Ken Wa Kan Kendo Dojo

KENDO ( 劍道 ) is a Japanese style of fencing derived during the Meiji period in Japan (1868-1912), from the two-handed sword fighting techniques of the Samurai.

Today, Kendo, which means "the way of the sword", is practiced with shinai (bamboo swords), and fighters wear protective equipment covering the target areas: the head, wrists, and abdomen. The bogu (protective gear) consists of a men (face mask), a do (breastplate), kote (fencing gloves), and the tare, a kind of apron to protect the stomach and hips. Under the protective gear, kendoka (players of kendo) wear a hakama, or wide split skirt, reaching the ankles.

The weapon used in Kendo practice is called "shinai", or bamboo sword. The shinai is ranged 36" (91 cm) to 47" (120 cm) in length and is made of four carefully formed bamboo slats bound together to form hollow cylinder. A cord runs along the length of the shinai. To make a valid cut a player must strike his/her opponent with the side opposite the cord. In addition to the point must be struck with the top third of the shinai.

Kendo Rank

There are no outward signs of rank such as a “belt” as in other kinds of martial arts.  Kendo follows the ranking system as follows:

Kyu

Kyu is the entry level.  Students are graded from 6th to 1st.  1st-kyu is the highest.  They are called ro-kyu (6th kyu), go-kyu (5th kyu), yon-kyu (4th kyu), san-kyu (3rd kyu), ni-kyu (2nd kyu), i-kyu (1st kyu) respectively.

Dan

Follow by successfully passed the i-kyu test, more advanced grades are loosely identified as “black belt” in general, from 1st-dan to 10th-dan.  10th-dan is the highest rank.  They are sho-dan (1th dan), ni-dan (2nd dan), san-dan (3rd dan), yon-dan (4th dan), go-dan (5th dan), roku-dan (6th dan), nana-dan (7th dan), hachi-dan (8th dan), kyu-dan (9th dan), ju-dan (10th dan).

In the real life, there is no one to judge tests for kyu-dan and ju-dan levels and therefore, hachi-dan (8th dan) is the highest obtainable rank nowadays from the official exam and test.