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In kendo, three weapons are
primarily used for training. The first is the shinai
which is a sword made of four slats of bamboo bound together by
leather parts.
The kensen is the tip of the shinai covered
by a leather cap called the (insert term). The strap of
leather wrapped around the shinai towards kisaki is called the
shinogi and the area between the shinogi and the kensen is
called the monouchi. The monouchi is the most
dangerous part of the sword and it is in this area that should
make contact with each strike. The sword guard, called the
tsuba is held in place by the tsuba-dome. The
leather wrapping the handle is called the tsuka and the
string connecting the tsuka, shinogi, and kensen is called the
tsuru. The tsuru represents the back of the blade (mine)
and the cutting edge (hasaki) is represented by the
opposite slat.
For kata, bokutoh are used in place of the shinai.
Bokuto are carved wooden swords, usually made from oak, and come
in a variety of styles. Note the shape of the bokuto and
compare it to an actual katana.
We use both the long and short bokutoh's (daito
and kodachi) for kata. The parts of both swords are
identical and only vary in length.
Excess moisture is a shinai and bokutoh's worst
enemies. If water comes into contact with the swords, it
must be wiped off quickly so as not to ruin the wood.
The same danger is found when the air is too dry as it results in
the wood becoming too brittle, particularly for shinai. If
the air does become too dry, wiping the slats with a damp cloth
every so often will reduce the risk of breaking it during
practice.
In naginata, the blade is
very similar to a shinai except that it is only composed of two
pieces of bamboo and is taped to a long staff.
The same care against excess moisture that would
be observed for shinai and bokutoh is observed for the naginata.
Bogu is the armor used
in both kendo and naginata and consists of the men (helmet), kote (forearms), do
(torso), and the tare (hip flaps, not pictured). A head towel (tenugui,
not pictured) is worn
over the head and is put on prior to putting on the men.
Between kendo and naginata bogu there are two
primary differences. Naginata bogu has the shins (sune,
not pictured) as valid
targets whereas kendo does not. The second difference is in
the kote gloves. Kendo kote have all four fingers covered in
a single part whereas a naginata kote has the index finger in a
separate covering from the rest of the fingers to allow for more
control.
Bogu come in a variety of styles and sizes so it
is important that the bogu not be too big or too small as it is
quite dangerous.
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