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The Kyojinkan teaches Batto-do: the art of Japanese Swordsmanship.

Based at the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK, we train primarily in the style of Nakamura Ryu Batto-do which has at its core the techniques of the Toyama Ryu. We place emphasis on the practical use of the Japanese sword from a battlefield perspective.

This may sound like a skill which should be consigned to history, but with continued practice, one's spirit is forged in much the same way as the blades we wield.

Practice consists of basic cutting techniques, kata (solo practice of a predefined sequence of movements), advanced two person kata and a variety of specific cutting patterns. It places significant emphasis on the importance of actual cutting with the sword.

Beginners commence training with a wooden sword (bokken) before moving on to training with blunt steel swords (mogi-to) and eventually to live-blade swords (shinken).