This is shinto Ryu one of the three biggest schools of kenjutsu. There is are three major schools, Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū, Iaido, and Shinto Ryu. Niten Ichi -ryu was made famous by Musashi, and is the school of two swords. Iaido is the school of sword drawing. Shinto Ryu is mostly use of one sword, but "in knowing one, thing know all things," they use the Bo staff, shoto (wakisashi), long sword, katana, and spears.

An interesting note is that the founder of Iaido was said (in legend) to have been walking down an alley way when and he was attacked from behind. Supposedly he took his side stepped drawing his sword and cut the attacker in half, with one movement of the sword. Thus the school of Iaido was born, out of the necessity to get the sword out of the case faster than ones opponent.

I saw a kendo video here, and wanted to post some kenjutsu!

Kendo cross link

I'm a grump when it comes to all things martial arts. Where's the resistance? At least the Western historical weapons groups get their kicks training hard to determine how their arts actually worked, rather than persisting in maintaining the stagnance of their arts.

This is a show, a demonstration. Hardly will you ever see a real fight, because real fights are over before they begin.

But i do prize SCA style fighting and was apart of the Barony of the Blue Moon.

Most of the time if you wish to see how the art is used practically you would have to go to the school personally. When i practice with a partner, there is no armor and rattan is very dangerous with out armor. The main thing with Aikido is in order to keep your partner out of the hospital is for it to be a fluid like a dance. If they went on the premise that the bout was for one school or another's pride (old day thinking) then it would be the fight would last less than a second. The nature of the samurai sword is not to bash an opponents armor, hack a leg off. The use of the sword is to slice, and cause massive trauma to weak points on the body and armor. The underarm, the elbow, the back of the knee, the crotch, the upper part of the neck above the gorget(the throat guard i think i spelled it wrong), and the face.

When i was in the SCA i asked if i could use a Japanese style for fighting, and i was denounced, under the premise that i would be obliterated do to the fact that they had shields. The main thing is that when a pair of knights fought each other in duel there was still a chance that both could live at the end, the tradition was in Japan that one of the dueling party had to die. They pride their traditions more than their practice of brute force, and therefore we never really see how the art is used practically.

BUT!!!!! Kendo is As we will get to seeing a real sword fight.

And we all know that real fights always come down to who wants to live the most, so in the end what you know doesnt matter its what you do in the fight that does.

But Rembar i respect your position, and i often find myself wondering the martial arts are so much like a dance between two lovers. Its laughable to watch some of these things, but the first time i told my father about how much Tai Chi was a silly game that only old softies play, he showed me the difference between practicing the art, and its use.

But ill look to see if i can find a situation other than kendo that shows Japanese medieval fighting in the practical way!

I understand where you're coming from Nordlich. I mean, historical swordfighting is really neat, and the concept of mortal danger is one that does take away from many training possibilities. However, I really must protest some of your points.

"And we all know that real fights always come down to who wants to live the most, so in the end what you know doesnt matter its what you do in the fight that does."

The whole point of training with aliveness is to be able to use what one knows when it comes time to do so. By training against resisting partners, who are actually trying to whack you, it becomes that much easier to transition into fight mode and use moves when you're no longer sparring, but fighting.

Just like Tai Chi, the separation between the practice and application of the art is one that denotes its stagnation as an effective fighting art. It's a false dichotomy that is not seen in effective arts. In boxing, kyokushin karate, judo, and so many other arts, the practice is so close as to be one with the application.

And the main problem with most aikido is it doesn't work against non-compliant partners. Period. No training against resisting opponents means failure to use such moves when it counts the most. There's a reason why the Tokyo police who train aikido cross-train in a number of other arts, and spar on a regular basis, unlike the typical aikido dojo.

Yep, i agree with you on the need to train with resistance. I tend to cross train in boxing, and wrestling. I almost never use the Aikido standing techniques, because they might work, but probably wont because you cant flip a resisting attacking it would result in a stalemate.

But i read in the kung fu magazine with Chen Bing on the cover that many advocates for training see the same stagnation.

I looked for a sparing item for kenjutsu, but i think the closest i can get to that is Last Samurai when Cruise spares with Ujiro.

>>Just like Tai Chi, the separation between the practice and application of the art is one that denotes its stagnation as an effective fighting art.
Apparently you didn't you see the Karate Kid trilogy. Tai chi played a pivotal role in one of Danielson's fiercest battles.