If you've seen an Akira Kurosawa film, replete with armor-clad,
sword-brandishing samurai, you have some idea of what draws many
students to kendo. Sparring in full armor looks as thrilling and
challenging as it is, and the opportunity to swing a sword at
someone else is a siren call to those of us with pent-up stress.
However, there is far more to kendo than the physical aspects of
this weapon art.  Kendo, or the "art of the sword," is a form of
Japanese sword-fighting with roots in the samurai tradition. The
sport, as it is known today, evolved from the need for samurai
to practice swordplay without inflicting serious injury or even
death on their practice partners (something students try to
avoid to this day). Two traditions eventually developed: in one,
actual combat was replaced with kata, or routines, that allowed
combatants without armor to practice moves safely, without
making contact. In the other, a bamboo sword, or shinai,
replaced the metal swords; and armor, or bogu, was introduced,
thereby makin