Kenshi’s Experiences of Sword Fighting in Kendo: The Way of Ippon With Soul, Sword, and Body

Abstract

In response to recent calls for promoting the contextual intelligence of sport psychology practitioners, the aim of the current study was to obtain the first-person competitive experiences of kendo fighters (i.e., kenshi). Existential phenomenological interviews were conducted with eight competitive Japanese-American kenshi residing in the United States. The findings of thematic analysis indicated that the participants possessed a strong commitment to earning ippon (i.e., a valid point), which was achieved by a subjective synchronization of mind, sword, and body in the execution of a strike against an opponent. They considered this to be a transformative experience, which elevated them perceptually out of the sporting context to a momentary sense of “cutting” the opponent with a real sword. The current findings also offer sport psychology consultants possible context-specific insights (e.g., importance of seme) and strategies (e.g., management of attentional focus, self-regulation techniques) for assisting kenshi in preparing for competitive situations.