Katana length in inches1/16/2024 Upon impact the bundled slats dissipate the force of the strike by flexing/bending along the length of the blade, and expanding slightly, along its cross-sectional area (stress = force/unit area). The shinai is useful as a practice sword to simulate the weight and feel of a katana or bokken without injuring the user or the target. This is held in place by a rubber ring tsuba-dome ( 鍔止め). Inserted between the ends of the slats, under the saki-gawa, is a plastic plug saki-gomu ( 先ゴム), and under the tsuka-gawa there is a small square of metal chigiri ( ちぎり), that holds the slats in place.Ī hand-guard tsuba ( 鍔) is then fitted on the tsuka-gawa before it ends and the bamboo slats show. This holds the slats together and also marks the proper kendo striking portion of the shinai, or datotsu-bu ( 打突部). The nakayui is tied about one-third of the length of the exposed bamboo from the tip. The parts are all secured with a string ( tsuru ( 弦)). The shinai comprises four slats known as take ( 竹), which are held together by three leather fittings: a hilt (tsuka), or handle wrapping ( tsuka-gawa ( 柄皮)) a fitting at the tip ( saki-gawa ( 先皮)) and a leather strip ( naka-yui ( 中結)) that binds the four slats. Shinai slats are also made of carbon fibre, reinforced resin, or other approved alternative materials. Some may also be treated by smoking them, or soaking them in resin. The slats of a shinai are usually made from dried bamboo. However, both shinai and bokken are used in kendo. A shinai should not be confused with a bokutō, which has a much more similar shape and length to a Japanese sword and is made from a single piece of wood. Shinai are available in many styles and balances. For example, an adult may be able to use a shinai that is too heavy for a younger person, so shinai with different sizes and characteristics are made. Specifications for shinai used in kendo competitions that follow the International Kendo Federation (FIK) rules are below.Ĭonstruction The shinai components The daitō is shorter and lighter than a shinai used in the itto style of kendo. The holding position can be switched, however, with the daito in the left hand and the shoto in the right. A ni-to combatant uses a long shinai called the daitō ( 大刀), which is usually held in the right hand, and a shorter shinai, called the shōtō ( 小刀), which is usually held in the left hand. This kendo style is usually called ni-tō ( 二刀), a style that has its roots in the two-sword schools of swordsmanship such as Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū. In kendo, it is most common to use a single shinai, sometimes called itto style. Shinai is written with the kanji 竹刀, meaning "bamboo sword", and is an irregular kanji reading. The word " shinai" is derived from the verb shinau ( 撓う), meaning "to bend, to flex", and was originally short for shinai-take (flexible bamboo). This also makes shinai popular in producing movies and television shows a prop shinai with a thin metal covering can look similar to a metal sword, while allowing cinematic, showy strikes that are nevertheless fairly safe to perform. This is also the motivation behind the development of bōgu ( 防具), the armour that protects the kendoka.ĭue to its lighter weight compared to a bokken or a metal katana, a shinai can be wielded in a fashion that allows quicker strikes than would be practicable with a heavier sword. The shinai was developed in an effort to reduce the number of practitioners being seriously injured during practice, making a practice weapon that was less dangerous than bokutō ( 木刀), the hard wooden swords they were previously using. The modern shinai, with four slats of bamboo, is generally credited to Nakanishi Chuzo Tsugutate (died 1801) of Nakanishi-ha Ittō-ryū. The earliest use of a bamboo weapon to train with instead of a sword is credited to Kamiizumi Nobutsuna (1508-1572?) of the Shinkage-ryū. The light, soft wood used in a shinai distinguishes it from other wooden swords such as a bokken, which is generally made of heavier, sturdier wood. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters. JSTOR ( July 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī shinai ( 竹刀) is a Japanese sword typically made of bamboo used for practice and competition in kendo.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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