[Encannavalf]

there was a documentary about the katana on the disovery channel... or was that national geographic... anyway, at the end of it there was a 5 minute segment on chanbara.

can't say I was too impressed.

in any case, the founder of the activity, who makes a living bringing antique blades back to japan, created the game because he noted that japanese children are not too interested in the sword arts these days... or rather the discipline and practice involved.

hence the rather nerf-like chanbara.

if people can slippery-slope it to get kids into kendo... well... I can't say I'm against that. but in and of itself... a waste of time methinks