Our Practice
Our practice is done in seven parts:
- Warmup
- Seiretsu and Rei (Opening) (稽古開始時の整列)
- Suburi (素振り)
- Kihon Geiko without Bogu (基本稽古 防具無し)
- Kihon Geiko with Bogu (基本稽古 防具着用)
- Jigeiko (地稽古)
- Seiretsu and Rei (Closing) (稽古終了時の整列)
Warmup
This part is very important to avoid injuries
First, we warmup by going through routine exercise and stretches.
Seiretsu and Rei (Opening) (整列)
This is an example of the circle line up
After we warmup, we line up according to our rank, meditate, and bow in. We bow to the Shinzen/Shomen(front), to the Sensei(Instructor), and to each other. Sometimes, depending on the number, we will circle up rather than lining up.
Suburi (素振り)
After we bow in, we do suburi(swings) to warm up fully. Around 200~300 swings are executed.
- Kihon Geiko without Bogu (基本稽古 防具無し)
After we are well warmed up from suburi, we go into our kihon geiko(basic practice). In this part of practice, ashisabaki (footwork) and suburi (swings) are both done, with more emphasis on ashisabaki.
- Kihon Geiko with Bogu (基本稽古 防具着用)
When we are done with Kihon Geiko, we go into practice with Bogu (armor). In this part of practice, we practice basic and advanced techniques of Kendo.
Jigeiko (地稽古)
Here we see one of the Kenshi(Swordsman) striking Men (Head)
When Kihon Geiko is finished, we go into Jigeiko(Free-Training). During Jigeiko, the techniques learned from Kihon Geiko and more can be used freely against an opponent without the pressure of winning.
Seiretsu and Rei (Closing) (整列)
Here we see the actual lining up.
When Jigeiko is done, we line up again, and bow out.
Other Practice:
Kata(形)
Example of one of the katas
Kata (form) is a form of practice which uses a bokken/bokuto (wooden sword) instead of the shinai. These are executed without bogu and done in set patterns against an opponent.