sword-way

Kendo and komdo are Japanese and Korean pronunciations of the same two Chinese characters, "sword" and "way," but as with aikido and hapkido (harmony + energy + way), the terms describe somewhat different martial arts.

For a fascinating read, go visit Overboard and take a gander at Andi's latest post, dealing with the differences between Japanese kendo, Korean haedong-komdo, and Korean daehan-komdo. This is Part One of I-don't-know-how-many parts, but that's the way I like it: Charles Dickens also wrote episodically.

Andi covers some of the same internal/external issues in martial arts that I covered in this post on "de-linking Zen from artistic appreciation."

Speaking of Japanese/Korean differences, if Lorianne and/or Andi would care to expound on differences between Japanese and Korean approaches to Zen/Seon, I'd love to slap those posts on this blog (I know you're both extremely busy, so no rush). I've gone over some differences on this blog, but since I'm not an active practitioner, a "view from the inside" is always welcome.

_