The skilled performance of distancing in kendo and its cultural significance in Japan

Maai (間合い) is an ordinary Japanese word that means the distance between two people or two animals. Keeping the right distance from your opponent is the key to attack and defense in kendo. Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art that descends from sword fighting (kenjutsu). However, the right maai for different kendo practitioners (kendoka) is extremely difficult to measure objectively and quantitatively. . I will discuss maai with reference to philosophical phenomenology as well as recent discoveries in cognitive science that describe the interactive experience between two people qualitatively.