Zendo

Zendo Fighting, also known as Zendo Dan Shi, is an Eastern staff-fighting style originating in Ki. Zendo was initially developed by monks in Budden and Ki, an focuses on defensive moves and manipulation of energy rather than agressvie attacks.

History
Zendo Dan Shi was first created by a Ki monk named Do Wan Li during the Second Taigain War. It was created as a response to the attacks on Ki Monastaries by Taigan conquerors, and was thereafter tought to monks as a way of self-defence. Realising that most monks carried a quarterstaff, Brother Shi developed the style with the defensive use of staves in mind. He also incorporated fundamental principles of Zenism into Zendo, hoping that this would help monks justify learning to fight, a controversial act at the time.

Equipment
Initially, Zendo was developed for use with walking sticks or quarterstaves as they were freely available and commonly carried by monks. However after Brother Li's death, his apprentince Rokoro Ken began developing a specialised Zendo pole. The concept was to weight both ends of the pole slightly in order to perfectly balance it as well as add more strength to Zendo strikes.

The first crude designs of Zendo Poles were bamboo poles weighted with stone caps, however the bamboo proved to be quite fragile and monks would often go through many bamboo staves - taking the stone caps off the broken staff and placing them on a new pole of bamboo. Eventually, as Zendo gained popularity, Zendo poles were made from hard wood, still using the stone caps of their predecessors. Unfortunately, the stone caps began to gain a violent repuation and monks soon carved the stone weights into cylinders, hollowing out the ends of the Zendo Poles and placing the weights inside the poles.

Modern Zendo Poles still operate on the same design, however some more experienced Zendo practitioners use different combinations of materials to suit their individual fighting style, such as using metal weights for heavier strikes or using lighter woods for more agility.

Practioners
Zendo st