Jūkendō

Jūkendō (銃剣道) is the Japanese martial art of bayonet fighting.

History

It developed after the end of World War II in order to enable the enthusiasts of the military bayonet training to continue their practice in the form of a regular sport. The foundations of the modern sport came from the Toyama Military Academy (Rikugun Toyama Gakko 陸軍富山学校). The National Jukendo Association formed in 1955.

Modern jukendo uses a mokujo, a wooden replica of a rifle with an attached and blunted bayonet at the end.

The sport has many special kata as do all other modern budo sports, to be practiced in solo training. There is also a competitive fighting form of the sport with national competitions around Japan. During competitions fighters wear the normal armor used by kendo praciticioners.

Unlike the other major budo sports of Japan, it is an exceedingly rare sport in Japanese primary schools, but not unheard of. In the minds of many Japanese it is still not considered a proper sport. Unlike kendo or kyūdō, many veterans of World War 2 have actual experience using the training techniques in combat, giving it a negative image in the minds of many Japanese (although some schools of Japanese Swordsmanship/Kenjutsu claim to have been influenced by Japanese officers using their Katana in combat, most notably Toyama Ryu through its development at the Toyama Military Academy during Imperialistic Japan).

Technique and practice

The thrust is the only form of attack in jukendo. Targets are the throat, the left upper chest (heart), the left side, and the back of the left hand.

One of the most common textbooks describing jukendo techniques was written by Kao Takahashi (高橋華王).

External links

• Zen Nihon Jukendo Renmei - All Japan Jūkendō Federation (Japanese)