Kendo Shiai

Competition is a large part of modern kendo, with tournaments ranging from small intra-club events to the World Kendo Championships and All Japan Kendo Championships. However, the action tends to move very quickly, making it difficult to follow, and the rules governing what constitutes a valid point are pretty specific, often leading spectators to wonder why a point was or was not awarded. So this page is an introduction to the standard rules of competition under the International Kendo Federation (IKF).

Shiaijo - the match court

A kendo match (shiai) is takes place in a court called a shiaijo. It is a rectangle from 9 to 11 meters (30 to 37 feet) on a side, marked by a wide white line. In the exact center of the court is an X 30 centimeters (one foot) across, again in thick white. One meter (three feet) on each side of the center is a 30 centimeter line, marking where each kendoka begins and ends the shiai.

Yukodatotsu - valid strike

In order to earn ippon (one point), a strike must meet several conditions.

  • It must be made against a valid target. There are only eight places on the body which earn a point.
  • It must be made with the correct portion of the shinai. The strike must be made with the monouchi, the last quarter or so of the blade. This corresponds to the "sweet spot" on a real sword. The strike must also be made with the habu, the edge which is opposite the string on the back of the shinai. As the shinai represents a real sword, striking with the flat or at an off-angle is an invalid strike.
  • It must be made with correct hasuji. That is, the path of the blade and the direction of the edge must be in line. Simply making contact with the habu is not enough, the strike must be leading with the habu as well.
  • It must be accompanied by proper kiai. The kendoka must shout loudly, calling out the name of his target: "Men!" "Kote!" "Do!" or "Tsuki!" This means that the kendoka must hit what he aims at, not accidentally get something.

    • The next two conditions are probably the most important but least obvious conditions.

  • The kendoka must demonstrate ki-ken-tai-itchi. That is cooperation of spirit, sword, and body. All three elements of kiai, sword movement, and body movement must make a coordinated whole. Generally, the leading foot landing, the kiai, and the shinai contacting the opponent should all happen at the same time.
  • The kendoka must also demonstrate strong zanshin, awareness of his opponent and surroundings, particularly after the strike. This is physically demonstrated by quickly moving to a proper distance, if possible. If not possible, the kendoka must keep his tip pointed at the center of his opponent, thwarting any attempt at a counterattack.

    • There are a few things which keep a strike meeting the above conditions from earning ippon.

  • Ai-uchi - simultaneous strikes. If both kendoka make otherwise valid strikes simultaneously, then neither is awarded ippon and the match continues without stopping. For purposes of ai-uchi, mune tsuki, thrusting to the upper portion of the do, counts as a valid strike, even though it can not earn ippon.
  • If the opponent's tip or monouchi is resting on the upper body of the attacker, and the opponent is in good posture, the strike is invalid. One can not move against an opponent's blade to make a strike, as one would be wounding oneself if it were a fight with real swords.

    • Hansoku - penalties

    There are various actions which will earn hansoku. Two hansoku earns the other kendoka ippon. Hansoku include, but are not limited to:

  • Stepping out of bounds. A person is considered to have stepped out of bounds when an entire foot is outside of the line marking the edge of the shiaijo. On the line or only partially out is still in bounds.
  • Falling down. Falling down in and of itself does not earn hansoku. However, covering oneself up and not attempting to stand, get out of the way, etc. does earn hansoku.
  • Dropping the shinai. If you lose your sword in a sword fight, you're at a large disadvantage. Originally, this automatically earned the opponent ippon, as it was assumed he would simply chase you down and kill you, but now is the same as other fouls.
  • Stalling. Playing the clock is against the rules, as there would be no time limit in a real fight.
  • Grabbing the shinai anywhere other than the tsuka. Obviously, you can't hold your sword by the blade.
  • Tripping. Leg sweeping and tripping used to be legal, but, because of the danger involved, is now prohibited. Rumor has it that police dojo still practice leg sweeps, though they obviously do not use them in shiai.
  • Grabbing. Kendo shiai is supposed to be a sword fight, not a judo match.
  • Unfairly shoving your opponent out of bounds. One can intentionally knock the opponent out of bounds, but it should be a kendo match not a sumo match.
  • Coaching. If someone yells advice to one of the contestants, the contestant can be assigned hansoku. The kendoka have to fight the match without any outside help.

    • The match will be stopped when someone commits hansoku. However, if one strikes before the match is stopped, one can earn ippon. If ippon is earned, the hansoku is not counted. E.g. if you disarm your opponent then strike him, you get ippon, rather than him getting hansoku and you earning ippon the next time he commits a foul.

    Shimpan - the referees

    For each match, there will be three shimpan: one head shimpan, who is the only one who gives verbal instructions to the contestants, and two assistant shimpan, who help determine ippon and hansoku. To earn either ippon or hansoku, at least two of the three shimpan must agree. The shimpan indicate their decisions using red and white flags, corresponding to the red or white ribbon worn by each contestant. The flag signals are:

    Neutral. Both flags held down at sides.Ippon (for white). Flag raised up and to the side. Also used for hantei (vistory by decision) and announcing the winner.No ippon/ No hansoku. Flags waved back and forth in front of shimpan. Done when another shimpan indicates ippon or hansoku.
     
    Abstain. Flags held still in front of shimpan. Done when another shimpan indicates ippon or hansoku.
         		Hansoku (white). Flag held down and to the side.Ai hansoku (simultaneous fouls). Both flags held down and to the sides.
    Matte (suspension of match). Both flags held straight up.
         		Wakare (separate). Both flags held straight out.Gogi (conference). Both flags held straight up in the right hand.
    Hikiwake (draw). When the match is being decided by referee decision (when tied at the end of the match), the referee considers it an even match.

     

    Progression of a match

    The two kendoka line up just outside of the shiaijo. The entire simultaneously, taking one step forward with the right foot. From here they perform a standing bow to each other, then proceed to the two white lines that mark their starting positions. Ideally, they should take three steps, but it's more important to get to the line. On the third (well, last) step, they each draw their shinai and drop into sonkyo, a squatting position.

    It is from here that the match begins, upon the head shimpan shouting "Hajime!" ("Begin!") Earlier, the kendoka would attack each other out of sonkyo, springing forward from the squat. These days, the kendoka must stand up before attacking. However, pressing the attack is seen as a virtue in kendo, and whoever stands up first definitely has an advantage. The kendoka must stand before attacking, but they don't have to wait for the other to stand.

    Upon the scoring of the first point, the head shimpan will shout, "Men/Kote/Tsuki ari!" announcing the point scored. The two kendoka will return to their respective starting lines, but will remain standing in chudan no kamae. The match resumes when the head shimpan shouts, "Nihonme!" ("The second point!")

    If the second point ends the match (the score is 2-0), the kendoka will return to their starting lines, the head shimpan announces "Shobu ari!" ("There is victory and defeat!") and raises one flag to indicate the winner. The two kendoka return to sonkyo, put away their shinai, and back out of the shiaijo.

    If the second point ties the match, it proceeds like after the first point, but the head shimpan announces "Shobu!" ("Victory and defeat!") rather than "Nihonme!"

    Upon the the third point, the match ends the same as above.

    If, time (usually 5 minutes) runs out and the score is tied, either 0-0 or 1-1, one of two things can happen. The first is the shimpan can decide the winner, voting by raising their flags. This is uncommon. The other is that the head referee will announce an extension period, "Encho!" Encho are always sudden death. If at the end of the encho, the score is still the same, the shimpan may decide for an additional encho, but will usually decide the winner. It is common for the encho in semi-final and final matches to be of unspecified length--the two contestants just keep on fighting until someone finally gets ippon.