[dupratac]

first off, i just want to say hi as a first time poster. love reading these forums, but never jumped in to post until now.

i was wondering if there was anywhere out there to find out rankings for kendo?
Is there a specific association that is credentialed enough to actually say "this person is number 1 in the world"? I was curious if there was an all-inclusive top 10 list of sorts.

[Snocioncilm]

i was wondering if there was anywhere out there to find out rankings for kendo?
Is there a specific association that is credentialed enough to actually say "this person is number 1 in the world"? I was curious if there was an all-inclusive top 10 list of sorts.

There isn't a ranking system similar to pro tennis or anything like that. But there are two competitions that shed some light on some of the best kendoka in the world. One of them would be the annual All Japan Kendo Championship, and the other would be the triennial World Kendo Championship. The top finishers in either tournament are pretty much the cream of the crop of competitive kendo, but neither tournament includes 8 dan sensei, so I guess it depends on how you want to define "top 10."

[Waymninelia]

first off, i just want to say hi as a first time poster. love reading these forums, but never jumped in to post until now.

i was wondering if there was anywhere out there to find out rankings for kendo?
Is there a specific association that is credentialed enough to actually say "this person is number 1 in the world"? I was curious if there was an all-inclusive top 10 list of sorts.

There is no such list I am aware of.

There are various tournament championships, with different levels of prestige. Many are limited to certain populations, for example there are police championships, championships for 7 dan competitors, 8 dan competitors, etc.

Kendo, however, is an art form, and a person's level can't be measure exclusively by tournaments won. That would be like equating "best musician" to greatest number of grammy awards won. Artistry lives in a whole other domain, IMO.

[soonahonsefalh]

I would add that the Japanese High School level championships (Interhigh and All-Japan HS championships) and the University-level championships are more prestigious than the World Kendo Championships (and more competitive).

[Encannavalf]

I would add that the Japanese High School level championships (Interhigh and All-Japan HS championships) and the University-level championships are more prestigious than the World Kendo Championships (and more competitive).

I would never argue about this because I don't know what I'm talking about, but this surprised me. Do the guys who win those tournaments not compete in the WKC? Is there some age restriction in the WKC? Because if those are more competitive, and the top guys participate for team Japan, I'd expect Japan to blow out everyone every three years, and I thought although Japan almost always wins, it isn't destroying every other team completely every year (maybe I'm wrong about that though).

Or is there politics and experience involved in getting on the Japanese WKC team? Or do the very top Japanese players not even participate? This is fascinating -- can you shed a little light on it?

[Thorwaywhobia]

I've never heard anything here about them being more prestigious than the WKC, though I can believe they're more competitive. Rather than comparing to the WKC, I'd probably say that the All-Japan is the most prestigious tournament here.

Now, if you're talking baseball, Koshien is huuuuuuuge.

[Susanleech]

The WKC is not all that competitive really: There are two very good teams, about four of second-tier teams and then the rest of them. Japan has finished 1st in every tournament except one. The last time they won the final in a walk (sorry, but yes, it was a total blowout) against a very strong US squad. Japan could probably field 5 squads and still win out easily. The only country that gives them real trouble is Korea and that always seems more a question of two styles awkwardly clashing than one side dominating.

The High School and University championships are much more competitive simply because there are more teams with a chance to win. And yes, the people that have won at that level tend to move up into All-Japan level. Although it doesn't always work out as one might think: Someone told me that when Uchimura won the championship it was the first time that someone who had won the HS and University championship had also won the All-Japan.

I'm pretty sure most people would rather win the HS or University championship than the WKC. I know I would rather watch and follow the HS and University championships rather the WKC (special shout-out to dodaichi85 of Youtube and the Kendo-World people for making that possible through the magic of the Internet).

[AntonayPina]

Interesting. Thanks for the explanations.