• Kendo Book
• by Paul Budden
• Great read

Looking at a Far Mountain: A Study of Kendo Kata Description

The ancient art of Kendo has been studied and practiced throughout Japan for centuries and has, along with other similar Japanese cultures spread worldwide. Thus the appeal of this unique sport is by no means limited to its homeland, and this may be partly because the implications of Kendo can be understood by and pertain to men everywhere.
It was the intention of the original schools and masters that through the study of the true art of combat, Man could learn how to avoid conflict.
For combat we must read swordsmanship in its highest and most perfectly controlled forms and thus modern Kendo still incorporates these ancient forms as a tribute to the original classical schools and the honourable masters who developed them. The intention has always been to perfect the movements of the sword attack for it is only through their mastery that the search for mastery of self can follow.
Of greater importance is the fact that the present day sport is derived from over 300 classical schools of swordsmanship that were standardised in 1912 and reviewed in 1981. However, Kendo is not an insensitive mixture of the old and the new since knowledge of the classical standards remains an integral part of the examinations that allow progression through the grades. The new Kendo is inextricably woven with the old.
This is the first study outside Japan and the first in English of the history, philosophy and technical aspects that comprise a system of predetermined sword techniques that was once known as Teikoku Kendo Kata. It will be of specific interest to those who practice Kendo at any level, and also to the numerous enthusiasts of all Far Eastern martial arts.

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