Nito regulations in kendo matches

by viany cin Hiong
(jakarta, indonesia)

I would like to ask about regulations that apply to nito players, including:

1. Shinai regulations

2. Datotsu (will the shoto strike be a yuko datotsu?)

3. Other rules that apply internationally for nito players competing in any kendo matches

I've been searching for this information almost everywhere, but didn't find any official rules that apply to this style.

Answer: There are apparently regulations for nito in Japanese. Since I do not have the shiai and shinpan regulations and rules, I must say "apparently". Now, I will share what I found on the internet. Since the number of words I can write here is limited, I will make answers short.

The information I have used here is from the Japanese Non-Profit Organization, Niten Ichiryu Musashi-kai.


Datotsu with shoto: In Article 12 of Shiai and Shinpan Regulations and Rules (modified in 1995), it states,

1. Datotsu with shoto can be yuko (valid) only when a nito player suppresses his/her opponent with daito, and the elbow of the arm with shoto is well stretched-out. The strike must satisfy all the conditions of yuko-datotsu. However, strikes with shoto when in tsubazeri-ai do not count as valid strikes.

Even though this suggests that strikes with shoto can be viewed as valid, the need to "suppresse his/her opponent with daito" is a somewhat subjective and vague condition. The original phrase in Japanese, "daito de aite wo seishiteiru", is also very vague.


Here, I used the word "suppress" for the verb, "seisuru". I can think of some situations of "seisuru" with daito:

1. A nito player physically locks the movements of his/her opponent with his/her daito.


2. A nito player puts a lot of ki pressure on his/her opponent using his/her daito.

In both cases, the nito player should be in control of the situation. And of course, he/she should defer to the referees. I think that nito players should show that they use san sappo, which is, of course, hard to do.

To be honest with you, even though it is written in the shiai regulation book, we should think that the strikes with shoto will not often be seen as valid.

Why? Probably a shoto strike does not feel strong enough to be a valid cut. This is my personal opinion, and it is likely that many other senseis agree. It may be that it is perceived by referees that the cuts with a shoto should have the same power and force as the daito cuts if they are to be thought of as valid.

Other regulations may exist, and international rules can be different. I need more space to write about them, so I will prepare a page for nito regulations.