(Kendo Fencing, Japanese Style)
I've always had a respect for the art of fencing. I used to always watch old movies where the dukes, barons or knights of old would duel over a maiden or for the sake of someone's honor and I always used to think about how cool sword fighting was (I don't know maybe it's a guy thing; although fencing has popularized rapidly recreationally among females as well). I like European styled fencing although I've learned that some places teach you fencing along with another style that is more Japanese then European called Kendo Fencing.
It originally was propagated as a discipline for warriors and took its current form from around the middle of the Edo Period (1603-1867). In a kendo match, the two combatants wear protective outfits resembling armor (yoroi) and attack with bamboo swords. They score points by hitting their opponent's head, trunk, forearms or charging at their throat with the bamboo sword. The match lasts no more than five minutes and the winner is the first to score two out of three points. Kendo is well known overseas as a sport that can discipline mind and body.
(In traditional fencing there are 3 kinds of swords/foils)
In the Olympic Games, the foil, the épée and the saber are used by both men and women. The Saber is a thrusting, cutting and slicing weapon whose blade is usually curved and sharp on one side only; its maximum weight is 1.1 lb, the same as that of the foil. The Foil is a lightweight thrusting weapon (maximum weight of 1.1 lb) with a flexible blade whose cross section is square or rectangular. The Epee is a thrusting weapon with a tapered blade whose cross section is a triangle; it is more rigid and heavier than a foil, weighing up to 1.7 lb.
I'm excited about taking lessons in these disciplines...because sword study, (atleast as percieved in the eastern way of Bushido), is not an accomplishment that ends with the last lesson you recieve. It is a way of life.
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