Kenjutsu - Art of the
sword
Shodan - 1st Degree Black Belt.
All warriors regardless of rank were trained in Swordsmanship, those
of higher ranks had more time to develop their expertise, which is
why a retainer of lower rank was no match for the Bushi.
These Bushi normally carried two swords, the long sword (Katana) and
the short (wakiashi) and these two weapons symbolized the Bushi
position in Japanese society.
The art of sword fighting (Ken-Jutsu) became highly specialised and
many schools (Ryu) were established, where the devotees of the skill
trained for long hours, practising the initial preparation for
combat, the unsheathing of a sword, strategies of attack, counter
attack and defence.
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