Kendo Exercise Class

A couple of the teachers who work for the same company I do, told me they were taking a Kendo exercise class, so I asked to join.  I went to the first time this week.  The teacher is from France, but has lived in Japan for many years.  He is Kendo fourth dan.  Kendo is a Japanese martial art that descended from swordsmanship.

This class doesn't involve fighting against each other or wearing the protective armour.  This week we practiced the walk and swinging the shinai or bokuto. There is a whole vocabulary of the moves or kata that I'll try to learn as time goes on.  My shoulders and upper arms are a bit sore, but I plan to try it again next week.

shinai

bokuto