Does anyone know the origin and development of fencing?

The origin and development of kendo

First, introduction to kendo

Japan has used swords since ancient times. Among many weapons, sword is particularly valued because of its double meanings. One is that the sword itself is the soul of a weapon, and it is an essential tool for both defense and attack. Because it is an indispensable thing in combat, its usage has been studied since ancient times. With the change of using method, the making of sword has also changed, which is a remarkable fact from the history of sword. Another meaning of the sword is symbolic utility, such as prayer, sacrifice and sacred protection. It is not difficult to understand by studying ancient myths and legends. As one of the three artifacts (the symbol of the throne, the three treasures inherited by Japanese emperors), such as praying or wishing and offering swords to gods, appointing generals and giving swords. , are proof of this meaning.

Before Japanese knives evolved into modern forms, China knives were mostly used in ancient Japan. In the tenth century, Japanese history was the politics of aristocratic center. Political chaos, so local tyrants had to gather to practice martial arts in order to defend their country, and samurai was born. The samurai then devoted themselves to the improvement of swords and guns, because China's sword was changed to Japanese sword. In the first nine years and the last three years of Anping period, as well as during Baoyuan Pingzhi Rebellion, Japan's unique swordsmanship was formed through increasing actual combat experience. That is the foundation of Japanese kendo today.

These histories also influenced the making of swords. The former straight China sword was replaced by the Japanese sword with ridges or bends. By the middle of heian period, it had become a pure Japanese Dao.

The appellation of ancient swords is called or. The word fencing has existed since Nara's time, but its pronunciation is still or. In the Anping era, it was called.

Second, the development of kendo

The history of kendo can be roughly divided into: from the meaningful period of sword to the early Meiji period; From Meiji era to World War II; And then to the present post-war phase III.

Due to the appearance of samurai since the Middle Ages, a new society was formed under the rule of the samurai class. Until now, samurai are the protagonists of social activities. Due to the guiding spirit of diligence and martial arts in Yuan Dynasty, the success of its policy led to the prevalence of knives and the gradual unification of teaching and learning methods. With the outbreak of wars one after another, everyone knows the importance of fencing and training, so they are actually repeated exercises.

After the mid-Muromachi period, it was also an era of war. Not only samurai, but also ordinary people compete to practice martial arts. Some people want to protect themselves, others want to be stepping stones to their career development, so the kendo atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger. The so-called kendo teacher also appeared, and fencing was also reorganized and unified. Since then, there has been a clear school name and even homework. Among the schools of kendo at that time, Shinto (Dang) stream, Shadow stream and Zhongtiao stream were representative.

At that time, the practice method of kendo, because there was no armor and bamboo sword, could not strike freely with wooden knife practice without any protection. Each stream only does repeated exercises in form, and does not stop fighting until it approaches the other side. Due to the accumulation of experience, the more you can cut the skin, the better your skills will be. In the Muramachi era, kendo was called (the art of war).

Books such as (Sun Tzu's Art of War) and (Woods' Art of War) have already flowed into Japan, and the word (Ping Fa) has existed since ancient times. Perhaps these are the reasons for the title (The Art of War). However, the term Sun Tzu's Art of War, including administrative law and methods of war, is not just one-on-one fencing. Musashi Miyamoto (1584- 1645) made a distinction between what includes administration (big art of war) and what refers to fencing (small art of war), which may be easier to understand.

From the early stage to the middle stage of the Edo period, after rectifying the feudal system, the class system was established. At this time, kendo became a necessary skill of samurai and a representative of samurai class, which led to its special development. Subsequently, it also prompted the form of its teaching methods to become quite neat. At this time, its kendo was also deeply influenced by Confucianism and Zen Buddhism, adding moral elements such as the spirit and attitude towards life that samurai must have, and kendo became a means to hone skills and cultivate samurai. In this way, it can be said that the kendo spirit supported by the civil-military theory is a method of personality completion.

