PUBLIC MARKS with tags kendo & japanese

Just checked my glossary. "Motodachi" is indeed "the receiver". Guess it's something that outside of kendo, it's not a term used in everyday speech in Nihongo

By Dave Lowry Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two part article entitled "Ittosai’s Test" which is an excerpt from Dave Lowry’s new book, “Clouds In The West.” It is about the eccentric but brilliant swordsman Ito Ittosai Kagehisa, the founder of the sword tradition of Itto ryu, and his efforts to find a successor. Itto ryu eventually grew to be one of the largest and most important schools of Japanese swordmanship. It was adopted by the military authority of Japan, the Tokugawa shogun, and other lords of feudal Japan, including the Aizu from which diato ryu aikjujutsu sprang through the legendary teacher Takeda Sokaku Sensei. Itto ryu also influenced the technical curriculum of kendo (the modern Japanese art of fencing that uses mock weapons made of bamboo). Today there are several separate traditions of Itto ryu practiced. Another important variant is Onoha Itto Ryu Sokaku Den, passed down through several daito ryu and aiki budo traditions.

Kata training in kendo nowadays is had via the well known and respected “nihon kendo no kata,” and it has played an important part in keeping the “sword” element of kendo alive to this day. We also have the newly introduced “bokuto ni yoru kihon keiko-ho” (although they not officially called “kata”) which is a method of teaching shinai-kendo techniques using a bokuto. But before both these sets of kata, there were precursory attempts to create kata for teaching to kendo people. These forms are still practised in the Japanese kendo community today, although rare.