The British Kendo Renmei (Eikoku Kendo Renmei in Japanese) was founded in 1973 with the object of providing an alternative choice for Budo (Kendo) students who were more interested in practising and developing their understanding of the traditional arts and ways of the Japanese martial culture than those sword-Budo systems that interpret and present Kendo mainly in terms of competitive sport.
The intending novice who aspires to practise Kendo – the Way of the Sword – or Iai-do – the Way of Drawing-Sword – really needs some guidance so that he or she understands that there is a great difference between the old traditional arts and ways followed by the Japanese samurai and their descendants down to the closing decades of the 20th century, and the increasingly divergent sports- or competition-based Kendo and Iai that have rapidly managed to dominate the modern systems.