In the middle of the Edo period (17 10- 1770), helmets, gloves, heart protectors, bamboo swords, etc. appeared during the inspection of Shiro Saemon and Chinese and Western loyal Tibetans. So don't practice with a wooden knife. The practice method of stabbing armor with bamboo sword appeared, which quickly became popular all over Japan. Very close to the current kendo practice. At that time, it was the climax of all schools, and it was said that there were more than 200. At the end of Edo period, the chances of contact with foreign countries increased, the political system and class system changed dramatically, and the state affairs became turbulent again. So the kendo, which is divorced from actual combat and gradually competitive, has once again become a martial art with practical significance. Kendo, which used to be exclusive to samurai, is now practiced by businessmen and farmers, and the wind of learning sword is unprecedented. In order to maintain law and order, the Tokugawa shogunate also set up a martial arts training center (martial arts training center) to retrain samurai. At this time, the competition of foreign schools has also been relaxed, the number of practitioners in cloud travel has increased, and the contacts between schools have become more frequent. Set the length of the bamboo sword to three feet eight inches as it is now. This was decided by Wushu in order to get rid of the aggressive atmosphere of Anzheng for three years. Some of the swordsmen trained in the Kendo field took refuge in the shogunate and loyalist, while others just fought around because of disagreement. In this troubled times, there are swordsmen who have made great achievements in politics, swordsmen who have fought in the south and demonstrated their swordsmanship, and swordsmen who are determined. There are quite correct records in modern history. Practicing the airway can give us spiritual hints.

Three. Kendo after Meiji era

In Meiji era, novels similar to infinite horror flourished with the introduction of European and American cultures, Japanese traditional culture gradually recovered, and the kendo atmosphere gradually declined. When the samurai class was abolished, swordsmen ceased to exist. Especially after the implementation of the abolition of the sword order in Meiji nine years, the importance of kendo almost completely lost. In order to revive the decadent kendo and ease the life of swordsmen, Kenji Shinhara staged a fencing performance. There are still many people who follow his example, but they can't last long. Although it is a short-term behavior, it can integrate kendo into public life and contribute to saving the decline of kendo. However, afterwards, some people accused it of taking kendo as entertainment, exaggerating the atmosphere of the competition, lowering the swordsman's character and being divorced from the essence of kendo mentally and technically.

From now on, their motivation may be that the essence of kendo has not been understood by the public, making it easy for the audience to understand kendo and pass it on to future generations.

The Southwest War in Meiji Decade promoted the revival of Kendo. Because on the battlefield, the Samoan army trained by Liu in Shexian county defeated the loyalist. In Meiji 12, the police department (later renamed the police department) officially adopted kendo, and the police everywhere followed suit, and the kendo atmosphere gradually revived. The Metropolitan Police Department gathered first-class experts in kendo in one place, which integrated the advantages of various schools and greatly influenced the development of modern kendo. Now kendo can be divided into three groups: police, schools and a group of society. From the early Meiji to the present, the police kendo office has made great contributions to the development of technology.

In the 28 th year of Meiji, the martial arts comprehensive ruling group established the Great Japan Martial Arts Association, which contacted all factions in the country, and the national kendo presented a unified image. Moreover, the establishment of the scholar-monk system and the commitment to the cultivation of tutors led to the rapid development of Japanese kendo.

While the police and ordinary people developed kendo, schools also adopted kendo. This is a great help for the popularization of kendo. If the school kendo is excluded, the increase of kendo population is unimaginable. From Meiji 12 to Meiji 15, only a few schools adopted kendo teaching, and many schools gradually followed suit. After several parliamentary deliberations, in Meiji 44, it was decided to make it a regular course in middle schools and normal schools. Sword, once only the center of samurai, or the kendo of some nobles, transcends status and region today, and is widely popularized through school teaching, resulting in the category of kendo education or school kendo.

