Full contact karate vs Kendo
Full contact karate and Kendo side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Full contact karate | Kendo | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Japan |
| Type | karate | gendai budō, budō and martial arts |
| Notable practitioners here | 28 | 1 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Japan, France and Korea under Japanese rule | Japan |
| Equipment and weapons | — | shinai, bōgu, hakama and keikogi |
| Belt ranks | — | Yes |
Full contact karate
Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar (also called "Kumite") full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion.
From the Wikipedia article Full contact karate (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kendo
Kendo (Japanese: 剣道, Hepburn: Kendō; lit. 'sword way' or '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). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship exercises, and today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world.
From the Wikipedia article Kendo (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q3754231, Q170931. 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.