Butokukan – Kendo & Iaido Dojo in Brussels

The meaning of BU TOKU KAN

What does « BUTOKUKAN » mean ?

The name « BUTOKUKAN » has three Kanji.

« BU » refers to the traditional martial arts of BUDO,
« TOKU »refers to the MARTIAL VALUES such as Respect, Courage, Honesty, Humility, Friendship, Tolerance, Politeness,… The apprentice of these VALUES through trainings makes us ALL stronger and better persons!
« KAN » refers to the DOJO or gym where the trainings take place.

Kendo

Kendo is the Japanese way of fencing, in old times it was practiced by the samurais. The fighter wears an armour for protection and is armed with a bamboo sword known as a Shinaï.

Technical exercises are done with a bokken (a wooden sword) and an iaito (a replica of a real metal sword). We are practising Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon Waza Keiko Ho, Kendo No Kata and Gokyo No Kata.

The study of Kendo is complementary with the practice of Iaido, for they are intimately linked. Purist practitioners will say that those two disciplines are indivisible!

The BUTOKUKAN encourages their members to practice both arts for a harmonious development and a comprehension of the techniques.

Iaido

Iaido is the study of handling a katana, a real Japanese sword.

The basic practice of Iaido is Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (Japanese Kendo Federation). The Koryu that we practice is the Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido.

On a beginner level you firstly get used to a Boken – a wooden sword – before using an iaito – a replica of the katana – the ultimate goal of every Iaido practitioner is to handle a katana.

The study of Iaido is complementary with the practice of Kendo, for they are intimately linked. Purist practitioners will say that those two disciplines are indivisible !

The BUTOKUKAN encourages their members to practice both arts for a harmonious development and a comprehension of the techniques.