In the first year of Taisho, more than 200 schools of Japanese kendo were unified, and the kendo style of the Great Japanese Empire (that is, the kendo style of Japan today) was formulated, so many different schools of Japanese kendo merged into one, and the so-called "competing with people" was gradually called ordinary kendo competition.

Sword has two characteristics from arrogance to early Showa. Schools establish student kendo alliances, and often hold national kendo conferences, regional and local conferences and school competitions. The increase in the number of players is one of its characteristics.

Another feature is to bow to militarism and become one of the combat skills. From 194 1, the second world war broke out, and this tendency expanded rapidly. In fact, it is an era when any activity is in line with improving national morale and enhancing combat effectiveness. Historically, kendo, which is only for personal recuperation, has become a national kendo, that is, educational kendo has become a fighting kendo.

1945 When Japan was defeated and surrendered, the Allied Command ordered all kinds of martial arts such as kendo, judo, archery and razor to be completely deleted from school physical education textbooks on the grounds that martial arts were encouraged and utilized by supranational ideas and militarism, and at that time, martial arts activities of ordinary people were completely banned.

The following year 1946, the Great Japan Wushu Association, which had been engaged in Wushu research and popularization for 48 years, was dissolved, its property was confiscated, and kendo seemed to disappear completely.

Fourth, the resurrection of kendo.

1950 All-Japan Bamboo Sword Competition Alliance was established. The broken kendo after the war was revived in the name of bamboo sword competition, which is purely a sports activity. 1952, middle schools, high schools and universities also used the bamboo sword competition as a competition textbook for school sports, and learning kendo began to see the dawn. Later, the Japanese Kendo Alliance was established, and Kendo resumed as a sports activity. From 65438 to 0953, kendo was adopted as a school physical education textbook, which further promoted its development trend. The following year, the Bamboo Sword Competition League was dissolved and unified into the National Japan Kendo League, and joined the Japan Sports Association. Since 1955, it has also participated in the national sports conference as a formal project.

In the process from prohibition to revival after defeat, of course, there are also a lot of enthusiasm and unremitting efforts to achieve today's grand occasion. Now people who practice kendo should not only thank them for their efforts, but also strive to exercise themselves through kendo and develop kendo into a part of excellent sports. Under no circumstances should kendo be reduced to a prohibited kendo. We should make it a kind of kendo that can be related to "the goal of life" and can be generally accepted by the public, and pass it on.

The Popularization and Internationalization of the verb (the abbreviation of verb) Kendo

Now kendo is more prosperous in schools, police or general society than before the war. In particular, the number of fans of teenagers is growing rapidly. A national kendo conference for primary and secondary school students was also held. In addition, women's kendo, which was almost invisible before the war, is also very popular. Unfortunately, although the number of female kendo has increased.

So far, no female instructors have appeared.

The prosperity of Japanese kendo also affects foreign countries. Every year, many tutors in Japan go abroad for guidance and popularization. Many people from abroad also came to the seminar, and some people stayed in the driving range for a long time. 1970, the international kendo league (IKF) was established, and international competitions were held every year to strive for international popularization and development. Kendo has been popularized all over the world, and how to teach and popularize different nationalities, histories and customs has become a new topic.

From April 65438 to April 0979, the rules of kendo competition and referee were changed, which was an important reform after the revival of kendo for more than 20 years. We have accumulated a lot of experience. Besides paying attention to its implementation, we should also make greater efforts to develop kendo into a brilliant kendo.

This article is taken from the book Kendo Classroom.

Original: Tomino Masayoshi Okamura Tadashi

On the purpose and function of kendo

The purpose of kendo

First of all, we should know why we should practice kendo and what effect it will have. The following narrative is a reference for what ordinary people want to achieve. 1976 the all-Japan kendo alliance issued a statement: "kendo is a way to form a personality (study the excellent qualities of one's talent and practice wholeheartedly ...) by virtue of the principle of practicing sword.

