Kenjutsu is the classical Japanese art of sword combat. Unlike Iaido and Iaijutsu — which focus on the draw — Kenjutsu concerns itself with combat from the moment the sword is already unsheathed: the management of distance (maai), timing (hyoshi) and intention (sen), cutting trajectories, postures and the dynamics of engagement with the opponent.
Transmission occurs traditionally through schools (ryuha), each carrying its own technical and philosophical corpus, and is based on the practice of kata performed in pairs or with multiple opponents — codified sequences that preserve and transmit martial knowledge. The curriculum practised at KenYuShinKan comprises kihon and kumitachi, and draws from two sources: the corpus developed by the Fédération Européenne de Iaido (FEI) from the diverse martial experience of its senior practitioners in traditional armed disciplines, and the bokken curriculum of Ryushin Shouchi Ryu.
In the Dojo’s practice, Kenjutsu is closely integrated with the study of Iaido and Iaijutsu, deepening and completing their armed dimension. It may however also be studied as a discipline in its own right.