This study examined the psychological structure of "images of Kendo" in Kendo club students and general students. This study included 513 subjects (138 male, 375 female, average age 19.6±1.22 years old), who were asked to write the 10 sentences that came to mind after the phrase "Kendo is" on a questionnaire. Of those sentences, they were asked to choose the one sentence evoking the strongest image of Kendo. Text mining of selected sentences extracted words, and the relations between them were analyzed.
The analysis showed that Kendo club students and general students had different images of Kendo. Many Kendo club students responded with psychological aspects, such as "disciplining the human character" and "training the mind." General students gave many answers regarding its physiological aspects such as "sweat" and "voice," reflecting Kendo as a sport. However, both Kendo club students and general students cited Reigi (etiquette) in their images of Kendo.
