Kendo - Japanese art of fencing with swords, is descended from the ancient art of Ken-jutsu. sword fighting.
During IX to XVII century necklaces - medieval knights - having mastered Ken-jutsu art, ensured peace and order in the country. Then the Bouquet (military families) ruled on their behalf, they were Knights only nominally and brought samurais into their service. The most prominent fencers tried to perpetuate both their physical perfection and their philosophy by creating their own school - Ryu.
At the time of Tokuhava sehunat establishment in 1603 there were thousands of such schools in Japan. Each daimyo, Prince, thought it necessary to keep Kendo school, where his vassals and sons trained.
By the middle of the XVIII century there had been three methods of teaching art of the sword, which used: 1) real blade; 2) wooden sword, 3) light training sword. Death matches or competitions were held between the rivals, equally armed with one of three weapons. But the fight with real swords needed government permission. When it became clear that these fights almost always ended with severe injuries of participants, sometimes death of one of them, sehunat banned such events.
To make the fights safer, Dzykysynkahe Ryu school first developed protective gear in 1711. Samurais of those times studied art of all types of knives - a halberd, flails, sword, chain and sickle. Many modern schools use a variety of weapons preserved in its traditional form.
After the "Meiji" revolution in 1868 wearing of swords was prohibited, and soon Ken-jutsu traditions were forgotten. But then the Rebirth of art began in a new form: the transition from the enemy destruction art on the battlefield to the art of education of the warrior spirit.
After World War I kendo was used by militarists for heating up nationalistic feelings in people. In 1928, there was All Japan Kendo Federation (Zen Nippon Kendo Renmey), enabling standardization of Kendo on a national basis (technical supervision over the quality of training of trainers, periodic exams for the right to have a degree and a teaching license standards for technology and teaching methods). In 1941, Kendo has become a compulsory subject in all primary schools.
After World War II, Kendo was banned. However, Japan's revival, which began in 1948, expanded Kendo aims and softened the technique itself, and this discipline in such way became the basis for creating a national sport for all people.
Kendo in Ukraine
In Ukraine, the interest toward Kendo began to emerge about 6 years ago. Over time, clubs were formed in Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kiev, and other cities. First clubs were apart from each other, and in 2005 began to keep in touch.
In April 2006 the first big tournament of Kendo took place in Kharkiv. It was attended by kendoists from 4 cities of Ukraine - Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lviv. The tournament was organized by Kharkiv Regional Federation of Kendo, Yaydo, Jodo and wore the official name "Cup of Kharkov."
The website of the federation - http://kendo.org.ua/
In September 2006, Kiev Kendo Federation was officially registered.