Modern kendo techniques, such as Suriage-Men and Oikomi-Men, were originally Hokushin Ittō-ryū techniques, were named by Chiba Shūsaku. Due to the large number of students of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō at the end of the Edo period, the use of bamboo swords and armor as a form of practice became popular. Shūsaku Narimasa Chiba ( 千葉周作成政, 1792-1855), founder of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō (北辰一刀流兵法), introduced gekiken (撃剣) (full contact duels with bamboo swords and training armor) to the curriculum of tradition arts in the 1820s. Naganuma Sirozaemon Kunisato ( 長沼四郎左衛門国郷, 1688-1767) inherited the tradition from his father Heizaemon in 1708, and the two of them collaborated to improve what would become modern kendo training armor.

He is also credited with refining the armor by adding a metal grille to the headpiece (面 men) and thick cotton protective coverings to the gauntlets (小手 kote). Yamada Heizaemon Mitsunori (Ippūsai) ( 山田平左衛門光徳(一風斎), 1638–1718), third son of Naganuma and the 8th headmaster of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū Kenjutsu, is credited with improving the art with Japanese wooden and bamboo swords, according to his gravestone's inscription. Naganuma developed the use of this armor and established a training method using bamboo swords. The introduction of bamboo practice swords and armor to sword training is attributed to Naganuma Shirōzaemon Kunisato ( 長沼四郎左衛門国郷, 1688–1767) during the Shotoku Era (1711–1715). They are still studied today, in a modified form. Formal kendo exercises known as kata were developed several centuries ago as kenjutsu practice for warriors. These continued for centuries and form the basis of kendo practice today. Swordsmen in Japan established schools of kenjutsu (the ancestor of kendo). History Kendo in the early Meiji period (1873) Takasugi Shinsaku, late Edo period kendo practitioner Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world. 'sword way', 'sword path' or 'way of the sword') is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu).

Iaido draw stance art