned to fight arranging in theater work as well as teaching the arts for cultural acquirement. In doing an Embu or demonstration one has to resheath the blade. So it has become more theatrical. The correct term is "Chiburui" meaning flow. The old term is Chinugui. To hold the blade at an angle removing excess fluids after sword action.
Both are used. The shinai is used more than the bokuto because the primary emphasis in kendo is on fencing. Different schools spend differing amounts of time with kata. I spend a lot of time with it because I find it very helpful to my students. We practice both the Nihon Kendo Kata and the Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon-Waza (which even fewer kendo schools practice from what I understand), so my students use the bokuto every class.
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Firstly, welcome to the forum, Hyoho! I look forward to the insights you can offer.
With regard to the terminology, from many older accounts I've seen, the original term (as mentioned in the link I provided on the previous page) was Chiburui, later altered to Chiburi. Chinugui commonly referred to a method of wiping the blade... in a number of schools, that would be done with a cloth kept in the kimono for just such a purpose... and was clearly a more effective method of cleaning the blade, as a "chiburui/chiburi" method just doesn't work! I haven't come across Chinugui being the angled method (I've seen the method, but not with that name attached)... is that specific to a particular Ryu-ha?
