Do You Know Chanbara?

Chanbara or Combat Kenjutsu is a full-contactMan has used tools and weaponry for eons.
activity, applying traditional and sword andOriginally created from wood and stone, these
weaponry techniques and drills with modernevolved into metal in the Bronze Age, when man
padded equipment to allow participant to enjoyexperienced great advancements in bladed
the rigors of sparring at full speed without fear ofweaponry - especially the mighty sword.Ancient
pain or injury. Over thirty years ago Japaneseman was always on the lookout for danger. The
martial artists and swordmasters came togetherinnate desire for self-preservation gave him this
and created a better training style. The founder,inborn vigilance and this is still in our blood
Tanabe Tetsundo and his group of some of thetoday.The sword long represented power and
strongest swordsmen in Japan called this newwealth and was one of man's most prized
school of thought Goshindo, later nicknamedpossessions. Design and technique were created
Chanbara. These martial artists and masters werefor the practicalities of war and defense. The only
very traditional. They also knew that the timesother usages were for ceremonies, social and
were changing and decided to educate today'scultural events or traditions.
public in the way of the modern JapaneseJapanese warlords trained their armies with
Samurai. New materials made out of flexiblevarious metal and wood practice weapons. This
plastics and the constant refining of swords forproved dangerous; one wrong move, one poorly
combat in the 21st century proved to be aexecuted technique and injury or death could
stroke of genius. Today Chanbara has a largeresult.
following worldwide and has been adopted by theEach warlord developed his own fighting
Japanese education system as a sports andtechniques, which were passed on to his warriors
physical development activity.and tested on the battlefield. Some techniques
Chanbara training is exciting, fun and an incrediblewere retained while others were discarded,
workout! Chanbara allows everyone to experiencedepending on how efficient they proved in battle.
the excitement and fantasy of samurai warriorAfter centuries of civil unrest and war, Japan
training in an environment so safe that it is beingunited into a single government. The warrior no
taught to elementary school students and momslonger fought wars but the samurai spirit
are using it to get physical with each other toremained. Tanabe Tetsundo and his group
vent stress and get into shape.founded Goshindo, also called sports chanbara by
Chanbara training is triply safe. First, the speciallythe younger students. These traditional
designed and patented training swords are thicklyswordsmen, aware that times were changing,
padded; second, they are designed to be flexiblebegan to educate the public in the way of the
to further soften even the fastest and mostmodern samurai while utilizing traditional ways and
powerful strikes; and third, all participants weartechniques.
gloves and light head gear specifically made toSwords made out of flexible plastics (called a
offer complete protection to the face so that'choken') proved a stroke of genius, because
even softened blows are totally absorbed.wearing a light head mask for face and eye
Chanbara gives the entire community, from kidsprotection was all that was required for safety.
to moms and from blue to white collar workingToday, chanbara is the fastest-growing combative
adults, a way to have fun together and to getsport in the United States, boasting 200,000
into shape.combatants worldwide. The word "chanbara"
 loosely translates to "sword fighter.
The Development and Evolution of Chanbara