The effect of kendo

The effect mentioned here refers to the influence of continuing to practice kendo. If possible, it varies from person to person, because the attitude and method he adopts and the tutor he teaches have different achievements. Therefore, it is important to study thoroughly, correctly and seriously, regardless of the effect, and only concentrate on learning kendo.

The practice of kendo has more opportunities for collective practice, so it will be influenced by the practice and rules of the competition. There are partners, coaches, dexterous people and clumsy people in the driving range. In this complicated situation, practicing kendo will certainly have many different influences and effects. Now it will be divided into three aspects: physical, mental and social.

First, physical effects

1. Develop agility and dexterity

The practice of kendo is the continuity of hitting, stabbing and flashing, which is the key point of technology. With keen attention and infinite practice of these movements, the natural body becomes agile and produces dexterous movements.

2. Cultivate immediate response

Doing exercises for the purpose of coping with movements at any time is extremely horrible and quick-sighted, so I gradually get used to the movements in an instant and can reflect the physical state of any movement at any time, that is, the posture of kendo. Therefore, when encountering unexpected events in daily life, we can take action to adapt to the changes in an instant.

Cultivate endurance

Kendo can improve the endurance of muscles and respiratory system. It is not strong muscles that develop, but the ability of muscles to do subtle work for a long time.

pose

If it is not an exaggeration to say that "kendo is posture", kendo has strict requirements on posture. "Good posture" is a correct posture in physiology and mechanics, and it is also aesthetic, and posture is the basic technology of kendo. The posture required by kendo has also been proved to be correct in medicine. Although some people have practiced kendo for many years, their posture is still not good, because their attitude of cultivation is flawed, so they can't learn kendo correctly.

Second, the spiritual effect.

1. Develop the habit of hard work and patience.

Kendo not only attaches importance to theory, but also to practice. Only by continuous accumulation of practice can there be technological progress. In the process of its efforts to accumulate, it is often accompanied by bitterness, heat, pain and cold pain. Enduring these pains can be said to be kendo practice. Persistence and hard work will certainly have good results, gain the joy and confidence of success, and become the strength of test and challenge in the future. By repeating this, you can make progress in technology and spirit. Therefore, don't use poor physical strength or clumsy motor nerves as an excuse to stop. Anyway, long-term practice is the best policy. 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years later, you will find that the hours of inferiority disappeared, but you will have a lot of self-confidence. According to some experiences of becoming excellent instructors, the fact that many clumsy people can also become excellent swordsman proves the effect of patience and hard work. In other words, no matter how excellent your ability is (physical strength, speed, motor nerve, etc.). ) Yes, kendo can't improve because you lack patience and hard work.

build up vital energy

The term "qi" here is too detailed to be understood, so it is only briefly described. If you think about the usage of the word "qi", it is not difficult to imagine its meaning. Weather, tolerance, atmosphere, temperament, qi, ambition, spirit, courage, anger, qigong, pride, heroism, etc. We can't understand the broad sense of "qi" only from these words, but it is mostly used to express phenomena such as the universe, soul and state of mind, especially spiritual.

3. Cultivate concentration and determination

Kendo is often accompanied by loneliness. A person can only believe in himself and often can't rely on others. Even if you are trapped in a tight encirclement, you should solve the crisis yourself. What helps to solve the crisis is his keen observation, judgment and practical ability. So when practicing, he should concentrate and exercise his ability to see and listen in all directions.

Historically, kendo has a close relationship with religion, especially Zen in Buddhism, which may be because Zen is also based on independent practice and has similarities with kendo. If you learn kendo from this angle, you can hone your independence, but its independence is not perfect, and you will be criticized as a selfish swordsman by outsiders. Therefore, people who learn kendo should take this as a warning, constantly reflect on it and constantly pursue their true selves.

Third, social effects.

