Kendo vs Kenpo
Kendo and Kenpo side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Kendo | Kenpo | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Japan |
| Type | gendai budō, budō and martial arts | martial arts |
| Notable practitioners here | 1 | 1 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Japan | Romania |
| Equipment and weapons | shinai, bōgu, hakama and keikogi | — |
| Belt ranks | Yes | — |
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).
Kenpo
Kenpō (Japanese: 拳法) is the name of several martial arts. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Hepburn romanization, but omitting a macron to indicate the long vowel. The word Kenpō translates to "Fist Method", "ken" meaning "fist" and "po" meaning "method/technique". The generic nature of the term combined with its widespread, cross-cultural adoption in the martial arts community has led to many divergent definitions. For example, in Suiō-ryū Iai Kenpō it refers to "Battlefield sword against sword forms". In modern Japanese, the term is generally used to describe any primarily striking based system, especially of Chinese origin.
From the Wikipedia article Kenpō (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q170931, Q501672. 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.