Kendo

Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer, artist, and rōnin (1584–1645)

is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship exercises, and today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world.

text on kenjutsu and the martial arts, written by Miyamoto Musashi

is an umbrella term for all (ko-budō) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Kenjutsu is a martial art that puts more emphasis on various real-life sword combat scenarios, compared with its modern adaptation, kendo, which has evolved into a modern sport with fewer target areas and attack patterns and more rules. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also include modern forms of kenjutsu in their curriculum. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "sword techniques", as

thumb|A set of for kendo thumb|Kendo practitioners wearing in training , properly called , is training armour used primarily in the Japanese martial art of kendo, with variants used for jūkendō, tankendo, and naginata.

, translating simply to "interval", is a Japanese martial arts term referring to the space between two opponents in combat; formally, the "engagement distance".

Kumdo () is a modern Korean martial art derived from kendo, the Japanese discipline of swordsmanship. The name is also romanized as Kŏmdo, Keomdo, Gumdo, and Geomdo.

Standardized style of iaido

fixed patterns in kendo practice

is a concept of modulation and movement applied in a wide variety of traditional Japanese arts. Roughly translated to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly. This concept is applied to elements of the Japanese tea ceremony, martial arts (kenjutsu, iaido, kendō, karate), dramatic structure in the traditional theatre, and to the traditional collaborative linked verse forms renga and renku (haikai no renga).