Among the most popular of traditional martial arts would be those that teach classical weapons. The Japanese art of Shinkendo is one such art and it serves the noble purpose of preserving the seemingly lost legacy of ancient sword fighting.
Shinkendo revolves around teaching the traditional sword strategies of the samurai. Even though it has been many centuries since the samurai warriors existed in Japan, their art of fighting has been preserved. Even though the practice of sword techniques are not made for self-defense, they do give many other attributes and benefits associated with training in the art. Mostly, practitioners can easily boost their concentration skills and personal discipline as they gain proficiency in this battlefield art.
Shinkendo was developed by Toshishiro Obata. He learned traditional Japanese swordsmanship by learning different styles. What’s interesting is that Obata was mainly an Aikido practitioner. A number of the moves in Aikido trace their roots to sword fighting strategies. Thus, it seems Obata was able to learn the art of the sword by mastering Aikido. With time, he broadened his study into several sword arts, resulting into him becoming an expert in the art of sword fighting.
Given that Obata has become quite skilled in sword fighting tactics, this led him to develop his own fighting system. The system he invented is Shinkendo, whose translation is “Way of the Real Sword”. The translation’s symbolic meaning can have many interpretations. It can mean the “real” method of how the martial art is supposed to be practiced. Another meaning can be “honest effort” of mastering swordsmanship.
Shinkendo follows several classical learning techniques. A few of these methods include one- and two-step sparring, forms training, and sword exercise routines (including movement, drawing, and cutting physical objects). Students use a real sword for the cutting exercises For the other routines, they make use of a wooden sword. This is to promote safety and protect against serious accidents in the course of training.
Working with a sword adeptly calls for both precision and coordination. Novices are advised to begin slow and perfect the moves instead of doing the more complex moves that call for fine motor skills. Though training the basic swinging and drawing moves of Shinkendo can be boring initially, you’ll discover that they provide the basic foundation for the moves which involve more coordination later in your training. With determination and training, the basic movements will become ingrained in you which means you should be able to use them reflexively and without thinking.
Such skill will never develop overnight but the commitment required to become highly talented will pay off in many rewarding ways. Not the least of which is your ability to take great pride in your accomplishments of learning a unique martial art style of historical and cultural roots. Discover tarot card spreads.