Freestyle wrestling vs Kenjutsu
Freestyle wrestling and Kenjutsu side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Freestyle wrestling | Kenjutsu | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | — | Japan |
| Founder | British Empire | — |
| Type | amateur wrestling | bujutsu |
| Competition at the Olympics | Yes – 30 Olympic events recorded | — |
| Notable practitioners here | 562 | 2 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Russia, Soviet Union and Iran | France and Japan |
| Weight classes | Yes | — |
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman. High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the United States are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. U.S. collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
From the Wikipedia article Freestyle wrestling (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kenjutsu
Kenjutsu (剣術) is an umbrella term for all (ko-budō) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Kenjutsu is a martial art that puts more emphasis on various real-life sword combat scenarios, compared with its modern adaptation, kendo, which has evolved into a modern sport with fewer target areas and attack patterns and more rules. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also include modern forms of kenjutsu in their curriculum. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "sword techniques", as opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword".
From the Wikipedia article Kenjutsu (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q327223, Q249608. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.