1. Develop a sense of responsibility and social skills

Loneliness and struggle in kendo have been described before, so if you do whatever you want, it will affect the formation of gregarious. Although kendo is very important to you, you must practice it with others, and you must never act arbitrarily and do things according to your own preferences. We should protect our own freedom, but we can't interfere with others' freedom. In other words, don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you. This is the relationship between independence and gregarious. In fact, when practicing kendo, it is not only a matter of technology and spirit, but also a social code of conduct. When you follow the rules and practice with your partner, you can develop sociality that is more important than technology. Please read the purpose of kendo again. If you don't work hard to cultivate your personality, learning kendo will lose its meaning. We should take care of each other and practice kendo together. In this way, we can naturally form a good attitude and upbringing in society.

2. Cultivate an attitude of respecting each other and paying attention to etiquette.

Kendo was developed from the art of fighting, and now it still takes the form of fighting, so it is easy to use force just to win or lose, so the purpose of cultivating noble personality by kendo will be defeated. Kendo is a sport in which many seniors with lofty goals cultivate noble personality through fighting for a long time. Therefore, we can't do anything that insults the efforts of our predecessors! Kendo, which aims at education, starts with respecting each other, showing politeness and asking for advice from each other. If it is only for the purpose of defeating each other, what is the difference between it and the original fighting? Certainly not a progressive kendo. Only by respecting each other and praying for each other's growth together is modern kendo. We should be careful not to act savagely. Through such efforts, we can control our instinctive impulse.

Some people say that kendo "begins with ceremony and ends with ceremony". It's good to say so, but it can't be too much. Etiquette is the heart of respect that arises spontaneously, but kendo that only aims at etiquette is not a real kendo. People who learn kendo should seek true etiquette and cultivate their true moral character.

3. Cultivate a correct attitude towards health and safety

The details of this item can be described in the item of prevention of danger, and only a brief explanation is given here. Kendo can promote healthy physical activity on the premise that both sides are safe. At the same time, it is also practicing on the edge of danger. We must overcome the crisis to ensure safety and then cultivate enough courage. The motivation of learning kendo is to protect themselves, so people who learn kendo can be said to be healthy and safe. In daily life, the intuitive response to safety is also helpful to improve kendo techniques, but it can't concentrate, and the body's response is more flexible in times of crisis. If someone is injured due to negligence, it will be considered as "lack of cultivation", so we should continue to work hard towards the goal that even these small mistakes can be avoided.

Genre of kendo の 1

1. There are many schools of kendo in Japan, and among the recorded swordsmanship, the oldest one is the school named Nakata.

By Hiroyuki Nakata (? -1348), so Naoko Nagata should be regarded as the first swordsman to start a school. Later, along with the fencing proposition of "one-knife flow in the middle line", schools such as Liu Futian, one-knife flow, one-knife flow in Beichen and five-knife flow emerged.

After the emergence of the faction that started with "Zhongtiao", more than a century passed, that is, in the first half of15th century, the swordsman ITIAO Changwei (1387-1488) founded Shinto Liu, which was completely naive. From then on, without biography of Liu, the origin of Samosote stone and the heart-shaped knife Liu were developed.

About half a century later, Liu Yin was born in the hands of swordsman Yi Xiang Zhai in Aizhou (1452- 1538). (At this time, it has entered the Warring States Period. There is a saying called evil flow, which is a precious killing skill taught by the gods in the sky for this bloody era. As we all know, after this, many "new yin streams" such as new yin streams, new yin streams of yagyu, and straight-heart shadow streams emerged soon, forming a huge faction.

Paying attention to the background of these three schools, it is not difficult to see that the birth, development and maturity of fencing schools are precisely the troubled times from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Warring States Period. In the war, "surviving" can effectively stimulate soldiers to greatly enhance their strength more than any harsh practice. So the rapid evolution of fencing is natural.

The core of early fencing is "one blow will kill". On the battlefield, killing or being killed is decided instantly, so the first blow is usually the last one. Under the idea of "winning with one blow", the swordsman is required to focus on the opponent's flaws quickly and accurately. In the next 300 years, based on the above theory, the conclusion of "slay your opponent and then behead" was reached.