© Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, 2015 |
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| General Information |
Sports chanbara, also called ‘spochan’ for short is a Japanese martial arts based sports. The weapons used are soft sticks named air soft swords which guarantees the players’ safety.Sports chanbara can be played either one on one (taisen) or in group. The groups can consist of a different number of players (ransen) or two teams with the same number of players (kassen, team-match) (International Sports Chanbara Association, s.d.). Spochan is mostly practiced by children.There is no uniform, players can wear whatever they want to. |
| History/Development |
Spochan was invented in the 1970’s by Tetsundo Tanabe, current president of the Sports Chanbara Association. Having been a kendo teacher he came up with the idea to create a sport out of chanbara sword-fighting, commonly shown in samurai tv series. He promotes the sports’ safety and inclusiveness. Spochan does not discriminate by age, weight or sex (Otake 2010). In many places events for the handicapped as well as rehabilitation training takes place (International Sports Chanbara Association, s.d.). |
Transmission
(Policies/institutions) |
Starting from Japan it has spread over the world, with schools in many countries. |
| Relevant Organisations |
- International Sports Chanbara Association |
| Additional Materials |
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| References |
- International Sports Chanbara Association
https://www.internationalsportschanbara.net/e/spochan/spochan.html
- Otake, T. (2010). “Homegrown swordplay hits the mark”, The Japan Times
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2010/10/17/general/homegrown-swordplay-hits-the-mark/#.XzCYO_ZuKUk | | |
