Basic strikes in kendo

Kendo has four target areas and thus has four basic strikes. The men or forehead, the kote or forearm, the do or torso, and the tsuki or throat. Out of the four target areas, beginners should concentrate primarily on the men, kote, and do strikes.

Unlike European Fencing, kendo points are not scored on a touch basis. In kendo, a point is only awarded when a strike solidly lands on any of the four datotsubu, or point areas. The strike also needs to have three elements: Ki, ken, and tai. If spirit, sword, and body respectively are not intergraded as one in the attack, a point is not awarded regardless of how well it went in.

Men-uchi-sankyodo/Men-uchi-ikkyodo and Men-uchi-zenshinkotai

Men-uchi-sankyodo is one of the most basic strikes in kendo. There are two methods of going about this exercise. The most basic way is to split the entire exercise into three motions, (sankyodo). The advanced way is when the strike is made with one motion, (ikkyodo).

A walkthrough of men-uchi-sankyodo

men attack

1. The backswing. Raise the shinai, do not let the kensen or tip, dip down, and move your right foot forward.

men attack

2. The Strike. Lower the shinai by wringing the hilt like a towel using your left arm (not the right arm even if you’re right-hand dominant) to pull the shinai down. At the same time snap your left foot back up into the kamae position. You should kiai or yell “men!” loudly. Both of your arms should be straight and taught. Your arms should be parallel with the ground and your shoulders should be down. Your head should be straight, eyes forward, and your body should be upright.

men attack

3. Return to stance. Bring your arms back into your stance and at the same time take a step back to the starting position. There is a slight pause here called zanshin. Zanshin is a very complex concept. In essence, zanshin is the part where you prepare to be struck or strike again. This part is every bit as important as the strike itself and is present in ALL kendo waza or techniques.

Ikkyodo and Zenshinkotai

The more advanced way, (ikkyodo, is to split the exercise into two parts: The strike and the return to kamae (stance). The up and down motion are merged into one single motion (hence the ikkyodo, literally “one motion” opposed to san-kyodo or “three motions”. There is only one forward motion of the feet. If you are hitting something, your left foot should snap into kamae at the precise moment your shinai contacts your target. After the strike, there’s a slight period of zanshin, and then a back-step, and a return to kamae.

Men-uchi-zenshinkotai

Zenshinkotai means “forward and back”. This exercise is, literally, men attack forward and men attack back. It is another of the most basic strikes in kendo. The movements are exactly the same as men-uchi-ikkyodo except instead of going back to the starting position, you immediately attack again, this time going backwards. After the strike, instead of the return to kamae, you pause a moment (remember zanshin?), and on the back-step you strike again. The back strike is exactly the same as the regular forward strike men strike, except the back foot is the right instead of the left. Thus, the shinai should contact its target at the same time the right foot snaps into kamae

Other basic strikes

Below is an excellent video demonstrating the four basic strikes that count as ippon or one point that was not made by kendokorner.com. Men uchi, kote-uchi, do-uchi and tsuki. Tsuki should NEVER be used by anyone under sho-dan or black-belt. That move is dangerous and requires skilled blade-work and if done improperly, it could kill the person you practice it on.

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