Analyzing a kendo master’s psychological tactics through the stimulated recall interview

Abstract

    The study aims to clarify how psychological tactics works in a match between kendo masters and how they integrate their physical movements with psychological tactics. The subject of this case study is a kendo eighth-stage master who has won several Japanese Kendo Championships and is a respected teacher. The stimulated recall interview was used, in which the subject watched a video of one of his past matches and talked through what he saw, thought, and intended to do in key scenes. The analysis revealed that kendo masterʼ psychological tactics consisted of a series of processes such as reading the opponent, moving the opponent, constructing a premise for attack, creating an opening for the opponent through reading each other, moving the opponent, and executing an attack after reading the opponentʼs reading. The psychological bargaining is composed of a series of processes.