kendo · noun — A Japanese martial art using "swords" of split bamboo.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Why “kendo” is a great word
A Japanese martial art in which participants use bamboo swords and wear protective armor. Borrowed from Japanese 剣道 (kendō, 'the way of the sword'), from Middle Chinese 劍 (kjæ̀m, 'sword') + 道 (dáu, 'way'), first attested in English in the period 1920–25. Unlike kenjutsu, which codifies lethal battlefield technique, or kumdo, its Korean cognate shaped by distinct cultural currents, kendo is a spiritual pedagogy encased in armor. It is the percussive chorus of shinai meeting men, the sharp exhale of a perfectly timed strike, and the profound stillness within the whirl of a simulated duel—a discipline where the sword becomes a brush, the dohyo a page, and each exchange a character written in the urgency of combat and the restraint of self-conquest.
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Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 剣道 (kendō, “the way of the sword”), from Middle Chinese 劍 (kjæ̀m, “sword”) + 道 (dáu, “way”). Doublet of kumdo.
noun
- A Japanese martial art using "swords" of split bamboo.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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