A study of how the names used for training methods in Budō have changed

The paper follows the change in training vocabulary in Budō across three periods: medieval martial practice, Tokugawa martial schools, and modern Budō after the rise of Kōdōkan judo. It argues that keiko originally referred to martial training and later came to mean repeated practice of forms, while judo gradually adopted renshu as school physical training became more important. Kendo, by contrast, kept keiko in wider use.

Reading notes

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• In medieval sources, keiko is used for training in horse riding, archery, sword play, and sumo, but the documents do not describe detailed training methods.
• In the later medieval period, bugei texts use expressions such as “to practice military art” and “to learn military strategy,” yet they still do not explain training methods or training mentality in detail.
• In Tokugawa martial arts, keiko means repeating the founder’s established forms, then gradually learning to perform them with originality and ingenuity.
• The paper treats the process of repeating forms, adding creativity, and reaching free use without conscious effort as central to keiko in early modern martial training.
• It links this process to the idea of shuhari, described here as a martial learning principle.
• In jujutsu and sword arts, the paper notes the rise of kata practice, shinai practice, randori, and free practice forms.
• For Kōdōkan judo, Kano first used keiko, then changed the term to renshu because he wanted youth to do more physical training in schools.
• The paper says renshu was accepted in judo in the first quarter of the twentieth century, but kendo practitioners still used keiko.
• Kendo is described as training seriously with the aim of building steady nerves and practicing as if using real swords.
• The paper concludes that modern “practice” and “training” still need the older elements of repetition, creativity, reflection, and self-discipline found in keiko.