Shinkendo
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Shinkendo (真剣道, 眞劍道 Shinkendō?) is a martial art that teaches the way of armed samurai combat. Shin can be translated as serious, ken as sword, and do as way, validating Shinkendo's traditional English translation as "Way of the Serious Sword." The primary focus is on use of the katana;
Toshishiro Obata (小幡 利城?) is both founder and head instructor of the International Shinkendo Federation (国際真剣道連盟 Kokusai Shinkendō Renmei?). Shinkendo is non-competitive and is learned through the Goho Gorin Gogyo (fivefold way):
- Suburi (Swinging exercises)
- Battoho (Drawing techniques)
- Tanrengata (Solo forms) also referred to as kata
- Tachiuchi (Sparring) also referred to as Kumite
- Tameshigiri (Test cutting with real swords)
After many years of study and mastery of many different schools in his native Japan, Obata Sensei came to America to distill all of the different aspects of Japanese Swordsmanship into one complete and comprehensive art. Obata Kaiso has dedicated over thirty years to teaching and researching the almost lost art of true Japanese Swordsmanship as it was practiced by the Samurai of Japan's feudal era.
While Shinkendo requires rigorous physical training, depth of coordination, and intense focus, one of the most important aspects of Shinkendo is the emphasis on spiritual forging, which inspires "Bushi Damashii" (the samurai/ warrior spirit), a quality that Shinkendo practitioners feel is as relevant now as it was hundreds of years ago. Proper practice of Shinkendo should provide one with not only a strong body and mind, but also a calm, clear and focused spirit.
